‘The Office’ Turns 20: An Oral History of Season 1 From the Writers Who Shaped It

On March 24, 2005, the first episode of “The Office,” an American version of the popular and award-winning British comedy series, was broadcast on NBC. This mockumentary introduced the employees of the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. The show attracted a reasonable number of viewers that evening, with 11.2 million tuning in after an episode of “The Apprentice.” Despite this promising start, there were not high expectations for the series.

In early 2004, NBC produced a pilot for “The Office,” scripted by Greg Daniels, who co-created “King of the Hill.” This came soon after Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s BBC series won the Golden Globe for best comedy and Gervais himself was awarded as the best actor in a comedy. NBC greenlit the show that spring but only commissioned six more episodes initially. After its debut on Thursday, the subsequent episodes were aired on Tuesdays, where they struggled to perform well.

Daniels recounts to The Hollywood Reporter, “We believed we had put on a fantastic performance, but the figures were uncertain.” He adds, “During the next season’s upfronts, we received constant, nerve-wracking updates about our potential renewal. It was a rollercoaster of ‘we probably won’t,’ followed by ‘we might, if…’ We might be renewed if we made budget cuts and returned every bonus and profit we could from the show.

The hit TV show “The Office,” produced by NBC, was indeed renewed for a second season, but the good news didn’t stop there – they also greenlit seven more seasons following that! This influential series, along with its British predecessor, left a significant mark on television in the 21st century. Consider how many mockumentary shows you see today, and scarcely any were produced before “The Office.” It served as a strong foundation for NBC’s sometimes unstable prime-time schedule during the 2000s and early 2010s, helping to launch the careers of several of its cast members into stardom. Notably, the show’s writers have since gone on to create and manage numerous beloved, award-winning series.

To celebrate the 20-year milestone since its debut, The Hollywood Reporter interviewed some key figures who were instrumental in the show’s early days – the original season one writers. Daniels held the position of showrunner for the first four seasons of The Office, and the initial writing team comprised Mindy Kaling, Paul Lieberstein, B.J. Novak, and Michael Schur.

The Beginning

Veteran comedian Daniele, known for his work on Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons, teamed up with Mike Judge to co-create King of the Hill. This animated series turned out to be Fox’s second longest-running primetime show in animation. As Daniele’s contract with Fox was about to expire, he started searching for fresh projects to develop without being bound by any studio or network agreement.

GREG DANIELS Ari Emanuel, who previously represented me, delivered a VHS tape titled The Office, suggesting I might find it intriguing. With a rather unremarkable title, I didn’t give it much thought during the Christmas season. However, at the start of January, he informed me that if I wasn’t interested, he would pass it on to someone else. Stirred by this, I decided to reconsider and watched it late one night in my VCR around 11 p.m. The first season had me captivated until 2 a.m., as I found it remarkable, moving, and side-splittingly funny.

Initially, I found it hard to believe that such a thing could air on American television, but my curiosity led me to want to meet its creator, hoping to gain insights from their work.

MICHAEL SCHUR I was a big admirer of the original British The Office. Many people, including myself, initially believed remaking it was a poor choice.

As a gamer back in 2015, I had my doubts about “The Office” being a winning move. The original British show was raw and gloomy, devoid of music, and the setting was far from glamorous. Yet, it held a certain cool factor. The American adaptation lacked the unique edge of its predecessor because it was seen as a bit cheesy to remake an already existing show.

Daniels conferred with Gervais and Merchant, along with Ben Silverman, the rights-holder for any prospective remake, during their meeting.

DANIELS (PARAPHRASED) Ricky Gervais and I found common ground, particularly over our shared appreciation for a specific episode of “The Simpsons” called “Homer Badman,” which I had written. This coincidence proved fortunate for me as it opened up conversations about my approach to adapting the show’s style and focus on realism and genuine emotion, as seen in “King of the Hill.” When discussing “The Office,” I noticed that the elements I was highlighting seemed to resonate with Stephen and Ricky. They responded positively, saying something along the lines of, “Alright then, you can adapt it for the U.S. version.

Initially, I assumed that the series might find its home on HBO due to its similarity in tone with “The Larry Sanders Show,” which HBO had produced. However, during negotiations, it turned out that Kevin Reilly, then president of FX, showed great enthusiasm for the project. Since FX was known for being innovative and experimental, I began to consider it a potential fit. Yet, Kevin later moved on to become the president of NBC. This shift left me questioning whether the show would be suitable for NBC as they were heavily invested in multi-camera productions, with “Will & Grace” being their top show following the end of “Friends” and “Frasier” in 2004. Despite my reservations, Kevin remained passionate about the project, which made me ponder whether it could work on NBC after all.

Welcome to Dunder Mifflin

NBC commissioned a pilot for the show, with Universal TV and Silverman’s Reveille serving as producers. At first, Daniels proposed an original script to kick off the series, introducing the characters through a corporate awards ceremony – an idea that later resurfaced as “The Dundies” and opened the second season. However, he eventually decided to rethink this approach.

DANIELS I grew concerned that the NBC development machines might find a completely new script too unusual, and maintaining a distinct tone would be challenging. So, I decided to subtly Americanize the original British pilot. We skipped the note-taking process on the pilot since it was only a minor rewrite. However, the changes ended up being more substantial, as you can notice in the extended fan version of the pilot available on Peacock. Yet, when it came to reducing it for broadcast time, it retained many similarities with the original British pilot.

From the outset, Daniels believed that Steve Carell, a frequent guest on The Daily Show, would be perfect for the part of Michael Scott, the branch manager at Dunder Mifflin. However, there was an obstacle to this casting.

In a different wording: The casting task turned out to be quite challenging. Initially, we considered Steve Carell for the role, as NBC movie executives had given Ben a copy of Bruce Almighty, where Steve delivered an impressive performance as a newscaster who was mysteriously controlled by external forces. We were thoroughly impressed and thought he would be perfect for the part. I was keen on collaborating with Allison Jones, a casting director renowned for her work in Freaks and Geeks, whom I believed to be exceptional at her job. However, while negotiations with her were underway, Steve’s team accepted another job offer on an NBC sitcom called Come to Papa. This was quite disheartening. Subsequently, we embarked on a lengthy quest to find someone else who could portray the character effectively.

Initially, I pondered over the idea of Bob Odenkirk embodying Michael, but eventually, the team behind The Office received approval to cast Steve Carell as our beloved boss, provided he was second choice for another project. By February 2004, we were all set and ready to roll with Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and B.J. Novak joining me on this exciting journey. The talented Ken Kwapis, who had previously worked on shows like The Larry Sanders Show and Malcolm in the Middle, took charge of the pilot’s direction, making it one of the few successful single-camera network comedies from the early 2000s.

PARAPHRASING OF DANIELS: During production of the pilot episode, we encountered numerous challenges in establishing the correct tone and convincingly portraying a documentary crew’s presence. To maintain authenticity, we instructed our team to avoid touching up actors between scenes and to allow for occasional technical imperfections like boom shadows in windows. This was all done to create an air of realism, conveying that what is happening on screen is genuine. The pilot successfully captured the desired tone, resembling The Office, with a suitable cast and overall feel.

The Hiring Phase

At the 2004 upfronts, NBC decided to turn The Office into a TV series, making it a midseason show. Come to Papa wouldn’t premiere until that summer and was soon canceled, releasing Carell from his obligations. Meanwhile, Daniels began hiring writers and crew members. One of the writers, Novak, was already part of the team, as he had played the temporary worker Ryan Howard in the pilot episode.

Initially, the first person I brought on board was B.J. Daniels. This might sound a tad superstitious, but Johnny Hardwick, who played Dale and scripted episodes of King of the Hill, was my initial hire for that series. I chose Johnny because he was a comedian and had an outstanding joke about his father yelling at him to shut the front door – a line I thought would fit perfectly with Hank’s character. Additionally, I admired Monty Python, where the team wrote and acted in every sketch, and Ricky was both the creator of The Office and the lead actor. Given this background, it felt natural to me that this was an excellent environment for writer-performers. I aimed to establish a writer-performer atmosphere within the show.

Daniels reviewed over a hundred script proposals, yet he didn’t exclusively choose writers with extensive sitcom backgrounds to fill his writing team. Lieberstein had the most experience, having worked on shows like The Drew Carey Show and The Bernie Mac Show, as well as collaborating with Daniels on King of the Hill (the two are also related, being brothers-in-law). Schur was fresh from several years as a Saturday Night Live writer, while Kaling was new to writing rooms. Novak had penned scripts for Bob Saget’s sitcom Raising Dad, but he was more recognized for his work on MTV’s Punk’d and stand-up comedy.

Or:

Daniels went through more than 100 script submissions without strictly selecting experienced sitcom writers for his writing team. Lieberstein had the most experience, having worked on series such as The Drew Carey Show and The Bernie Mac Show, in addition to collaborating with Daniels on King of the Hill (the two are brothers-in-law). Schur was fresh from a stint as a Saturday Night Live writer, while Kaling was new to writing rooms. Novak had written for Bob Saget’s sitcom Raising Dad but was better known for MTV’s Punk’d and stand-up comedy.

MINDY KALING I landed a job as a writer. Greg Daniels caught my off-off-Broadway production titled “Matt and Ben“, which had moved from New York to L.A. for a brief run following our victory at the Fringe Festival. He had seen it there, and offered me a writing position based on that success, plus I had a script for “Arrested Development” prepared in advance.

PAUL LIEBERSTEIN Selling the idea was effortless since I was already a devoted fan of the British series. I can’t recall the specifics, but I do remember expressing my interest or inquiring about his feelings towards it, and he responded positively, suggesting that the show seemed tailored for me. We may have exchanged questions on this matter. In most business dealings, we would go through our manager, but this particular instance felt straightforward and both of us were enthusiastic about it.

SCHUR I was working at SNL, and my girlfriend, who is now my wife, was based in L.A. This made me realize that I needed to move out here. I started preparing for this transition quite early on. I even wrote a script for Curb Your Enthusiasm, which is a challenging task considering the show is mostly improvised. However, I put a lot of effort into it.

I recently visited Greg at his office for “King the Hill,” and our conversation about British television shows and their adaptations lasted around two hours. During this discussion, he mentioned that he was experiencing back pain and asked if it was alright for him to lie down. He ended up lying on the floor in front of me, which might have appeared strange to anyone observing through the office window, resembling a therapist session with Greg as the patient. Nevertheless, I found the meeting fascinating throughout. Afterward, I sent my agent and manager a message on my BlackBerry expressing my doubts about adapting “The Office,” but stating that if he offered me a job, I’d accept it because I believe he could teach me to write. They still forward this email to me occasionally every few years.

NOVAK (during an interview on The Tim Ferriss Show in 2015) The individuals behind it were exceptionally talented – Steve Carell’s spontaneous humor, and Greg Daniels’ story ideas and witty one-liners. Before long, we had a compact writing team consisting of Mindy Kaling, Paul Lieberstein, and a few others. Creative-wise, it was incredibly thrilling.

Daniels additionally chose to recruit Randall Einhorn and Matt Sohn, both experienced in non-scripted television, to serve as directors of photography for The Office. Their expertise in this area would contribute to the documentary-like aspect of the series.

In the process of discussing your television series with authors, it’s crucial to present your concept as well. I found this particularly intriguing since refining the visual style of the show through constant pitching proved quite beneficial. The show appealed to individuals who had a theater background due to its theatrical nature, but for those raised with camcorders and iMovie, it was their first experience of this kind. As I honed my descriptions of what made the series unique, I came to the conclusion that we should consider assembling a crew from reality television. Teri Weinberg, who worked under Ben, knew a man named Randall Einhorn, who had served as a camera operator on Survivor. He was well-versed in reality productions and introduced Matt Sohn to us; they both became our cinematographers for the remainder of the show.

In a more conversational tone: Randall Einhorn dedicated immense effort to ensure that the series looked authentic and cohesive, and the camera operators were exceptional. In fact, Randall Einhorn and Matt Sohn were given freedom – you’re documentary filmmakers, capture what resonates. We didn’t use shot lists. It wasn’t about following a script, “Do this, but focus on that.” Instead, they were allowed to use their expertise as documentarians, capturing whatever was intriguing in the scene.

The Remake Problem

Initially, the announcement that NBC was re-creating “The Office” sparked doubts, not only among fans of the original BBC series but also due to a widespread belief that remakes often fall short. Notably, NBC suffered a notable failure in the realm of remakes with “Coupling,” a reboot of a popular British sitcom. They attempted to market it as a potential successor to “Friends” and even enlisted Silverman among its producers. The show debuted in autumn 2003 but failed miserably, leading to its cancellation after only four episodes had been broadcast.

NOVAK (2015 interview with Chicago Tribune) I recognized the pilot’s talent and appreciated the crew, but I found myself frequently searching “The Office remake” on Google and checking IMDB discussion boards around 100 times daily. Some comments read like, “They’re going to air it on American TV; it will flop with a laugh track from the start.” I thought, Oh no, we’re doomed — wait, this person doesn’t know anything. I wrote some of the scripts myself! I’m part of the cast! I knew much more than these people, and yet, I still wondered, “Maybe they do know something.

DANIELS I recall hearing from those within Coupling. They said, “We need to wait until episode seven or eight, or something like that [to create our own scripts],” but they never made it to episode seven on air. My thought was, we must start writing originals right away. For me, the objective was: can we produce completely original scripts while maintaining the British show’s distinctive tone?

My ex-girlfriend, who is now my wife, had contributed to the show “Coupling”. Greg often approached situations like a scientist or analyst, trying to dissect where things went wrong and why it didn’t succeed, as well as draw lessons from it. I believe that “Coupling” paved the way for us to improve upon its concepts and move forward with even greater success.

Season One

Initially, following the pilot episode, they only had five more episodes to complete their inaugural season. This was a relatively modest number of installments, even for a series airing during midseason. The writers immediately began brainstorming plotlines and drafting script ideas, followed by numerous revisions.

LIEBERSTEIN Every script for season one, including mine on “Health Care,” was extensively revised multiple times. The room where we worked played a significant role throughout the process. For any show I’ve been involved with, the initial scripts need to be thoroughly refined as we learn more about the story during production. I recall rewriting that particular script several times, and our focus seemed to be on removing unnecessary elements. We were primarily concentrating on creating substantial scenes that allowed each character to be humorous while also expressing their unique perspectives. Our aim was to keep the ideas simple and effective.

As a devoted admirer, I must say that when it comes to the creation of those six episodes, Greg had the option to claim full authorship if he desired, given our continuous revisions and overhauls. However, with “The Alliance” (episode four, my initial writing credit for Office) I can confirm that only around 14% of my original draft made it into the final script. Yet, this was simply part of the process. From the get-go, Greg emphasized that we collaboratively develop these stories. One writer would take the lead and write the initial draft, infusing their unique voice, and then the collective writers room would step in to refine and enhance it. This was the methodology behind how comedy shows are produced.

JESSICA I must admit, it’s challenging for me to fully convey the atmosphere [in the writers room] since I was relatively new and quite nervous. To clarify, my perspective is that of an apprehensive staff writer. I believe the environment might have been significantly different for Larry Wilmore, who had a wealth of successful Emmy-winning series under his belt before joining us. I found the experience both thrilling and nerve-wracking because it was my first time in a writers room. Moreover, even though they’re now dear friends, B.J. Novak, Mike Schur, and Paul Lieberstein were quite intimidating due to their immense talent. I was simultaneously learning about joke pitching, rejection, success, and the etiquette of a writers room from this incredibly gifted, compact team of writers.

Besides Larry Wilmore and Lester Lewis, we engaged them as consultants due to budget constraints for full-time positions. They formed an incredible team along with Mindy, B.J., Mike, and Paul. Lester Lewis, a talented psychologist, had previously worked on Frasier, while Larry Wilmore showcased his brilliance in the room.

KALING To this day, I still believe that no other first draft for an episode surpassed “Diversity Day.” As a seasoned comedy writer now, I look back on it with nothing but admiration for my close friend B.J. In 2005, when the episode was released, I was filled with rage and anxiety over how brilliant the script was. What stands out to me is that B.J. submitted a 30-page draft. It was so well-written and hilarious. Beyond being a great TV episode in its own right, it served as a benchmark for us all, setting the bar high for what followed.

I think “Diversity Day” is still the best first draft of any episode ever written, and my friend B.J. did an amazing job on it. When it was released in 2005, it made me angry because it was so good. The script was only 30 pages long but it was very funny and set a high standard for the rest of the episodes.

Alongside writing for the show, Kaling and Lieberstein made their cast debut starting with the second episode titled “Diversity Day.” In this episode, Michael’s questionable behavior leads to a visit from a diversity consultant, portrayed by Wilmore. Kaling takes on the role of Kelly Kapoor, the customer service representative at the branch, while Lieberstein plays Toby Flenderson, the HR officer.

The character KALING, or Kelly, didn’t start as a planned addition in Greg’s world. Instead, she evolved naturally. The turning point was the second episode titled “Diversity Day,” where it seemed essential to make the office diverse for comedic effect. This role fell into my lap due to serendipity. Since the humor of a man being insensitive towards different cultures is heightened when those cultures are present in the office, the timing worked out such that I got this part, and it played a significant role in the episode by slapping [Michael] across the face.

LIEBERSTEIN I had no interest in performing. I had never really thought about it.

PARAPHRASED Initially, Paul wasn’t supposed to be part of the show. It was quite amusing because often, roles aren’t finalized when reading a script. In this case, as one of the writers, Paul was initially reading for Toby’s role. During a table read, Kevin Reilly noticed another actor, later referred to as “the redhead guy,” and thought he was excellent. He suggested using him, saying, “He looks great.” Throughout the reading, Kevin repeatedly commented, “More of that guy, he’s funny.” Eventually, Paul ended up being cast on the show, not by design but due to his impressive performance during the readings.

LIEBERSTEIN (Laughs.) Indeed, I was temping for Kevin, along with a few others, and it was Kevin who appreciated it. And then he also enjoyed some daily footage, remarking, “He’s amusing; let’s see more of that.” I believe without those two comments, the character Toby wouldn’t have been created.

By the time The Office premiered on March 24, 2005, all six episodes had already been completed. Despite some uncertainty about whether audiences would take to it, the writers were optimistic about something promising unfolding.

JASON I believe “Diversity Day” is still among my top three favorite episodes, it’s truly a fantastic one. That was our first time crafting an original script, and I couldn’t help but feel ecstatic about the series right from the start. The pilot was great, and I was delighted with the show since the beginning.

DEAR READER I must admit, I had a sense that what we were creating was rather commendable. It felt unique and distinctive, yet I couldn’t help but wonder if it would resonate with the audience. At that time, Friends and Seinfeld were dominating NBC, so I believed our show might not find its footing. When we concluded our initial six episodes, I honestly thought our journey was over. I didn’t anticipate a return.

In my opinion, The skits were side-splittingly funny, and I distinctly recall being on set during “Diversity Day” when I said, “I don’t know much, but goodness gracious, Steve Carell is a riot.” He was like a skilled point guard in basketball – he was incredibly humorous, an excellent improviser, but also always prioritized making the team excel.

Initially, I wasn’t sure if this would succeed, as I was uncertain about the world’s taste for it. However, I knew it was humorous, and its comedic potential was evident from the get-go. I adored it; I thought it was fantastic and felt a sense of pride in creating it.

KALING Every minute of the initial six episodes felt like a small miracle to me. I was utterly awestruck by Steve Carell’s performance, impressed by Greg’s skill as a showrunner, and captivated by the material we were writing. Yet, despite my inexperience in television production, I found myself questioning: Is this level of quality common? However, I always felt that it was something extraordinary.

The initial episode received generally good feedback, although critics’ opinions were somewhat divided yet slightly favorable. The Hollywood Reporter commented that this series, despite being an adaptation, is one of the most original and creative comedies on NBC in years. However, after shifting to Tuesday nights, viewership declined significantly. On average, the season attracted approximately 5.4 million viewers – a low figure considering the time, even during NBC’s challenging post-Friends period.

DANIELS (PARAPHRASING) The ratings aren’t impressive. I have my own concerns, as we were initially promoted to air on Thursday for the series premiere, but it was moved to Tuesday after the first broadcast. I believe many viewers might not have been aware of the show’s new schedule, or we didn’t have a strong lead-in when we shifted to Tuesday (Scrubs, which was critically acclaimed but never a ratings powerhouse on NBC). The change didn’t seem promising.

On The Tim Ferriss Show (in 2015), we aimed to create an podcast that people would remember for the rest of their lives and say, “That’s a timeless gem.” Our goal was to achieve the level of popularity enjoyed by Mr. Show, similar to cult status.

During the final stages of filming for season one, there was a particular moment when we were on set. This was in a parking lot, and several cast members, including Steve, were patiently waiting while preparations were being made for the next scene. There was a sense of melancholy, as it felt like our journey was coming to an end. Steve remarked, “We’ve got six more episodes to make. Who knows what the future holds – it might work, it might not, but just look at us, we’re fortunate to have made six. This kind of show doesn’t come along often with this level of thought and creative freedom. Let’s all be grateful that we’ve been given this opportunity to create six episodes.” I recall feeling sad listening to this exchange, yet I also realized the truth in his words. Although I had no prior experience working in L.A., I believe we all understood how fortunate we were to have even produced six episodes of television like this. And then they went on to make 200 more.

Turning the Corner

Regardless of its initial low ratings, NBC decided to renew The Office for another season. This decision led to a significant increase in viewership, a fresh income source, and a creative bloom as a result of some subtle yet impactful adjustments made by the writers when working on the series.

For me, during my initial two years, I learned not to idolize the original version excessively. It was evident that the character Michael Scott faced significant criticism within the show. To begin with, he wasn’t portrayed as a morally sound individual in the first season.

Following season one, I found ourselves staying quite true to the British original, yet struggling to make ends meet. To improve our situation, I chose to deviate slightly from the British show and introduce more elements reminiscent of King of the Hill. In the initial conceptualization of the show, Hank Hill was somewhat less appealing, so I made adjustments to pinpoint and rectify his unlikable traits. By the time the pilot premiered, he had undergone significant improvements.

In my conversation with NBC, I proposed a plan for transforming Michael Scott’s character. I suggested around eight different aspects that would shift audience perception of him, and each one eventually concluded an episode. For example, in “The Dundies,” I was illustrating that his staff could criticize him, but when someone from outside the staff bullied him, they would defend him. Essentially, it was subtly moving him from being someone who is not well-liked and outsider, to someone who you may have issues with, but is still a part of your group – more like an annoying uncle or something. There were other changes as well. One episode showed that Michael was actually quite skilled in sales, and his perceived incompetence was due to the Peter Principle – being promoted beyond his skill level to become the manager.

As a gamer, I’ve got to say, season two was an absolute blast! The team behind it was simply outstanding. What made this season stand out for me was how each character’s unique personality shone through in their respective episodes. Greg, our fearless leader, certainly set the tone for the show, but episodes like “The Injury” or “The Carpet” were pure Paul Lieberstein gold and had us rolling with laughter. “The Injury,” in particular, was right up my alley and tickled my funny bone good!

In the 2022 episode of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, Novak explained that Steve Carell could make even the most absurd actions believable. For instance, no sane person would burn their foot on a George Foreman grill just to enjoy the scent of bacon in the morning and then expect special treatment at work as if disabled. Yet, when Carell enacts such scenes, it feels authentic. I believe his ability to generate humorous lines stems from his writer’s mind, while his portrayal of a human being comes from his actor’s heart.

The survival of the show was largely due to a string of exceptionally lucky occurrences that had no bearing on its quality. Notably, the release of The 40 Year-Old Virgin in the summer of 2005, featuring Carell and boosting his popularity, and the placement of My Name Is Earl as our lead-in show, which became a massive success. These factors combined to provide us with just enough support to attract an audience over time.

USER Season two was incredibly enjoyable for me because nearly every episode saw the storylines expanding in some way. There were several factors contributing to this. The presence of Carell as a movie star was one factor. Additionally, there were alterations to the characters, which added depth and intrigue. Some fans also attribute the growth to technological advancements – for instance, our Christmas episode included an iPod, and we managed to secure a spot on the [iTunes homepage]. I believe that as word spread about the show and more people tuned in, its popularity grew. By the end of season two, I would say the series had become quite successful.

DEAR READER, It was around this time that iTunes began selling TV shows. The release of the first video iPod with a small screen had occurred, and by Christmas, “The Office” became the most popular downloaded show on the iPod. This discovery likely made NBC question their previous focus on ratings, suggesting there might be an additional source of income to consider.

The ‘Office’ Legacy

In the second season, The Office garnered an Emmy for Best Comedy Series, marking just the beginning of its highly popular and long-lasting run. This sitcom concluded in May 2013 after nine seasons and a total of 202 episodes. The creative minds behind the first season later went on to develop numerous other series. Mindy Kaling is credited for creating The Mindy Project, Never Have I Ever, and Running Point, among others. Schur and Daniels collaborated to create Parks and Recreation, while Schur also created The Good Place, A Man on the Inside, and co-created Brooklyn Nine-Nine, among other projects.

After Daniels stepped down as showrunner for The Office, Lieberstein took over and later served as an executive producer on HBO’s The Newsroom. He also ran AMC’s Lucky Hank, created the film Song of Back and Neck, and starred in it as well. Novak directed, wrote, and starred in the 2022 film Vengeance, developed FX’s The Premise, and has written two best-selling books. Besides Parks and Recreation, Daniels also created Upload and Space Force (the latter in collaboration with Carell), is working on a revival of King of the Hill, and is developing a new mockumentary set in the same universe as The Office, focusing on a struggling newspaper.

Daniels initially ran The Office but then handed it over to Lieberstein. Later, Lieberstein worked on HBO’s The Newsroom, AMC’s Lucky Hank, and directed, starred in the film Song of Back and Neck. Meanwhile, Novak directed, wrote, and starred in Vengeance (2022), created FX’s The Premise, and wrote two best-selling books. Daniels also made Upload, Space Force with Carell, is working on a King of the Hill revival, and developing a new mockumentary similar to The Office about a struggling newspaper.

In 2020, during its swan song on Netflix, my beloved show reached new heights as the most streamed series across America. And since its move to Peacock in 2021, it’s been thriving and continuing to captivate audiences there.

LIEBERSTIN It’s astonishing how timeless The Office seems to be. It continues to resonate and captivate audiences. New viewers are still discovering the show and sharing their experiences with me. Despite its age, it remains relevant to many. I find myself surprised by its lack of datedness. Watching it again for the first time since we filmed it alongside my son, I’m finding it quite intriguing to observe how it has evolved over time.

I never would have thought it possible, and I’m still at a loss for words to fully express it. There are other fantastic series that lack this quality, yet they don’t seem to possess it. For instance, “30 Rock” was hilarious, but it seems to have lost its relevance in the cultural context. They were airing around the same time as us. It’s challenging to articulate why one show remains popular while another fades away.

In the early days of our writing sessions, I often used a notebook to scribble down ideas or thoughts. During story discussions, Greg would sometimes suggest we pause pitching and consider what elements make a compelling story. He’d delve into his insights about the structure of half-hour comedies. It felt like being back in school, but in an inspiring way. I’d jot down his words as if I were in a film class. I still have those notes, and I often revisit them. They continue to hold significance for me, shaping how I approach my work.

NOVAK (on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend) I picked up all my comedy insights from Greg Daniels, working alongside him. He coined phrases like “Don’t consume your seed corn.” This is an agricultural reference – it means you shouldn’t sacrifice a character for a quick laugh at the expense of their future development. In terms of The Office being timeless, once someone brought up a specific year (and the show wasn’t popular then), he suggested we avoid mentioning years so that viewers wouldn’t be jarred if they watched it in reruns. We didn’t even know about Netflix back then. I owe everything to him.

KALING I’ve never attended grad school or a writing program, though it seems I should have. However, spending eight years on The Office was like attending graduate school twice in the areas of comedy writing and acting. Learning from Greg, B.J., Mike, Paul, Gene [Stupnitsky] and Lee [Eisenberg, who both joined the show in season two] was incredibly educational. I believe that for my subsequent shows, they could not be more distinct from The Office in terms of setting, characters, and tone. Yet, the common factor is the rhythm and comedy standard, which comes directly from my training at The Office.

2025-03-24 20:57