The Office (US Series)

The Office
main cast of NBC's 'The Office'
Genre	Comedy (sitcom)
Running time	22 mins.
Creator(s)	Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant & Greg Daniels
Writer(s)	Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant & Greg Daniels
Starring	Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson
Country	USA
Network	NBC
Original runs	24 March 2005 – Ongoing
No. of episodes	52 (as of season 3)
	IMDB Profile

The Office is an Emmy Award and Peabody Award-winning American television comedy on NBC about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company. Although fictional and scripted, theshow takes the form of a documentary, with the presence of the camera often acknowledged. Based on the British series of the same name, it was adapted for U.S. audiences by producer Greg Daniels. Original series creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have production credits on the show, and wrote an episode for the show's third season.

Cast and Characters

Main Cast

• Michael Scott ... Steve Carell
• Dwight Schrute ... Rainn Wilson
• Jim Halpert ... John Krasinski
• Pam Beesly ... Jenna Fischer

Minor Cast

• Ryan Howard ... B.J. Novak
• Angela Martin ... Angela Kinsey
• Oscar Martinez ... Oscar Nuñez
• Kevin Malone ... Brian Baumgartner
• Stanley Hudson ... Leslie David Baker
• Phyllis Lapin ... Phyllis Smith
• Andy Bernard ... Ed Helms
• Karen Filippelli ... Rashida Jones
• Creed Bratton ... Creed Bratton
• Kelly Kapoor ... Mindy Kaling
• Meredith Palmer ... Kate Flannery
• Toby Flenderson ... Paul Lieberstein
• Jan Levinson-Gould ... Melora Hardin
• Roy Anderson ... David Denman
• Darryl Philbin ... Craig Robinson

Season Synopses

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Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

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Season One

The series begins by introducing the office and its main characters via Michael's tour for both the camera crew and Ryan, who is hired as a temp and working his first day. News soon spreads that Dunder-Mifflin's corporate headquarters plan to downsize, and the Scranton branch faces a possible closure. Anxiety over downsizing grows, but Michael chooses to deny or downplay such a possibility in the interest of employee morale.

In the final episode of the season, Jim begins dating Katy, a purse saleswoman who visited and set up shop briefly in the office, to Pam's subtle concern.

Season Two

While Jim continues to see Katy on and off, his friendship with Pam remains largely unchanged; they continue in their pranks, and days of spontaneous activities. Pam and Roy finally announce a wedding date, and Jim reacts by breaking up with Katy. He then reveals his feelings for Pam to Michael, who in turn spills the secret to the other employees upon return to the office. Jim acknowledges the rumor to Pam, playing it as a past crush, though she then hears differently from a guilty Michael.

Michael kisses his boss Jan Levinson, while Dwight and Angela's secret relationship is confirmed and Ryan and Kelly also begin to date.

Jim plans a vacation to Australia during Pam's wedding date, and unknown to his Scranton co-workers, applies for a vacant sales position at Dunder-Mifflin Stamford. Before he leaves, he reveals his love to Pam, and though she at first turns him down, he kisses her minutes later.

Season Three

Jim accepted Pam's intentions to marry Roy and transferred to the Stamford branch. There, he begins dating co-worker Karen and also finds himself at odds with temperamental co-worker Andy. During the summer, Pam called off the wedding, ending her relationship with Roy.

A merger of the dissolved Stamford branch with the Scranton branch brings Jim back to Scranton along with co-workers Karen and Andy. Jim returns to inconsistent friendship with Pam, not as close as they used to be.

Michael begins dating Jan but finds himself increasingly uncomfortable with her aggressive and unemotional approach to their sex life, and he breaks up with her, only to get back together with her at the end of the season.

A position opens at Dunder-Mifflin headquarters, and Michael, Jim and Karen all apply. During Jim's interview, he finds an encouraging note and memento from Pam slipped in with his other papers. Jim drives back to Scranton and asks Pam on a date. She accepts. As a final twist, the job goes to Ryan.

Awards

The series has won numerous awards in its tenure and continues to be nominated. Awards of note include the 2006 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series in a Musical or Comedy going to Steve Carell and the 2006 Emmy for Best Comedy Series. Beyond this, the show has won various other awards including from the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild and has been nominated in other categories for Golden Globes and Emmys.

Trivia

• A Union Jack on Michael's desk and Dunder-Mifflin's address at 1725 Slough Avenue reference the original British version.

Ricky and Steve's Involvement

Ricky and Steve have had a light involvement with the production of the American version of the Office since its inception in 2005. Early hints at the creation of the US version can be found in Xfm shows, where Ricky and Steve noted their absence in an episode was due to going to Los Angeles to meet with producers. In other Xfm episodes they japed that selling the Office was "money for old rope". After the series launched, both commented in interviews that they were happy with the result and took a hands off approach to the production. Eventually, Ricky and Steve wrote an episode for the series, which aired in season 3 and was called "The Convict". The pair also were found in the audience during the 2006 Emmy win for Best Comedy Series, where they received a round of applause after being thanked for the award by the cast and crew an stage.