The Ultimate 'The Office' Quiz

"The Office" TV Series Summary

• "The Office" is an American mockumentary sitcom TV series that aired on NBC from 2005 to 2013, spanning nine seasons.

• It was based on the 2001-2003 BBC series of the same name, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and adapted for American television by Greg Daniels.

• The series depicts the everyday work lives of office employees at the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.

• The show was filmed in a single-camera setup to simulate the look of an actual documentary, without a studio audience or a laugh track.

• The original cast included Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and B. J. Novak, with numerous changes to its ensemble cast during its run.

• The series received mixed reviews during its first season but gained significant acclaim from television critics in the following seasons.

• The show won several awards, including a Peabody Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award for Carell's performance, and four Primetime Emmy Awards.

• The series finale was viewed by an estimated 5.7 million viewers and garnered critical acclaim.

• The show's production crew included Greg Daniels, Paul Lieberstein, Jennifer Celotta, and cast members B. J. Novak and Mindy Kaling.

• The show's writers conducted research in offices before the second episode was aired, and the scripts tended to run too long for the regular 22-minute time slot.

• The show's cast included Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and B. J. Novak, among others.

• The show was filmed with a single-camera setup in cinéma vérité style to create the look of an actual documentary, with no studio audience or laugh track.

• The theme song for the show was chosen by producer Greg Daniels, who had several tracks to choose from."The Office" TV Show Summary

• The show's theme song is an original track written by Jay Ferguson and performed by The Scrantones.

• The show's format is a mockumentary with no laugh track, and most of the music is diegetic, but songs have been played during montages or closing credits.

• The show has an ensemble cast, with Steve Carell starring as Michael Scott, Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute, John Krasinski as Jim Halpert, Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesly, and B. J. Novak as Ryan Howard, among others.

• The show's characters are based on the original British series but have been redesigned to fit the American show better.

• The show's large ensemble was praised by critics and led to the series winning two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

• The show's first season consists of six episodes, introducing Dunder Mifflin's employees via a tour given by branch manager Michael Scott.

• The second season is the series' first 22-episode season, with many workers seen in the background of the first season developed into secondary characters and romantic relationships begin to develop.

• The third season consists of 17 half-hour episodes, four 40-minute "super-sized" episodes, and two one-hour episodes, with Jim transferring to Dunder Mifflin's Stamford branch after Pam confirms her commitment to Roy.

• NBC ordered a fourth full season of thirty half-hour episodes but ended with only 19 due to a halt in production caused by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.

• The fifth season consists of 28 half-hours of material, with Jim proposing to Pam at a gas station midway between Scranton and New York City, and newly hired Vice President Charles Miner implementing a rigid managerial style over the branch that causes Michael to resign in protest.

• The sixth season consists of 26 half-hours of material, with Jim and Pam marrying and the chaos of the Michael Scott Paper Company threatening Dunder Mifflin's profits.

• The show's actors and actresses were paid varying amounts, with Carell reportedly paid $175,000 per episode starting in the third season and Krasinski and Fischer paid around $20,000 at the beginning of the series, and around $100,000 per episode by the fourth season.Summary Title: The Office (US) Season 7-9

Season 7:

• Consists of 26 half-hours of material, divided into 21 half-hour episodes, one "super-sized" episode, and two hour-long episodes.
• Andy and Erin develop an interest in each other, and Jim is promoted as co-manager.
• Rumors of bankruptcy begin to surround Dunder Mifflin, and by Christmas, Wallace announces to the branch that Dunder Mifflin has accepted a buyout from Sabre Corporation.
• Michael Scott is now the highest-level employee at Dunder Mifflin.
• In the season finale, Dwight buys the office park.

Season 8:

• Consists of 24 episodes.
• James Spader joins the cast as Robert California, the new CEO of Dunder Mifflin/Sabre.
• Andy is promoted to regional manager and works hard to make a good impression on Robert.
• Pam and Jim are expecting their second child.
• Angela is also pregnant with her first son.
• Dwight is tasked with traveling to Tallahassee, Florida, to assist Sabre special projects manager Nellie Bertram in launching a chain of retail stores.
• Andy goes to Florida to win back Erin, allowing Nellie to claim the manager position as her own.

Season 9:

• Consists of 25 episodes.
• Andy reverts to his arrogant earlier season personality, abandoning both Erin and the office to travel around the Caribbean with his brother in their sailboat after his parents' relationship's demise.
• In his absence, Erin strikes up a romance with new customer service rep Pete.
• Jim receives an exciting opportunity from an old college friend who offers him a job at Athlead, a Philadelphia sports marketing company.
• Darryl also jumps on board, but the distance and dedication to Athlead hurt Jim's relationship with Pam.
• Angela must deal with her husband's infidelity with Oscar.
• Dwight receives more good news when David Wallace handpicks him to be the new manager after Andy quits to pursue an acting career.
• In the series finale, the employees reunite for Dwight and Angela's wedding, for which Michael returns to serve as the best man.

Product Placement:

• The Office has had product placement deals with Staples and Olympic balers, as well as mentioning in dialogue or displaying clear logos for products such as Sandals Resorts, HP, Apple, and Gateway computers, and Activision's Call of Duty video game series.
• Many products featured are not part of product placement agreements, but rather inserted by writers as products the characters would use to create realism under the guise of a documentary.

Reception and Legacy:

• The first season of The Office was met with a mixed response from critics, but the second season was better received.

• The show has been included on several top TV series lists.

• The last few seasons were criticized for a dip in quality, but there are later-series episodes that have received critical acclaim.

• The series received 42 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, with five wins.The Office: A Summary

• The Office premiered in 2005 and brought in 11.2 million viewers in the US, but lost almost half its audience when it was moved to a Tuesday night slot.

• The show was helped by Steve Carell's hit movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and online sales of episodes at iTunes.

• By the 2005-06 season, The Office placed #67 and was up 80% in viewers from the year before, and up 60% in viewers ages 18-49.

• The highest rated episode of the series was "Stress Relief," which was watched by 22.9 million viewers.

• The city of Scranton, where the show was set, embraced it, and Scranton has become identified with the show outside the US as well.

• The inaugural The Office convention was held in October 2007, with cast appearances made by many of the show's stars.

• The show has been referenced in politics, with Republican presidential candidate John McCain jokingly suggesting Dwight Schrute as his running mate.

• The show has resulted in expansion outside of television, with characters appearing in promotional materials for NBC, and a licensed video game.

• Several members of the cast maintained blogs on MySpace, and Rainn Wilson wrote in character as Dwight for the "Schrute Space" blog on NBC.com.

• Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey announced their podcast called Office Ladies which premiered on October 16, 2019, on Earwolf.

• A spin-off to the series was proposed in 2008, with a pilot episode expected to debut as the Super Bowl lead-out program in 2009, but instead, Parks and Recreation was developed as a separate series.

• In July 2020, Leslie David Baker launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of a pilot for Uncle Stan, a proposed spin-off focusing on a now-engaged Stanley Hudson.

• In September 2019, with the announcement of NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock, Bonnie Hammer stated that it is her "hope and goal that we do an Office reboot".