The Office (American TV series)

The Office is an American mockumentary sitcom television series based on the 2001–2003 BBC series The Office created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and starring the former. Adapted for NBC by Greg Daniels, the show depicts the everyday work lives of office employees at the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, and aired from March 24, 2005, to May 16, 2013, with a total of nine seasons consisting of 201 episodes.^[1] The show was co-produced by Daniels' Deedle-Dee Productions, Reveille Productions (later Shine America) and 3 Arts Entertainment (although uncredited) in association with Universal Television. The original executive producers were Daniels, Gervais, Merchant, Howard Klein and Ben Silverman, with numerous others being promoted in later seasons.

Like the British original, the series was filmed in a single-camera setup without a studio audience or a laugh track, to mirror the look of an actual documentary. It debuted on NBC as a mid-season replacement and ended its nine-season run on May 16, 2013, with a two-part series finale. Its original main cast was Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and B. J. Novak. It experienced numerous changes to its ensemble cast during its run. Stars outside the original main cast include Ed Helms, Rashida Jones, Amy Ryan, Mindy Kaling, Craig Robinson, James Spader, Ellie Kemper, and Catherine Tate.

The Office received moderately positive reviews from critics (except for the pilot episode which received mixed reviews) during its relatively short first season of 6 episodes, a British television standard, but the following seasons, particularly Carell's performance, received significant acclaim from television critics as the show's characters, content, structure, and tone diverged considerably from the original British series. These seasons were included on several critics' year-end top TV series lists, winning several awards including a Peabody Award in 2006, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award for Carell's performance, and five Primetime Emmy Awards, including one for Outstanding Comedy Series, in 2006. The eighth season was criticized for declining quality, with Carell's departure in season seven seen as a contributing factor. However, the ninth and final season ended the series with a generally positive response. The series finale, which originally aired on May 16, 2013, was viewed by an estimated 5.7 million viewers and garnered critical acclaim.^[2] In 2016, Rolling Stone named The Office one of the 100 greatest television shows of all time.^[3]

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