That Office spin-off is officially coming to Peacock
The Office spin-off has officially been greenlit with Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore as its stars
Aux News The Office
On television, what’s died never stays dead. We’ve done this reboot dance before, we’ll do it again—but in truth, few TV reboot/spin-off/continuations are as high profile as The Office. There’s been buzz about this potential new series for months, and with Greg Daniels behind the wheel, it does actually have the potential to be good. Of course, the show has landed at Peacock, which is not exactly prime streaming real estate. It seems a shame, given that The Office was (after a rocky start) a 21st-century network television success story. But Peacock’s whole thing is being the #1 destination for Real Housewives and The Office, so ultimately, it makes sense.
On Wednesday, Peacock officially announced the greenlight for the new Office series, which is co-created by Daniels (who originally developed the American version of the show) and Michael Koman (Nathan For You). Last month, Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Sabrina Impacciatore (The White Lotus) were revealed to be starring in the new series. Being Irish and Italian actors, respectively, we speculated that the new version might be more international. However, according to the first details we’ve got, the show remains decidedly American. Per a Peacock synopsis, “The documentary crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch is in search of a new subject when they discover a dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters.”
“It’s been more than ten years since the final episode of The Office aired on NBC, and the acclaimed comedy series continues to gain popularity and build new generations of fans on Peacock,” said Lisa Katz (President of NBCUniversal Entertainment) in a statement. “In partnership with Universal Television and led by the creative team of Greg Daniels and Michael Koman, this new series set in the universe of Dunder Mifflin introduces a new cast of characters in a fresh setting ripe for comedic storytelling: a daily newspaper.”
Roping the Dunder Mifflin documentary crew back into the mix is a clever, unobtrusive way to connect this series to the old one—until the final season of The Office, the “documentary crew” was essentially invisible. The fact that it’s “set in the universe of Dunder Mifflin” leaves the door open for interaction with the classic characters (or even Ricky Gervais’ David Brent from The Office U.K.). But it seems unlikely that any of them would show up to the newspaper office, unless the old guys came to sell the new guys paper. At the end of the day, this seems like this is just a different workplace mockumentary sitcom with Office branding slapped on top.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, given Daniels’ comedy pedigree. The Office satirized the drudgery of everyday capitalism in an office setting. The flailing midwestern daily newspaper is potentially even more ripe for social commentary about the state of media, the evolution of the industry, and the role of news in local communities. Regarding the latter point specifically, this show perhaps bears more resemblance to another Daniels sitcom, Parks And Recreation, than The Office. But we’ll find out soon enough: the new Office goes into production in July, after which it will hit screens everywhere (as long as you have Peacock).
36 Comments
CUE: Blah blah blah … British version so much funnier …. blah blah blah … American version sucked … blah blah blah.
It seems like a smart move to make it a newpaper. It’ll give them the opportunity to interact with people in the community, outside of the office. I think this was one of the reasons Parks and Rec was so good, because it didn’t spend so much time in the office.
Parks and Rec was also smart not to tie in with “The Office” universe. Then again, that didn’t translate to it being a huge ratings hit.
even being the office didn’t really ever translate into a huge ratings hit.
2011 hot takes coming in!People who think every mockumentary-style show ever made is “being the office” are putting out real Ryan Howard vibes.
I think the original plan was that Pawnee’s office gets a broken copier sent from Dunder Mifflin, which would have been okay enough to tie them together without requiring any kind of crossover.
Parks and Rec also had a terrible first season, which probably limited how big the ratings could get.I’d heard it got good in season 2 and figured I could power through a mere 6 episodes to get to there. I managed 2 or 3 before giving up. Fortunately, I skipped ahead, but I imagine a lot of people would’ve just quit.
Also it allows them to tie in paper sales, so opportunities to bring in characters from the Dunder-Mifflin office.
The new show is just 22 minutes of Gleeson and Impacciatore scowling at each other and growling, respectively, “Italian…” “Irish…”
Because The Office has gotten so enormously popular with younger viewers who’ve discovered it on streaming years later, I feel like people forget just how irrelevant the show had become when the last two seasons were on the air.I worry a reboot is going to be closer in quality to those latter years than the early seasons, which is all that people remember. It’s going to be really hard to recapture the magic of the first five seasons.
i mean, ten million years ago i resented the idea of an american office remake and i was ultimately wrong. may as well embrace change and hope for the best.
and the first season of that still sucks so i’m even gonna extend this olive branch into season 2 of the remakequel
Season 1 doesn’t suck. Its certainly better than seasons 6-9.
Damn. Guess I’m really gonna pay for Peacock just to see Sabrina Impacciatore. Loved her in White Lotus season 2.
Yeah, i’m glad to see her get more work and get more exposure to American audiences. She was great.
Intrigued by the casting of Domhnall
I just want to hear Sabrina Impacciatore’s Wisconsin accent.
Can we finally find out who the Scranton Strangler was?
Peacock’s whole thing is being the #1 destination for Real Housewives and The OfficeThe Olympics would like a word.https://www.peacocktv.com/blog/2024-olympics-events-to-stream-live-on-peacock
Those Ricky Steamboat documentaries and MSG matches from 1982 on the WWE portion of Peacock won’t watch themselves!
Its hard to imagine people en masse still caring about the olympics.
Gleason seems to be fading into some sort of orange mauve.
WTF Peacock, LOL!
Damn I have to say, the newspaper is a brilliant idea.
The concept of the same documentary crew that followed Dunder Mifflin (unlike, say Abbott Elemetary’s documentary crew) isn’t a particularly strong connection. It’s like 704 Hauser, where the only thing that carried over from All in the Family was the house. It’s these execs less willing to take a chance on original material that brought us here.
Doesn’t less of a connection mean they’re taking more of a chance on original material? They’re just hedging their bets with the Office branding.
You can’t make anything unless it’s loosely attached to an existing IP. Which is why my script for the erotic thriller Caroline in the City: NYC Nights is already greenlit.
It’s really going to come down to casting and writing. Carell was the only real name in the US office and otherwise it was all about chemistry and their improv and/or writing chops. That they seem to be taking a different approach to the casting this time has me a bit worried.
I’m not opposed to an Office reboot and in fact would be inclined to check it out. However, Peacock sucks so I will probably not be watching it at all. Oh well.
I give it two seasons max.
What’s up my balogna? Very proud, like pea CORKS baby!
I think we got it.
“At the end of the day, this seems like this is just a different workplace mockumentary sitcom with Office branding slapped on top.”That’s the troublesome part. I mean, it’s smart to capitalize on The Office name, I suppose. Without being under The Office umbrella, it’s just a show about a newspaper, right? Seems disingenuous if not downright cheating. Being in the same universe as Dunder Miflin and being IN Dunder Miflin are very different things. That just means we’ll get name drops and it’s supposed to make the show good.
set in the universe of Dunder MifflinExpanded Dunder Mifflin Universe!Leaves that door open for stunt-cameo episodes.Fun Fact: Universal Studios Theme Parks sends out occasional surveys to theme-park enthusiasts (like me!) inquiring about any interest in possible theme park attractions related to THE OFFICE.