5 Reasons an ‘Office’ Reboot Is a Terrible Idea
Report suggests classic sitcom is latest series headed for a makeover
Dunder Mifflin might be back in business.
A reporter from Puck News revealed NBC is planning a reboot of one of TV’s greatest sitcoms.
“The Office,” spun from the British comedy of the same name, is reportedly prepping a comeback of sorts The original series following the travails of Scranton, Pa.’s signature paper company ran for nine seasons. The last two soldiered on without Steve Carell’s Michael Scott.
This isn’t the first attempt at an “Office” spinoff. A show built around Rainn Wilson’s Dwight Schrute, dubbed “The Farm,” never materialized. Nor did a sitcom featuring Leslie David Baker’s crusty Stanley Hudson, despite a crowdfunding effort for the cause.
We have no details about the “Office” reboot, which leaves plenty of questions. The most important one is obvious:
Why?
Why attempt to recreate an iconic series in the first place?
Yes, it’s been done before with “Mad About You,” “Roseanne” and “Will & Grace,” but the results have been mixed to poor. “Roseanne” fared the best until ABC fired star Roseanne Barr for one racially noxious Tweet.
“Mad About You” got ignored by the public and faded after a single “comeback’ season.
“Will & Grace” found brief commercial success, but the show’s creative team weaponized the storylines for political purposes and viewers eventually fled.
The upcoming “Frasier” reboot on Paramount+ hopes to revive the wit and style of Kelsey Grammar’s classic sitcom, a very tall task.
A new “Office” sounds like the worst idea of the bunch.
Where’s Michael?
“The Office” carried on for two seasons without Carell’s over-the-top boss, but it just wasn’t the same. Carell’s performance on the show evoked memories of Archie Bunker, another deeply flawed character we couldn’t help but love. His manic energy and need to be in the lives of every “Office” mate powered the show and gave it purpose.
Carell embarked on a dramatic acting spree following his “Office” exit (“Beautiful Boy,” “Last Flag Flying”), and he snagged an Oscar nomination for 2015’s “Foxcatcher.” He still makes us laugh, now and then, but at 61 he’s more intrigued by voice-over work and dramatic roles (“The Morning Show”).
Can They Still Be Funny in Woke America?
Two “Office” alum have looked back at the series and noted the jokes couldn’t be told again today. That’s not cultural progress. That’s woke on steroids, one reason modern comedy is more predictable and less hilarious today.
Co-star and writer Mindy Kaling went so far as to say she might not even show the series to her children one day. Carell noted a character as ignorant as Michael Scott wouldn’t fly in the current climate. Revisit “Diversity Day” from Season 1 and you’ll know what he means.
Yet that’s partly why we still love “The Office” reruns. They don’t make ’em like that anymore, and we miss unfiltered comedy.
Will the Old Gang Return?
“Office” alum John Krasinski found post-show fame as both a director (“A Quiet Place”) and action hero (Prime Video’s “Jack Ryan”). Would he be interested in playing Jim Halpert again? It’s doubtful.
Other stars have kept the “Office” light on via podcasting, including “Office Ladies” duo Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey and Brian Baumgartner.
Who knows if Creed Bratton, who once played with The Grass Roots in the 1960s, would grace the reboot with his mercurial presence?
The old show successfully integrated new characters into the mix over time, including Ed Helms and Ellie Kemper. Can new blood make the reboot a worthy decision?
Who Still Works in an Office?
The 2020 pandemic forced many working Americans home, and plenty decided to stay there in perpetuity. Many office types now toil at least part-time from their homes or coffee shops, changing the workplace dynamic forever.
The work culture parodied on the NBC staff is no more. Any new “Office” must incorporate that into the equation. Working five days a week with the same people creates friendships and friction, while at-home work yields a different set of circumstances.
The latter sounds far less uproarious, no?
Legacies Matter
“Jaws” will forever be known as the greatest shark movie of all time, but three increasingly bad sequels cling to its legacy like a barnacle. The same holds true for “Caddyshack,” a classic comedy known for inspiring one of the worst sequels of all time.
Sequels, prequels and reboots occasionally enhance a property’s reputation – think “Battlestar Galactica 2.0” and the 2011 “The Muppets” project.
Much more often than not, they stain the material in question, forever reducing them in the public’s eye.
The blandishments and attractions of Hollywood are so enormous (think: money, fame, sex, drugs, more money, influence) that its allure is generally irresistible. It attracts everyone, but not everyone has creativity, talent and ability, so among the attracted are large numbers of pretenders, including those whose talent is merely imitation and/or lying. Similar to the academic world’s demand to “publish or perish,” the demand for content — some way to get clicks or sell tickets — is insatiable. Something is always better than nothing, so sequels, prequels and remakes are how you get your job done, and how you continue to pretend you are creative and how you continue to get the money, fame, sex, etc. It has always been at play in Hollywood. A hundred years ago Hollywood began to mine the properties and talent pools of vaudeville or Broadway; nearly all of the early stars began as stage performers. Paying a Barrymore to come to Hollywood was expensive, however, so the studios began to create talent refineries where they controlled inputs and processes, kept stars on a short leash with long contracts, promoted and rewarded the compliant ones and obscured the renegades. And even before 1920’s Hollywood did it, Shakespeare was not above resetting ancient tales, retelling old stories in new ways. What is new is our ability to experience the first Hollywood version exactly as it was, and to compare it to the remake. And so poor Hollywood remakes over and over while its technology lets us see that they are often worse and worse each time, until no one will watch.
Oh! I know! Duane can jump over a shark, while waterskiing!! Wouldn’t that be funny??
A lot of companies are finally starting to force people to come back to the office or quit. Companies realized most people barely work when remote. The covid “free ride” is coming to an end and lazy workers will have to shape up or go back to busing tables.
Also productivity issues, I spent 30 minutes email back and forth with an engineer when it could have been solved in 5 minutes if he was in the office.
My fingers are crossed that you’re correct. The other issue is that so many people have been sheltered by working at home that many have forgotten how to interact with other people in face-to-face situations. Unfortunately, most of those are ones who were raised with a cell phone in their hand 24/7.
Rosanne’s tweet wasn’t noxious. Not even slightly.
Compare her one mildy amusing tweet to the thousands of leftist atom bombs over the years that yield no consequences.
IF YOU SEE THE PLANET OF THE APES MOVIE WITH Walhberg in it the female ape character looks just like V. Jarrett. Barr hit that right on the nose.
As a remote office worker, The Office doesn’t exist, but there’s many jobs where they either work in retail or deliver where there’s human interaction post-pandemic.
1. The Pharmacy.
2. The Restaurant.
3. The Customer Service Desk.
4. DeliveryDash.
5. The Supermarket.
6. Driver.