The Office
Everyone celebrated the end of the Writers Strike last night, as the WGA has apparently won significant concessions from studios and streamers, given that it seems those companies finally realized that they will not have any content without any writers. Imagine that.
We don’t know the exact terms of the deal yet, but we do know that most shows will now resume production, at least on the writing side as the Actors Strike isn’t quite done yet. But things are going to get back to normal. However, on a list of projects that are going to be coming now, as seen on a (paywalled) Puck newsletter written by Matt Belloni, apparently a reboot of The Office is coming.
While the good news is that the original US creator, Greg Daniels, is set to return, the bad news is uh, well, can a reboot of The Office, one of the most beloved comedies ever made, actually be good without tainting the original? And where would it air in 2023? Peacock?
The Office
This is not the first time a reboot of The Office has been discussed. Daniels previously has talked about a reboot set in the Office “universe” but not starring the same cast. While I do believe it would not be impossible to assemble most of the core crew again (actors like John Krasinski and Mindy Kaling said they’d go back under the right circumstances), it’s not clear that would be the best idea. And I would wonder about someone like Steve Carrell, who wanted to leave well before the series ended (and I think everyone can agree that marked a pretty significant turning point for the show, and not in a great direction).
I do think an Office reboot should probably just consist of a new cast and probably a new company that isn’t just a different Dunder Mifflin branch or something. However, if you did want old cast members as at least guest stars, maybe you couldn’t leave the company after all. But a reboot with new faces feels like a way to bridge the gap between The Office: [insert city] and not necessarily tainting the old show if the old cast returns with possibly lackluster seasons. I’m reminded of when Netflix revived Arrested Development, one of the greatest comedies in history with almost all the same cast members, but the magic was just…gone. I wouldn’t want that to happen to The Office.
I can’t say I’m terribly shocked this might happen in the current IP-driven entertainment climate, but there’s probably a very fine line they could walk to make this project work. And I don’t think it involves bringing everyone back to squeeze out more seasons of the original.
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