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1* ActorInspiredElement:
2** Creator/SteveCarell conceived a lot of Michael Scott's character arc, including Michael getting into a relationship with Jan Levinson, and his finally completing and screening ''Threat Level Midnight''.
3** Creator/EllieKemper said that she auditioned with a sarcastic [[StraightMan straight woman]] more in line with [[WorldOfSnark the rest of the cast]], and then the the writers rewrote Erin to be perky and optimistic, in what Kemper recognized as an exaggerated version of herself.
4** Dwight's whole UsefulNotes/{{Amish}} background was based on the "Dwide Schrood" monologue, which Creator/RainnWilson originally improvised in a deleted scene for the pilot, before it was written into the script of "Drug Testing".
5* ActorSharedBackground:
6** Pam brags to Jim that she types 90 words per minute. Creator/JennaFischer's typing really is that fast, and she worked as a receptionist.
7** Several other cast members had backgrounds doing office jobs before they were on the show. Angela Kinsey worked for 1-800-Dentist. Leslie David Baker had a long career working for several government agencies in Chicago before he became a full-time actor. Paul Lieberstein was an auditor at Peat Marwick.
8** Creator/AngelaKinsey based a lot of Angela Martin's interests- such as cats, bobble head dolls, party planning and Baby Ruth candy bars- on things she enjoys in real life.
9** Michael's love of improv is a running theme throughout his run on the show. Steve Carell got his start as a member of Creator/TheSecondCity improv troupe (and still enjoys improv to this day.
10* AdoredByTheNetwork: Creator/ComedyCentral '''adores''' airing reruns of the series after gaining the cable rights to the series in 2018, to the point where this and ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' make up most of their daily weekday schedule.
11** The same can also be said for Creator/{{Freeform}} after they also obtained the rights in 2022. It's gotten to the point where their nightly weekday movie screenings had to be pushed '''ahead''' to the afternoon. And all because reruns were taking up the evening schedule. Chances are if they aren't airing ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', an original series, or a movie[[note]]Commonly movies from parent company Creator/{{Disney}}.[[/note]], it's almost guaranteed that you'll be seeing Office reruns.
12* ApprovalOfGod:
13** [[Series/{{Survivorman}} Les Stroud]] loved "Survivor Man" from the fourth season and how it lampooned both himself and those hapless people who get in trouble while trying to emulate him.
14** Ricky Gervais has praised the U.S. series numerous times, and not just because Steve Carell made him rich.
15* BillingDisplacement:
16** B.J. Novak as Ryan - He's in the opening titles and is on the front of the DVD packaging, but increasingly decreased in prominence as the show went on. This was largely due to the increasing role he played behind the scenes of the show. This even gets a LeaningOnTheFourthWall nod in the full-length ''Threat Level Midnight'' movie (which Novak wrote): Ryan Howard gets an [[AndStarring "And Introducing..."]] credit, but only has one line in the movie.
17** Ed Helms' Andy as of season 8. Thanks to ''Film/TheHangover'' movies Helms was the biggest "name" on the show post-Carell, and his character became the office manager, but (perhaps for contractual reasons) he's still billed behind Creator/RainnWilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer and Novak. Even newcomer James Spader, whose role is only a recurring one, bests him with an AndStarring credit.
18* BreakupBreakout: Creator/SteveCarell has so strongly eclipsed the rest of the cast that he has been firmly established as the show's breakout. This played a large part in his decision to leave the show to focus on his film career.
19* CaliforniaDoubling: Various locations in and around UsefulNotes/LosAngeles (mainly in the San Fernando Valley) spent nine years playing the role of Scranton, Pennsylvania ([[http://www.iamnotastalker.com/category/tv-locations/the-office-tv-locations/ this blog explains it in detail]]). The interior scenes do a good job of hiding this, but when they go outside it can be really obvious.
20** In "Goodbye, Michael," Deangelo and Andy are seen driving down a typical Southern California boulevard and California-style street signs are clearly visible.
21** In "Fun Run" and other episodes throughout the show's run, ''palm trees'' and the surrounding mountains can be seen in the background.
22** A big giveaway is any exterior scene set in the winter. There's fake snow on the ground and everyone's wearing coats, but it's always sunny, you can't see anyone's breath when they talk, the grass is green, and trees in the background still have leaves.
23* CastFullOfWriters: Several of the actors (Ryan, Kelly, Toby) also write for the show.
24* CastTheExpert: Creator/AndyBuckley, who plays former-CFO David Wallace, is a RealLife stockbroker.
25* CastTheRunnerUp:
26** NBC wanted Creator/JohnKrasinski to audition for Dwight, but Krasinski told them he felt he would be a better fit for Jim and they obliged.
27** Angela Kinsey originally auditioned for Pam. The creators felt she was too feisty for that part, but that it made her perfect for the role that became Angela Martin.
28** Kate Flannery initially auditioned to play Jan Levinson but wound up as Meredith.
29** Brian Baumgartner read for Stanley before getting chosen as Kevin.
30** Creator/EdHelms auditioned for Jim when the show was in development. While he lost out, he made a good enough impression that Greg Daniels approached him before season three for the role of Andy.
31** Creator/RainnWilson (Dwight Schrute) and Creator/DavidKoechner (Todd Packer) both auditioned for Michael Scott. Wilson has admitted that his Michael audition amounted to a bad Creator/RickyGervais impression and he was more interested in playing Dwight anyway.
32** Creator/BobOdenkirk also auditioned for Michael, and in Season 9 he guest stars as what is essentially a Michael Scott Expy when Pam applies for a job at a real estate agency in Philadelphia. Odenkirk actually had the role in the initial cast list submitted to the network, since first choice Carell was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts with ''Come To Papa'', the sitcom he was co-starring in at the time. When the series was cancelled, Carell's schedule cleared up and he was able to commit to the show.
33** In a cross-show example, Ellie Kemper had auditioned for a role on ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'', and while she didn't get a part in that, she did get called over to play Erin.
34** Creator/MichaelWeston and [[Series/TheJoeSchmoShow Lance Krall]] auditioned for Jim Halpert, they'd eventually go on to portray Roger and Sensei Ira in "Moving On" and "The Fight" respectively.
35* TheCastShowoff:
36** Creator/EdHelms is constantly singing and playing musical instruments, which is a major character trait of Andy, one that the other characters find obnoxious.
37** Averted with Creed, despite his Grass Roots pedigree he almost never participates in the many musical interludes the cast indulges in. He did get to perform two of his own songs during the show's run: "Spinnin' n' Reelin'" in "A Benihana Christmas" and "All the Faces" in the finale.
38** Craig Robinson gets to show off his keyboarding and singing skills in a few episodes. He was a music teacher before he went into comedy, and included musical bits in some of his standup routines.
39** The writers set most of "Michael's Birthday" and Michael's movie Threat Level Midnight at an ice rink specifically so they could showcase Steve Carell's expert skating and hockey skills.
40* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: The text on the back of the French DVD set with seasons 1 and 2 refers to Pam as "the newly hired receptionist". During Pam's ''very first scene'' in the pilot, Michael makes it known she's been working at Dunder Mifflin for at least two years.
41* CreatorBacklash:
42** Creator/MichaelSchur claimed on ''The Office Deep Dive'' that he utterly ''hated'' playing Mose, never thought the character was funny, and only kept being added into episodes by other writers who wanted to torment him.
43** While still proud of her work on the show overall, Creator/JennaFischer has become increasingly more vocal over the years (especially in the ''Office Ladies'' podcast) about how certain storylines, personality traits, and choices Pam made throughout the series made her UnintentionallyUnsympathetic.
44* TheDanza:
45** Phyllis, Angela, Oscar, Devon, and Clark are straight examples.
46** Creed Bratton may be a Danza, but lives in AsHimself and AdamWesting territory.
47** Vance Refrigerations owner Bob Vance (Creator/RobertRShafer) plays it straight, while his deliverymen Gino and Leo, portrayed respectively by writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, are a subversion: in addition to an "o" at the end of their names, they are named after each other instead of themselves.
48** "Finale" had a bunch of one-off examples, like Creator/RachaelHarris as Angela's sister Rachael, and new Dunder Mifflin employees Dakota (Creator/DakotaJohnson) and Malcolm (Creator/MalcolmBarrett).
49** Also InUniverse: Michael Scott as Michael Scarn.
50* DawsonCasting:
51** Erin is in her early twenties despite Creator/EllieKemper being almost 30 when she first appeared on the show.
52** Jenna Fisher was approximately 5 years older than Pam was intended to be, and 6 years older than John (Jim Halpert) Krasinski, who was himself about 2-3 years younger than Jim was intended to be.
53** Ryan Howard is treated as sort of the ‘kid’ since he’s hired as a temp in the first episode, but B.J. Novak is a few months older than John Krasinski, who plays the more experienced Jim (the two went to high school together, in fact).
54** Shira Scott Astrof, who plays Andy Bernard's underage high-school student girlfriend in "Product Recall," was in fact 27 at the time of filming, two years older than John (Jim) Krasinski.
55* {{Defictionalization}}:
56** Famous props in the show like Dwight's bobble-head of himself and Michael's "World's best boss" coffee mug have been made into merchandise that fans can buy.
57** In "Business Ethics" Michael mentions viewing a Website/YouTube video called "[[Series/SesameStreet Cookie Monster]] sings [[Music/TayZonday Chocolate Rain]]". You'd think a video like that would have already existed on [=YouTube=] but it didn't. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJsJ5dW7jHo A video]] was created by a fan after the episode aired.
58** Staples now sells real Dunder Mifflin paper.
59** For a while, Serenity by Jan candles were available on the NBC website. Some scents available included Campfire, Hunter Green, and Clean Jeans.
60** In "The Chump", there's a joke about a Music/BillyJoel VideoGame/{{Rockband}} game. While a Billy Joel ''Rockband'' game in the vein of ''Music/TheBeatles: Rockband'' (or for that matter, a ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' game in the same vein) has yet to materialize, ''Rockband 3'' featured 10 of Billy Joel's songs as DownloadableContent, released roughly three months ''after'' the joke.
61** Dwight's Second Life character was actually part of the real game for awhile- he was even given the honor of announcing the birth of Angela Kinsey's daughter Isabel.
62* DeletedScene: Each episode's production block produced about double the footage necessary so a lot was cut from the broadcast versions. Unlike many other series however, the deleted scenes are considered canonical.
63* DevelopmentGag: Charles Miner said he used to work for Saticoy Steel. ''The Office'' was filmed at Chandler Valley Center Studios, located on Saticoy Street in the San Fernando Valley.
64* DirectedByCastMember:
65** Creator/PaulLieberstein, 7 episodes ("Money", "Two Weeks", "Gossip", "Whistleblower", "Sex Ed", "Training Day", "The Incentive")
66** B.J. Novak, 5 episodes ("Scott's Tots", "The Seminar", "The List", "Trivia", "Free Family Portrait Studio")
67** Steve Carell, 3 episodes ("Broke", "Secretary's Day", "Garage Sale")
68** John Krasinski, 3 episodes ("Sabre", "Lotto", "The Boat")
69** Creator/RainnWilson, 3 episodes ("The Cover Up", "Classy Christmas", "Get the Girl")
70** Mindy Kaling, 2 episodes ("Body Language", "Michael's Last Dundies")
71** Ed Helms, 2 episodes ("Christmas Wishes", "Welcome Party")
72** Creator/BrianBaumgartner, 1 episode ("After Hours")
73** Lieberstein was also the showrunner during Seasons 5-8, and many additional episodes have been {{written by cast member}}s.
74* DVDBonusContent: A crapload of canonical, extra features, and webisodes can be found online at NBC's [[http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/video/categories/deleted-scenes/28287/ Office website]], as well as its ''Office'' site on NBC's streaming service Peacock. Perhaps the most notable of these involves Michael accidentally uncovering Stanley's PornStash of {{hentai}} illustrations, which the latter responds to in an interview cutaway by claiming ItsNotPornItsArt; once publicized, this deleted scene became subject to heavy enough MemeticMutation to escape the confines of the show's fanbase for [[TheInternetIsForPorn fairly obvious reasons]]. In addition, [[HilariousOuttakes blooper reels]] for every season can be found on both the [=DVDs=] and [=YouTube=].
75* EditedForSyndication: Due to content guidelines that vary channel by channel, some episodes have altered lines to be fit to air on basic channels with stricter oversight than cable channels:
76** In the original version of "Performance Review" Dwight wonders if the suggestion "Don't Sleep with your Boss" refers to "You boning Jan". In the syndicated broadcast version he says "You doing Jan."
77** Also, in "Sexual Harassment" Michael says "The only thing I am worried about is getting a boner," in the syndicated broadcast version he said "The only thing I am worried about is getting a shwing"
78** “Koi Pond” had its cold opening removed which involved a fake hanging by Michael and was also omitted from DVD release and Creator/{{Netflix}}. Fortunately, the clip can still be seen on the official site.
79** Due to changing social sensibilities at the end of TheNewTens, all syndicated airings, broadcast and cable, of "Gay Witch Hunt" now mute the use of the words "fag" and "retard".
80* EnforcedMethodActing:
81** Season's 2 "The Carpet" is centered around an incredibly foul smelling... "thing"... left behind in Michael's office. Unbeknownst to the rest of the crew, Steve Carell had thrown a stink bomb into his office just before shooting began on the scene in which the employees smell the odor in his office. Unless they postponed filming, there's a good chance that everyone's reactions to the smell, especially Kevin's, as Michael locks him in his office for a short while, is not acted.
82** Another moment, also courtesy of Steve Carell, is his incredibly awkward kiss with Oscar in "Gay Witch Hunt". He was only supposed to kiss Oscar on the cheek, but in that one take, Carell just wouldn't let go of Oscar Nunez (who plays [[TheDanza Oscar]]) and kept coming closer and closer. Oscar trying to pull away was completely real. In fact, they had luck the camera kept fixed on Michael and Oscar (and that Nunez managed to keep a straight face), because the rest of the cast were all cracking up.
83** The scenes set at the Stamford branch in early Season 3 were filmed on a separate set and shooting schedule than the main setting, resulting in Creator/JohnKrasinski having little interaction with the Scranton cast members during this period. This made the other characters' reactions to Jim's return in "The Merger" more realistic.
84* ExecutiveMeddling:
85** The reason why the pilot episode is an Americanized version of the British pilot episode.
86** Then-NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker ordered that the original ColdOpen for "[[Recap/TheOfficeUSS6E8KoiPond Koi Pond]]" be removed from the episode following its initial airing due to his wife, a suicide prevention worker, objecting to Michael pretending to hang himself as part of the warehouse's haunted house event.
87** [[https://www.indiewire.com/2020/03/the-office-casting-director-nbc-steve-carell-exit-1202220065/ According to several of the crew members]], Steve Carell actually wanted to renew his contract and stay on the show after Season 7, but the higher ups at NBC never made him an offer for reasons unknown.[[note]]The common theory is that, with his film career having taken off, they didn't want to pay him an equitable salary.[[/note]]
88** Going into the 8th season, there was some meddling with [[spoiler:Michael/Deangelo's replacement. NBC apparently wanted Catherine Tate to replace them, and James Spader to replace Jo Bennet, with more frequent appearances. Only the second one went through.]]
89** As told in the "Office Ladies" podcast, Chili's had concerns about its depiction in "The Dundies", and slight last minute changes had to be made to accommodate them, all of which revolved around the plot point of Pam being drunk: Lines were added to make it clear that she was sneaking sips of other people's drinks and drinking the melted ice from margaritas instead of just being over-served by staff, a scene that would have involved Pam vomiting was toned down to her falling off her seat, and they had to portray her as being banned from the chain for her behavior.
90* FakeAmerican:
91** Creator/IdrisElba (Charles) is actually British. The character seems vaguely transatlantic, especially in terms of accent, and anyone who's seen ''Series/TheWire'' knows Elba could have done a much more convincing American accent if he'd wanted to. Charles is also an avid soccer fan.
92** The show is set in Pennsylvania, but the only Pennsylvania natives in the cast are Kate Flannery (Meredith) and Zach Woods (who ironically plays Gabe, an out-of-stater sent to Scranton). There are quite a few cast members from Massachusetts (Creator/SteveCarell, Creator/JohnKrasinski, Creator/BJNovak, Creator/MindyKaling, Creator/JamesSpader), plus contingents from Missouri (Creator/JennaFischer, Creator/EllieKemper, Phyllis Smith), Georgia (Creator/EdHelms, Brian Baumgartner) and Illinois (Creator/CraigRobinson, Leslie David Baker).
93* FakeNationality:
94** Karen Filippelli is an Italian-American, while Creator/RashidaJones is half Jewish, half African-American.
95** Creator/OscarNunez (Cuban-American) as Oscar Martinez (Mexican-American).
96* FandomLifeCycle: While it was one of NBC's most popular shows when it initially aired, Netflix led to a massive NewbieBoom, with ''The Office'' being the streaming service's most viewed show ever!
97* FoilerFootage: In the script of the finale used at the table read, [[spoiler: Michael Scott never appears. One of his two lines is dropped, the other one is given to Creed. An additional piece of dialogue was added to the Q&A, in which an audience member asks about Michael's whereabouts, and Jim, who still keeps in touch with him, mentions that Michael put Dunder Mifflin and the documentary behind him, and isn't interested in revisiting this part of his life anymore]].
98* GeniusBonus: In "Double Date", Michael incorrectly guesses that Helene is turning 54 (instead of 58). In real life, Creator/LindaPurl had just turned 54.
99* HarpoDoesSomethingFunny:
100** As mentioned in ThrowItIn, the show allowed the cast to improvise in subsequent takes after shooting a scripted scene. But with Creator/SteveCarell being an improv master, and Michael being a character with such a unique take on things, there were many sequences where Michael had hardly any scripted lines, so Carell could cut loose (which often sent the rest of the cast into hysterics, as evidenced by the blooper reels). Michael walking around Times Square in "Valentine's Day" is a prominent example.
101** In "Sexual Harassment", Dwight asking Toby "Where is the clitoris?" was the only scripted line in the scene, so Creator/RainnWilson and Paul Lieberstein could ad-lib everything else (and what made it into the final cut was just the tip of the iceberg- the bloopers for that scene are absolute ''gold'').
102* HideYourPregnancy: Angela Kinsey became pregnant during the filming of Season 4, and it was intended to write the pregnancy into the show itself, with the child being the result of her secret affair with Dwight (or at least what THEY thought was a secret affair!). Unfortunately, the 2007-08 Writer's Strike prevented further shooting until she was too far along, causing them to [[HideYourPregnancy obscure it]] as it couldn't be written in.
103** Averted in season 8, when Jenna Fischer and Pam were both pregnant (though in this case the aversion was unintentional- the second Halpert child was already planned when Fischer became pregnant for real).
104* IronyAsSheIsCast: When the scripts of "Company Picnic" showing Pam wrecking everyone at volleyball reached the cast, turns out Jenna Fischer was not good at the sport, and in fact her arm movement is slightly hindered by previous injury. Visual effects were used to pull off the scene.
105* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The scenes with Kevin and the shredder from “The Merger” and the cold open from the episode “Koi Pond” (the one with the haunted warehouse) have not only been edited out of their respective episodes for reruns and Creator/{{Netflix}}, but also omitted from [=DVDs=] (even the "deleted scenes" features don't include them) . They can still be found online.
106* LifeImitatesArt:
107** In a ninth season article, Nellie tricked Andy into believing that he's related to Michelle Obama. Turns out that Ed Helms [[http://www.geni.com/blog/look-whos-related-ed-helms-and-michelle-obama-377614.html really is related to Michelle Obama]], as well as Mitt Romney, John [=McCain=] and Creator/AmyPoehler (of Series/ParksAndRecreation).
108** There is a real Dunder Mifflin paper, it's produced by Quill Corporation, and sold (in the United States) at Staples.
109* MarathonRunning: Comedy Central, as TBS before it, will air the show in blocks spanning ''hours''.
110* MoneyDearBoy: Creator/RainnWilson said his main motivation for getting his part on this show was to "buy a house."
111* MythologyGag: The Asian Jim prank may have been a reference to the fact that John Cho originally auditioned for Jim.
112* NetworkToTheRescue: Then-NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly championed the show in its first season, which is why, despite low ratings and middling reviews, it got renewed for a second season. Reilly was also responsible for Toby's role expanding, since he'd enjoyed the scene in "Diversity Day" where Michael chastises Toby over an innocent remark, and urged the writers to continue having Michael treat Toby as a SitcomArchnemesis, in contrast to Toby's bland, inoffensive personality.
113* OneTakeWonder: The show's crew gave Creator/BrianBaumgartner this actual nickname. as many of his scenes as Kevin, were shot using only a single take of filming (including the famous scene of Kevin dumping his chili on the floor).
114* TheOtherDarrin: A few cases, which, since this is supposed to be a documentary, could be seen as [[PlotHole Plot Holes]].
115** Shannon Cochran played Pam's mom Helene in the second season episode "Sexual Harassment". When they decided to bring Helene back as recurring character a few years later, Cochran was busy in the national touring company of ''Theatre/AugustOsageCounty'', so Creator/LindaPurl took over the role for the rest of the series.
116** Andy's parents are portrayed by two different sets of people in "Goodbye, Toby" and "Garden Party".
117** Andy's father even has a different name. Andy introduces his father as Andrew Bernard,Sr; after Stephen Collins takes the role, the character's names is Walter Bernard,Sr (and it's revealed that Andy's name was originally Walter until his younger brother was born, at which time Andy's name was changed to Andrew and his younger brother became Walter Jr.)
118* PermanentPlaceholder: The reason the show has so many examples of TheDanza is because a number of actors were chosen for the show before their characters were fully developed, so they were named Angela, Oscar, Phyllis, etc., for convenience in the planning stages. But the creative staff got so used to using them, they decided to adopt the names permanently.
119* PromotedFanboy:
120** Jennie Tan, creator of the fansite [=OfficeTally=].com, appeared as an extra in "Company Picnic" (as part of the ill-fated Buffalo delegation) and had a speaking role in "Finale" as the woman at the cast reunion panel who asks Pam about her behavior when Jim left for the job in Philadelphia (a line cut from the show reveals that she's the [[CastTheExpert creator of a fansite]] for the InUniverse Dunder Mifflin documentary series).
121** Creator/JohnKrasinski [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAdJ7VxzquU has admitted]] he was already a huge fan of [[Series/TheOfficeUK the British version]] when he first auditioned for the role.
122** Creator/DavidDenman (Roy) also says he was a fan of the UK version and begged his agent to set up an audition for the show.
123** Creator/EllieKemper was a big fan of the show when she got the role of Erin, saying working with all the cast seemed like a dream.
124** Creator/ZachWoods said on the ''Office Ladies'' podcast that he was "obsessed" with the show when he got cast as Gabe, and was so dazed by his good luck that his first few days passed in a blur. He also added, rather heartwarmingly, that the way he was treated by the cast was an "exact photographic negative" of the way Gabe was treated by the other characters.
125* RealLifeRelative:
126** Carol Stills was played by Creator/SteveCarell's real-life wife, Nancy.
127** Angela Kinsey and Paul Lieberstein were in-laws for most of the series run, since she was married to his brother Warren Lieberstein until 2010.[[note]]The Liebersteins are also in-laws to creator/showrunner Greg Daniels, who married their sister[[/note]]
128** Avu and Swati Chokalingam, the father and mother of Creator/MindyKaling, played Kelly's parents in "Diwali".
129* RealLifeWritesTheHairstyle: Season three sees Jim getting his 2000s Wings hairstyle cut into a shorter, more professional look before his big job interview at corporate. In real life, Creator/JohnKrasinski had to get his hair cut to a 1920s-style so he could star in ''Film/{{Leatherheads}}''. The ''Office'' show-runners had originally refused to let him cut his hair, until Krasinski had the show's hairstylist create a convincing wig he could wear for the show.
130* RefittedForSequel: The blooper reel on the Season 6 DVD contains bloopers for an unused cold open. The cold open in question was used in the Season 7 episode ''[[Recap/TheOfficeUSS7E18ToddPacker Todd Packer]]''.
131* ScullyBox: An inverted example. To minimize the huge height differential between Creator/RainnWilson and Angela Kinsey, many of the Dwight[=/=]Angela scenes were done with Dwight sitting down.
132* SleeperHit: The ratings for the early seasons were abysmal, but the show was saved from cancellation because NBC saw that the show was attracting high-earning individuals, meaning it could get more money from advertisers despite the low viewing figures. This gave the show time to find its feet and attract new viewers.
133* StarMakingRole: For the whole cast, most notably Creator/SteveCarell, Creator/RainnWilson, Creator/JohnKrasinski, Creator/JennaFischer, Creator/BJNovak, Creator/EdHelms (along with ''Film/TheHangover''), Creator/CraigRobinson, Creator/EllieKemper and Creator/MindyKaling. Steve Carell was already famous as a movie star, and while Rainn Wilson and Jenna Fischer have had moderate success in film, Craig Robinson and Ed Helms have had big pushes in their film careers thanks to this show.
134** This show was also one for writer Creator/MichaelSchur, as this and ''Parks and Recreation'' gave his career a big push.
135* StuntCasting:
136** The show tried to avoid this early on to maintain a realistic tone, limiting recognizable guest stars to ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' or ''Series/TheDailyShow'' alums (Creator/TimMeadows, Creator/RobRiggle), or familiar character actors (like Creator/KenHoward as Ed Truck). After they brought in Creator/KathyBates to play Jo Bennett, the show started doing a lot more of this, with guest turns by the likes of Creator/WillFerrell and Creator/JimCarrey.
137** Behind the camera throughout the series run featured famed guest directors like Creator/HaroldRamis, Creator/JossWhedon, Creator/JJAbrams Creator/JasonReitman, Creator/BryanCranston and Creator/JonFavreau
138** Season 5's Stress Relief has a notable example. ExecutiveMeddling wanted the show to cast big name celebrities for the special, as the episode would be the lead out program for Super Bowl XLIII. The producers/writers (who didn't want to Stunt Cast) got creative by casting Jessica Alba, Jack Black, and Cloris Leachman...as characters in a [[ShowWithinAShow bootlegged film]] about a MayDecemberRomance between Black's and Leachman's characters.
139* TechnologyMarchesOn:
140** The Dunder-Mifflin Infinity Website.
141** Computron!
142* ThoseTwoActors: After the show's run there were a couple of cases of cast members being reunited in films, which, given the relationships of their characters in the series, could count as a CastingGag. Creator/JohnKrasinski and Creator/DavidDenman played fellow private military contractors in ''Film/ThirteenHoursTheSecretSoldiersOfBenghazi'' (so [[LoveTriangle Jim and Roy]] teaming up), then Creator/AmyRyan played Creator/SteveCarell's ex-wife in ''Film/BeautifulBoy'' (in contrast to their previous pairing as "soup snakes" Holly and Michael).
143* ThrowItIn: Unlike many other [[{{Mockumentary}} mockumentaries]], ''The Office'' is tightly scripted. However, once a given scene has been shot as written, the actors were free to improvise on subsequent takes if they wished to do so; time permitting the actors were always allowed at least one extra take for this purpose. This was most common when shooting the TalkingHeads segments, which are typically long rambling monologues anyway. According to WordOfGod, Rainn Wilson was the most prolific improviser (which is readily apparent in the blooper reels), noting, "Rainn has never not given an alternate version." In fact, several of Dwight's most famous lines (like recalling hunting a werewolf in "Business School") were Wilson ad-libs. What made it to air was usually about 90% scripted, 10% improvised.
144** The most famous bit of improv to make the final cut was when Michael kissed Oscar in "Gay Witch Hunt". This one worked only because, by all accounts, Oscar Nunez was ''impossible'' to break; anyone else would have dissolved into fits of laughter. Rainn Wilson, of course, improvised Dwight's attempt to kiss Oscar after Michael was finished.
145** The episode "The Duel" was, by ''Office'' standards, heavily improvised: all of Jim's noises when he is interrupting Michael trying to tell Andy about the affair, Jim walking in between a circling Dwight and Andy facing off, and most of the dialogue between Dwight and Andy during the climactic duel were all improvised. Unsurprisingly, Rainn Wilson ''really'' went amok in this episode, also improvising the "learn your rules" nursery rhyme and the "she certainly seems to enjoy making lovemaking" line. The duel was originally scripted to have the entire office rush down to the parking lot to try and break up the fight; when this couldn't be adequately staged, John Krasinski suggested that Jim alone head down to try and put a stop to it.
146** A notable UNINTENTIONAL example is when Jim pops Dwight's exercise ball in the cold open of "Performance Review". The ball was supposed to slowly leak air when punctured- thus gradually causing Dwight to sink lower and lower until he was sitting on the floor- and did so in the first several takes. But on the last take, with the last of the prop balls, John Krasinski wound up hitting a seam, causing the ball to burst on contact and dump an unsuspecting Rainn Wilson onto the ground. The take ended up being so good- and so funny!- that they decided to keep it and use it in the final cut (in which Krasinski can be seen quickly diving out of frame so as not to ruin the rest of the take by laughing).
147* TrollingCreator: When it was announced that season 9 would be the show's last, there was considerable speculation as to whether Creator/SteveCarell, who left in season 7, would return for the finale. But the show's producers, along with a rep for Carell himself, immediately denied that this would happen. Eventually, anonymous leaks hinted that there might still be a chance Carell would cameo in the finale and when it was announced that he was seen on set the jig was basically up (although all sides continued to insist that he was just visiting). [[spoiler:Sure enough, Michael Scott appears at Dwight and Angela's wedding.]] After the finale aired, Carell admitted that attempting to keep his return a secret had been planned all along, baldly stating that "we just lied to people". Even the higher-ups at NBC were kept in the dark, for fear that they would use Carell's return to promote the episode and thus spoil the surprise.
148* UnfinishedEpisode: Creator/RainnWilson unsuccessfully tried to pitch an episode that would've been ADayInTheLimelight for Creed. Creed would leave work early and invite the camera crew with him, who would then follow him through his everyday life, with more and more shady behavior by Creed as they kept going.
149* WagTheDirector: Jim was supposed to kiss Cathy in the episode "After Hours", but Creator/JohnKrasinski flatly refused to go along with it, knowing that fans would consider the act to be crossing a line. Krasinski has said that was the one and only time he refused to play a scene, and that going along with the writers without complaint for seven seasons gave him the goodwill he needed to convince them to change it.
150* WhatCouldHaveBeen: [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/TheOfficeUS See here]]
151* WordOfGod:
152** David Rogers, one of the show's directors, [[http://www.officetally.com/a-a-r-m-qa-with-david-rogers has addressed]] an apparent SeriesContinuityError that occurred in the series' penultimate episode, "A.A.R.M.", namely the contradiction between the season premiere in which Dwight learns [[spoiler:Angela's son Philip is not his after stealing his diaper and having a lab run a DNA test]] and ''A.A.R.M.'' in which Angela tells him [[spoiler:Philip is actually his son]]: apparently, they had planned on planting hints before TheReveal, indicating that [[spoiler:Dwight had stolen the wrong diaper]], but ultimately didn't go through with it.
153** According to the showrunners, where each character sits in the conference room for their TalkingHeads is a deliberate choice to reinforce their characterization. Those who sit in front of the window looking into the office are those who are satisified with their careers at Dunder-Mifflin or have been worn down into accepting their fates. Those who sit in front of the window overlooking the parking lot are those who aren't happy and would like to find something outside of the company.
154* WordOfSaintPaul: Creator/JennaFischer wrote lots of notes during filming to help her prepare for scenes, expressing her own ideas about Pam's backstory and motivations. She's shared some of these on the ''Office Ladies'' podcast.
155** Her theory on how Pam and Roy became a couple despite not really being a good fit for each other is that Pam's family owned an appliance store, Roy got a job there as a delivery man, then the two families became friendly with each other. Pam became comfortable with Roy after spending a lot of time together, and once they had a relationship it became awkward for her to back out even if she'd wanted to.
156** Since Fischer wasn't actually talking to anyone on the line during the final phone call in "Casino Night", she mentally filled in what Pam's mom would've been saying on the other end that led to Pam's scripted responses. Specifically, she confirmed a popular fan theory about the question to which Pam responded "Yeah, I think I am." [[spoiler:Helene asked her "Are you in love with Jim?"]]
157** Most of Jordan Garfield's major scenes (including her Talking Heads) were cut from the episodes she appeared in.
158* WorkingTitle: ''The Office: An American Workplace''. This remains the MarketBasedTitle of the series in the UK (to avoid confusion with [[Series/TheOfficeUK the original series]]) and, curiously, is also the title of the documentary series itself InUniverse.
159* WriteWhoYouKnow:
160** Greg Daniels has said that he borrowed some of Michael's antics from his father, Aaron Daniels, a longtime radio executive who liked to spice up his corporate presentations with humor, and often had Greg write material for him. One of the elder Daniels' specialties was a takeoff on Creator/JohnnyCarson's Carnac the Magnificent character, and the Carnac joke Michael tells in "The Dundies" ("The PLO, the IRA, and the hot dog stand behind the warehouse...Name three businesses that have a better health care plans than Dunder Mifflin") was an actual joke that the then-teenaged Daniels wrote for his dad.
161** Daniels says Holly Flax was inspired by a store clerk he met who behaved like a female Michael Scott.
162* WrittenByCastMember: Paul Lieberstein, Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak were on the writing staff from the beginning. Steve Carell later wrote the Season 2 finale "Casino Night" as well as season 4's "Survivor Man" (with the former- which he wrote in ONE NIGHT- earning him a Writer's Guild Award).
163* WrittenInInfirmity: Creator/JennaFischer broke 4 bones in her back at a party promoting Season 3, and so the writers had her and Jim walk in "Fun Run" to avoid exacerbating her injury.

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