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
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).