That is Definitely NOT What She Said

A personal take on the fate of The Office spinoff.

Image c/o Rotten Tomatoes

By Lillian La Salle 
Associate Editor

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For the whole month of October, fans of The Office were left in limbo as creator Greg Daniels and other cast members hinted at a possible reboot of the beloved show. Luckily, these speculations were cleared up at the beginning of November by multiple sources such as USA Today, ScreenRant, and The Wrap which jumped at the chance to clear up any confusion amongst the die-hard fan base. Personally, I am so thankful these speculations were not true. At least not in the way I was thinking. Greg Daniels is apparently seeking to spin off the show instead of rebooting it with the original cast, “I can't imagine wanting to make it with any other cast. I've said before that if there was to be anything, it would probably be more like what "The Mandalorian" is to "Star Wars," rather than trying to get Princess Leia with a new actor” (USA Today). And thank god he couldn't imagine this new version because The Office had a good run. 

Even his consideration of a spinoff is giving this sitcom a little too much importance in the grand scheme of new TV, with new concepts still on the back burner while other mediocre shows have been given the spotlight for far too long. Don't get me wrong, I loved The Office, but to give background, I would choose Parks and Recreation and Leslie Knope's shenanigans over a show that made me physically cringe from discomfort any day. Greg Daniels explained to ScreenRant the methodology of creating the new show, having it “exist in the same overall universe [allowing] for potential guest appearances from original characters” once the new cast members have gotten their foot in the door of the TV Show universe. This sounds like they are trying to live in the Marvel Meta-verse with all these new characters and trying to figure out how to make the same kind of show, without having it fall prey to the failure that is most reboots. It's just The Office, it's not that deep, and it’s had its time in the spotlight. 
    
Maybe another office sitcom could be funny, but with constant comparison to what once was, it will be a challenge to make it as successful as its many 2000s counterparts. 
While I have your attention, I am going to be controversial and say The Office was great, not fantastic, but great. It had good references that audiences could repeat to each other to form a community, but ultimately it is very overhyped, and I blame Jim and Pam. 
    
Jim and Pam are idolized for the best love story, but Jim routinely makes decisions without Pam, they lack proper communication skills, and it is evident towards the end when the other cameraman comes in that it is really taking a toll on their relationship. Maybe this is what makes them so appealing to others who see it as an achievable love story, but I would rather not have the airtime wasted on their will they want only to see that they did and had pretty lackluster lives. When people say they want a relationship like Jim and Pam’s, I'm taken aback. I need that Michael and Holly, Dwight and Angela energy. They would go to bat for each other no matter the situation, be it a that’s what she said joke or a new lease for a beet farm, these two couples are the standouts of the show. I now realize that was my biggest beef with The Office spinoff, seeing the audience get entranced by a vanilla, non-communicative couple who seem like they've settled in all areas of their life. Anyway, I will get off my soapbox, but a spinoff of a great show is not the way to go, especially for one as monumental as The Office. ​