There are certain shows that seem like they will continue to be seen as beloved cult classics forever, from Friends and Seinfeld to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and countless others, and the US version of The Office is certainly on that list. Although it was spinning off of the UK’s show, which aired four years earlier than the American version of the show, this spinoff became considerably more popular and ran for an impressive nine seasons (far more than the UK Office’s two seasons). Perhaps equally impressive is the fact that, even after nine seasons and eight years on the air, fans were devastated when The Office came to an end, rather than feeling like it had overstayed its welcome—something that can sadly be true for many shows that are popular but then continue on for years.
The show has now been over for 13 years, but even with so much time passing—notably, 21 years since the show began, as well—there are still many calls for there to be some sort of follow-up to the show, whether that’s a Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life style mini series, a full-blown reboot, or something else. That would, of course, be a massive undertaking, as the cast size alone would mean needing to coordinate with numerous actors, many of whom have seen an explosive career trajectory following the show that would only complicate trying to pin down schedules and perhaps get the actors to come on board again. Even so, many fans of The Office remain hopeful that the story isn’t truly over yet, which only makes this update from the creator of the US show, Greg Daniels, all the more disappointing.
There’s little doubt that The Office is among the greatest American sitcoms of the 2000s, if not the single greatest sitcom of that era, and in theory, that might make it seem like the perfect choice for a reboot. However, per Variety, creator Greg Daniels just explained why that’s not actually the case, saying, “I don’t think we need to find out what all the characters are doing so much because of the way the show ended…It seemed like people liked the ending and you’re just sort of risking a lot to open it up again.” As heartbreaking as it might be for many fans of The Office to hear what seems to be such a definitive no to the possibility of a reboot, Daniels is right for saying so.
Part of the magic of The Office was that it really did stick the landing, with each character seeming to end up exactly where they needed to be, without it feeling too heavy handed in giving everyone a happily ever after. Rather, the show delivered an emotional, meaningful ending that provided adequate closure but also remained committed to the realism that had driven the show from the very beginning (admittedly with some moments that seemed almost too painfully uncomfortable to be real). Just as Daniels said, opening the show back up and trying to do something else with it would pose a major risk not only to undoing that perfect ending but also to giving fans something that could prove considerably less popular. There’s just no good reason to take such a major gamble, as amazing as it would be to see these characters together again on screen.
