Plans to restart The Office with a new side series have the beloved NBC workplace comedy’s fanbase on edge.
News of a franchise revival first broke in September 2023. At the time, the project was believed to be a reboot – an approach fans were equally anxious about.
However, The Office executive producer and Season 1-4 showrunner Greg Daniels shut down the Office reboot rumors a month later. That said, Daniels also acknowledged that he was open to the idea of a show that picked up where The Office’s ninth and final season left off.
Daniels later elaborated on these comments further, likening his spinoff concept to Disney+ series The Mandalorian, which takes place in the Star Wars universe without rebooting it.
The Office fans are already nervous about the reboot
According to Deadline, Daniels has now recruited a team of writers to help him develop his Mandalorian-inspired Office spinoff – and the show’s devotees are as antsy as they were about the reboot.
Greg Daniels is starting a writers room to come up with ideas for a new ‘THE OFFICE’ series.The series will be set in a new office with new characters but live within the same universe.(Source: Deadline) pic.twitter.com/3yDM4libZZ
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) January 13, 2024
“This just feels like a bad idea all ways around,” complained one X user. “I know they aren’t technically rebooting it, but cmon now.” “Not anymore! Please give it a rest,” begged a second. “The Office is such a classic, how are they going to make it better and worth watching?” queried a third. “[It] will get canceled after one season just like every other streaming show,” declared a fourth.
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Some fans were more upbeat about The Office spinoff’s prospects, though. “If it is good, I really don’t mind a spinoff, since The Office is one of my favourite tv shows,” wrote one such optimist. “If it’s actually a spinoff rather than the reboot then that’s fine,” echoed another.
And then there were the fence sitters: “Mixed feelings. It [could] have the potential but it’s rare for lightning to strike twice.”
What do we know about The Office spinoff?
This last, more neutral position is arguably the most sensible, given how little we currently know about The Office spinoff. Daniels hasn’t yet revealed any details about the show’s story or characters, nor has he shared any of his initial casting ideas.
Indeed, all we know for now is that the spinoff is seemingly set within the same fictional universe as its predecessor. This seemingly leaves the door open for guest appearances by the likes of Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, and Jenna Fischer, although this is pure speculation for now.