How ‘The Office’s Christmas Episode Saved the Show From Cancellation
Next spring, it’ll shockingly be a decade since fans said goodbye to The Office. Even though it’s been so long since the show ended, it’s still out there as if it never went away, living through syndication, streaming services, and numerous podcasts and books. When it was on Netflix it was always among the most streamed offerings the service provided. It’s a pop culture phenomenon with characters and catchphrases that have become a way of life. And it almost never happened.
When The Office first debuted in 2005 on NBC, no one could predict what it would become. The series was of course based on the British BBC sitcom of the same name starring Ricky Gervais. Running from 2001 to 2002, the series only consisted of a dozen episodes. While it was a tremendous show, there was no promise that a reimagining of it would work. For many fans, they didn’t even want it, predicting that it would be just another American reworking that would destroy what made the original so great.
There weren’t a lot of expectations going in. Sure, Steve Carell was a known name, coming off a brilliant stint on The Daily Show, while transitioning to film with Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, but while he was becoming a star, this wasn’t a show all about him. Carell would play Michael Scott, the cocky and awkward boss of a fictional paper company in Scranton called Dunder Mifflin, but The Office, like its predecessor across the ocean, was about its characters, not just one man. Besides Carell, though, there were no big names in The Office. Combine that with NBC’s woes that decade, and you’d be forgiven in assuming that The Office would be another show that was around for a season or two before being canceled due to low ratings.
Season 1 of ‘The Office’ Was Much Different From the Show It Would Become
Indeed, that’s almost exactly what happened. The first season of The Office is a different beast from the classic it would grow into. Consisting of just six episodes, it was hard for the series to find its footing. Part of that problem was self-inflicted, as series creator Greg Daniels chose to have the first episode be a remake of the British version’s first episode. If you were a fan of the original, tuning in out of curiosity, chances are you were immediately disappointed to see such little effort put into the product.
While the remaining episodes of that shortened season are all mostly original creations, they still copied from the British version way too much. Michael had yet to be the lovable dope that we’d come to know over the years. Here, with his hair slicked back, he was more of a jerk, someone unlikable rather than a flawed man you could relate to and root for. The show was more mean, a far cry from the comfort food that would make it so endearing. The blossoming romance between Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) had potential, and there were some great bits in the rivalry between Jim and Dwight (Rainn Wilson), but the stories didn’t have the comedic punch they’d later have, and the smaller supporting cast came off more like background distractions rather than the popular characters they’d become.
The first season’s ratings weren’t great. The Office looked doomed for cancelation. But then two things happened. The first involved Carell. After Season 1, he became a big movie star thanks to his lead role in Judd Apatow’s The 40-Year-Old Virgin. That helped NBC give The Office a second chance. While Carell’s success may have saved the series from certain death, it wouldn’t be enough to keep it alive. The Office had to prove that it belonged. They did that with their Season 2 Christmas episode, “The Christmas Party.”
How ‘The Office’s Christmas Episode Saved the Series
Season 2 had already been an improvement over the first. Michael was still as frustrating as ever, but there was a more redeemable quality to him. There was more meat to the stories and the supporting cast was fleshed out and allowed to thrive. Ratings had almost doubled at times from the first season’s dismal finale, but the series was still touch and go. “We were almost canceled two, three, four, 10, 12 times at the beginning,” Brian Baumgartner, who played Kevin Malone, told Yahoo! Entertainment.
What Made ‘The Office’s First Christmas Episode Work So Well?
The episode became the highest rated yet, at nearly 10 million viewers, and would be nominated for two Emmys. So what made it work? Several factors were involved. For one, we got to see the best brought in our characters. Michael may have been self-centered as always, but he redeems himself, buying alcohol for everyone when he sees that his party was a bust. Almost everyone ends up happy at the end of the night, and that makes Michael happy because Michael’s co-workers are his family. The romance between Jim and Pam was moved forward, with Pam taking Jim’s teapot even though she could have had the iPod, yet Jim still sad that he can’t have the woman he loves.
The biggest factor was that this had been the best example so far of the once small-bit characters being given more time to shine. Kevin, Meredith, Angela (Angela Kinsey), Kelly (Mindy Kaling), and Phyllis (Phyllis Smith), to name a few, are all given arcs. “Some of the secondary characters,” Baumgartner said, “had storylines before that, it was an episode that was truly an ensemble. Everybody had something, or some moment, some storyline around the Secret Santa swap.”
This was when the show really started to become more than the Michael, Dwight, Jim, and Pam show. Michael’s absurdities were hilarious, Dwight getting his comeuppance never failed to delight, and the friendship becoming something deeper between Jim and Pam was sweet, but the series needed more than that to survive. It was here that the Dunder-Mifflin co-workers, despite their many differences and infighting, were presented as a family.
After that, the series found its footing. They weren’t the British version. Steve Carell was not Ricky Gervais. Outside of having the same name and a similar premise, they became their own distinct show. You could argue that the American version ended up being even better. Shortly after this episode, Carell would be nominated for a Golden Globe for the series, and against all odds, he won. The series was also put on iTunes around this time, back when that was the thing way before next-day streaming was a reality. “After that episode aired,” Angela Kinsey said, “we were the No. 1 streaming show on iTunes and all of a sudden we were like, ‘Hold up. We found our audience.’ It turned a corner from there and we were set.”
The Office survived and went on to become one of the most popular shows of all time, one that was a big hit during its original airing but has become even bigger in the years after. “The Christmas Party” is to thank for that. The boldness to take a risk and step out of the comfort zone of what had come before is to thank for that. The genius writing and top-notch acting are to thank for that. A cast who was becoming great friends behind the scenes and having that chemistry and love for each other shine through on the TV screen is to thank for that
