The Office Reboot Will Be Fine if It Makes One Major Change
Despite ending around ten years ago, The Office is still as relevant as ever. Due to its rewatchable nature, iconic characters, and gripping nostalgia, there’s a loyal fanbase attached to the sitcom. As such, it’s not surprising that rumors are swirling around about a reboot. But, many fans are nervous about this idea, as there’s a lot about The Office that wouldn’t necessarily work today.
The SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes have plagued Hollywood for a while now. The lack of studio cooperation brought the entertainment world to a standstill. Until recently, there wasn’t an end in sight, but now that the WGA has reached a tentative deal and things are starting to move again, showrunner Greg Daniels is apparently planning a reboot of the beloved mockumentary sitcom. While nothing about the project is known other than its existence, there’s already a lot that could be wrong about a The Office reboot. Some notable changes need to take place to give the revival a chance.
It’s no secret that times have changed since some of the beloved sitcoms were on the air, and it’s not surprising that some don’t find them as charming as others. That’s because society has changed a great deal. The beloved American version of The Office was a prominent example of a sitcom representative of its era. In that case, the period in question was the early 2000s. The Y2K years were known for plenty of targeted jokes and stereotype-ridden humor. Those things weren’t just okay back then: they were widely considered funny, so featuring tons of questionable jokes, or even bullying, in entertainment content was commonplace. Unfortunately, a majority of the humor in The Office isn’t acceptable today.
The Office Didn’t Age Well
Michael Scott was probably best remembered for dishing out unacceptable comments or behavior, often targeted toward his employees. For example, in the show’s second episode, “Diversity Day,” he and the employees were given diversity training because of an inappropriate comedy routine Michael did. Not only did he ignore or belittle everything shared during the presentation, but he also followed up with an exercise similar to Head’s Up in that one was assigned a race or nationality, and one must guess based on stereotypes. The game was insensitive at best and was arguably one of Michael Scott’s worst actions. It’s important to note that while the episodes got much better quality-wise throughout the series, those offensive bits carried through. Sadly, everyone who was different in The Office was subject to insensitive comments, and frequently throughout the show, characters like Michael used various slurs in casual conversation and more targeted interactions. As such, many people who discovered the show in today’s more inclusive society simply didn’t find it funny. The Office was a product of its time, and realistically, if the exact show aired during this decade, it wouldn’t make it past episode three, and rightfully so.
