The Office Star Says They Aren't Appearing in the Reboot

Don't expect many of the original Office cast to return when its spinoff debuts.

By Russ Burlingame

Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars Sequels, Ex Machina) and Sabrina Impacciatore (The White Lotus Season 2) are both reportedly attached to a new spinoff of The Office from Office U.S. creator Greg Daniels...but at least so far, nobody who appeared on the previous iterations of the show. Speaking with People earlier this week, The Office star (and Office Ladies co-host) Jenna Fischer reveals that she hasn't had any contact with Daniels about the new series, which is reportedly set in the same world as the series that ran from 2005 until 2013. The same world -- but presumably not the same branch of Dunder-Mifflin, and possibly not even the same company. There really are very few details at this point.

Fischer played Pam Beesly, the office receptionist who served as the heart of the series. Both her relationship with Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and her romance with salesman Jim (John Krasinski) were key narrative and emotional components of the show. Daniels is returning to lead the writers' room for the new series. Joining him is Michael Koman, whose resume includes co-creating of Nathan For You alongside Nathan Fielder. Prior credits include Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, Mad TV, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. 

"No, I have not been approached," Fischer told People while promoting a new AT&T Business ad campaign. "There is a spinoff in the works. Greg Daniels and Michael Koman are working on it....I don't know a lot of details, but I'm not involved. I haven't been approached about it."

Based on the U.K. series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, The Office was shot in a mockumentary style and centered on the lives of the employees of the Scranton, PA branch of the Dunder Mifflin paper company. The series made huge stars out of Carell, Rainn Wilson, and Krasinski, and helped supercharge the careers of a number of the other character actors in its ensemble. It started out as one of the lowest-rated shows on NBC and was nearly cancelled, but by the time it wrapped up in 2013, had become one of the most beloved and successful sitcoms in a generation. More than a decade later, it remains one of the most-binged shows on any streaming platform.

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Rumors of a sequel or spinoff series have been in the air basically ever since the show ended. In its final season, producers tried and failed to develop a series called The Farm, which would have centered on the exploits of Dwight Shrute's strange family and the goings-on at their beet farm. A backdoor pilot for the series failed to catch on with audiences, and the network passed, but the idea of returning to The Office has seemed inevitable anyway.

The Office is now streaming on Peacock.

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