A show that is so addicting, you won’t even realize its 8 seasons long! 

      The Office is a comedy mockumentary that covers the lives of the nine to five employees working in a branch of a fictional paper company called Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The show does start off a bit slow, but if you  stick with it, it gets so much better.

     The show is a remake of a British sitcom also named “The Office”. The United Kingdom version did not turn out to be as successful because it was seen as more sad and depressing. It was dark and people found it to be “too hard to watch”. It only lasted for fourteen episodes. Learning from their mistakes the writers of the American version of The Office wrote the show having both the dark and raw comedy factor but they also added a tinge of optimism which created a certain feel-good factor among the viewers.

The prime appeal of this show lies in Steve Carell who plays Michael Scott, the regional manager or the boss of the Scranton branch. He is the one responsible for creating uncomfortable but hilarious situations for his employees. The first season showed him as a cruel and a bit repulsive boss, who bullies his subordinates, but later the writers understood he is the nucleus of the show, made him oddly endearing and thus the series flourished. The show is full of awkward and offensive humor which is bound to provide some hearty laughs. The jokes are written and presented very well.

      A strong focus on character development is also key to the show’s success. It has some of the most well-defined and unique characters of almost any television comedy. Each and every character adds spice to the show and everyone has a distinct and vibrant personality. It was really great to watch the pranks Jim pulled on Dwight and the love tension between him and Pam. All plotlines made the show enjoyable. Another positive aspect of the show was all the main characters were down to earth; nobody is perfect, everybody has flaws-and so do these characters. All of them have ups and downs in their character arc which makes them very relatable and one could connect them to some of the real-world people they come across in their lives.

The only negative point of this series is that it dragged on longer than it needed to be. The series hit a road bump and started going down the hill when Steve Carell left. Andy Bernard, Michael’s replacement played by Ed Helms, is an amazing character but couldn’t satisfy the audience the same way Carell could.

     Overall, The Office is very wholesome and refreshing. Each character is as unique can be. The setting, the situations, and the developments are all quite ordinary, yet, they are so relatable and engaging that you can’t help shed a tear or break into laughter each time.

For those who haven’t started watching this series yet, I would say this is one of the best mockumentary with its humor. Although I recommend only watching up to Season 7.