I’m a huge fan of The Office (basic, I know). When I was in seventh grade, my family got a box set of the show’s first four seasons (called “The Ultimate Package, That’s What She Said”), and ever since then I’ve loved the show. I’m not alone in feeling this way; since the end of its run in 2013, the show has gained a second life thanks to Netflix, becoming one of the streaming service’s biggest draws.
Last month, Netflix announced that in January 2021, it would lose The Office to NBCUniversal’s upcoming streaming service, Peacock. A lot of Peacock news dropped today:
People are understandably freaking out because several beloved NBC sitcoms will be available on the service, including Friends, Parks and Recreation, and Cheers, and a few beloved shows will be rebooted, including Saved by the Bell and Battlestar Gallactica. The reboot news that garnered the most attention, though, came from NBCU Chairman of Direct-to-Consumer and Digital Enterprises Bonnie Hammer, who had this to say:
It is my hope and goal that we do an Office reboot … The Office comes back to us in January 2021. It is my hope that we can figure out what that great reboot would be. We are having conversations.
Here’s the thing: a reboot of the show would almost certainly be bad.
After Steve Carell’s Michael Scott left the show at the end of its seventh season, The Office felt pretty soulless. It seemed like the cast’s heavy hitters were preoccupied with other projects while writers were scrambling for ideas and in turn we ended up with weak characters like DeAngelo Vickers, Robert California, and Nellie Bertram to fill space.
Plus, the show’s finale ended on such a great note. Every character had what seemed like a perfect sendoff, and a reboot would cheapen every character’s happy ending. If the idea is to try to do the show with new characters, then I say keep it. Remember how terrible it was when Scrubs had a fantastic finale, then they forced a ninth season with all new characters? I’d prefer not to have my favorite show’s perfect ending sullied because NBCUniversal can’t think of any original ideas for their streaming service.
ReJoyce 