NBC may pick up ‘The Office’ for an official reboot to be streamed on its soon-to-launch Netflix rival, Peacock.
With its streaming platform, Peacock, slated for launch next year, rebooting ‘The Office’ may be on the cards for NBC. Moreover, some of the cast members, as well as Peacock executives, are quite keen on it!
Highlights:
- Why a reboot makes sense … for NBC at least?
- What would it be about?
- Who will reprise their roles, and how?
Fans of the hugely popular comedy series ‘The Office’, who have been clamouring for more of the show ever since it ended back in 2013, can now breathe a sigh of relief. NBC Universal has recently taken ‘The Office’ back from Netflix, on which the show had been thriving, to be able to stream it on Peacock, which is its own streaming platform, scheduled to launch in January 2021. This could mean that ‘The Office’ reboot might actually happen.
Set in a mundane office in America, ‘The Office’ focused on the humdrum life of the various employees of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. Shot in the mockumentary style, the show follows Michael Scott, the incompetent and moronic regional manager of the company’s Scranton branch. The show gained an extensive fan-following and popularity throughout its nine seasons, after which it neatly folded with the characters moving away to do other things.
Why a reboot makes sense … for NBC at least?
According to NBCU executive Bonnie Hammer, ‘The Office’ reboot will fit into the network’s strategy of launching original scripted shows alongside reboots. While announcing the streaming platform’s launch, NBC also released its line-up of original series, which included a couple of reboots.
‘The Office’ is also one of NBC’s most lucrative shows, and will prove substantial in ushering new subscribers in for Peacock. What’s more, as younger audiences get to know the show because of syndication and streaming services, ‘The Office’ is becoming a favourite among an entirely new generation. So, gaining exclusive rights to the series as well as planning for a reboot would be like killing two birds with one stone!
‘The Office’ reboot: What it could be about?
‘The Office’ can’t pick up exactly where it left off. Most of the characters have moved away, Michael Scott himself had left the office way back in season 7. The show would have to be set in an office (it can’t be called ‘The Office’ reboot and if it is not set in an office), or perhaps, multiple offices? It could possibly follow characters who stayed and those who moved away, and their workplaces? At this point, we can only guess.
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Who would reprise their roles, and how?
Here’s who definitely would not be reprising his role: Steve Carell!
Carell has been quite sure that he doesn’t want to go back to playing Michael Scott. He also says that it would be impossible to make a show like that again now and have people accept it the way they did before.
Plus, as showrunner Greg Daniels, too, says, it would be very difficult to get the cast together again, what with their conflicting schedules. Then again, ‘The Office’ was a show that wrapped up with a proper, well-thought-out ending. The show was written in a way that gave characters their particular endings, and to go back and build upon that would require a lot of work.
That said, most of the cast, including Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, and Ellie Kemper, are still willing to come back and are keen on a reboot!
One way a reboot could be worked out is if a new original series – perhaps with the same characters – were written instead of traditionally rebooting the show. In any case, Peacock doesn’t launch until early next year. This means that the wait for a likely reboot would be at least that much longer. So, don’t hold your breaths! Watch the cast of ‘The Office’ talking about a reboot on ‘The Ellen Show’
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