When fans of two top-rated shows like ‘The Office’ and ‘The Umbrella Academy’
Academy’ find chances of the latter being inspired by the former, it is of utmost importance to explore that possibility. Here is everything we know about the unlikely connection between the two shows. If you’re thinking of what world does ‘The Office’ and ‘The Umbrella Academy’ have a connection in, look no further. ‘The Office’ which continues to stay popular despite ending in 2013, and ‘The Umbrella Academy’ about adopted superhero kids has one significant thing in common.
Highlights —
- The spin-off: Jan and the Handler
- Dream team: Jim and Herb
- Ben and Klaus or Michael and Dwight?
The connection lies in the latter’s premise through ‘The Umbrella Academy’s The Commission’. The Commission is an office setting that is called the “The Temps Commission” and handles the task of making sure that the space-time continuum has no blips.
And, interestingly enough, it does run in a very similar setting to ‘The Office’ with even identical characters. So, what would a spin-off look like?
The spin-off: Jan and the Handler
Sometimes the fans of popular shows like to take things to the next level and introduce the idea of spin-offs that maybe even the creators of the show didn’t think of. And these ideas are not half bad, especially the one in this case.
The Temps Commission looks a lot like ‘The Office’ setup, and Jan from ‘The Office’ matches exactly the Handler from ‘The Umbrella Academy’. The sales rep from the New York office of Dunder Mifflin, Jan, was a strict professional and the nemesis of Michael Scott, the manager at the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch.

This is not to far off from the Handler (played by Kate Walsh) who opposes everything in The Commission and wants to take it over with her ideas (rather doubtful ones). And if you think about this connection, it does seem very probable.
Who else?
Dream team: Jim and Herb
The Commissions’ Herb is also known for driving his superiors crazy, disobeying, and being good at what he does. That sounds all too similar to salesperson Jim Halpert from the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch, who also believes in the same set of principles for work.
Jim spends most of his time pranking Dwight, who is the best salesperson of the branch, and rest of the time second-questioning his career; Herb, too, spends a lot of time being a supervisor and putting up with one.
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At this point, we’re wondering if the connection was intentional. Don’t believe us? Here is one more pair who can be traded for each other, well, in personalities.
Ben and Klaus or Michael and Dwight?
Many connections between ‘The Office’ and ‘The Umbrella Academy’ are eerie, but none like this one. Ben and Klaus are the equivalents of Micahel and Dwight, and no one who has seen both shows can deny it.
Ben looks out for Klaus in the same way that Dwight looks out for his boss and friend Michael Scott. And not only is the affection there, but Ben and Klaus also bicker in the same way that Dunder Mifflin do all the time.
If we didn’t know any better, we might think that the creators of ‘The Umbrella Academy’, based on the comic books by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba, are fans of ‘The Office’ and this is their way of a tribute to a show that has stood the test of time and is nothing short of iconic.
Can you think of any more similarities between ‘The Office’ and ‘The Umbrella Academy’? Let us know in the comments section below!
