Earlier this month, it was reported that The Office showrunner Greg Daniels was meeting with writers for a potential follow-up to the acclaimed comedy series, and the project seems to have taken another step forward. Deadline reports that Daniels has teamed up with Michael Koman, co-creator of Nathan For You, for this new Office series.
The new series would not be a reboot of The Office but take place in the same universe, just set in a new office with new characters. This would potentially allow for cameos or guest spots from cast members of the original series, but sources tell Deadline that a full-blown reunion isn’t in the cards. Daniels has said that the new series could follow a film crew doing a documentary about a different subject, which could mean just about anything.
Based on the BBC series of the same name created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, The Office was a mockumentary sitcom that followed the everyday work lives of the employees of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. The series ran on NBC from 2005 to 2013 for a total of nine seasons consisting of 201 episodes. Although the series came to an end over a decade ago, it remains just as popular as ever, especially on streaming services. The series racked up some big numbers on Netflix before it departed for Peacock, with NBCUniversal paying Universal Television $100 million per year for the next five years.
There was an attempt to keep The Office going with a spin-off that would have followed Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) running a bed-and-breakfast and beet farm. The backdoor pilot aired during the show’s ninth season, but NBC ultimately decided not to move forward with the series. Leslie David Baker, who played grouchy salesman Stanley Hudson, was also developing a spin-off revolving around his character and even launched a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $300,000. However, after three years of delays, the project was shelved and the money was refunded.