by Josh Sewell
I’m a big fan of oral histories, particularly how they demonstrate that our perspective of important events depends on who’s telling the story. For me, the king of the genre remains Live From New York, James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales’ remarkable account of four decades of Saturday Night Live. However, the latest look at a pop culture institution from Rolling Stone senior writer Andy Greene is terrifically entertaining in its own right.
The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s, contains insights from dozens of people who were a part of the iconic NBC sitcom. That includes cast members, writers, producers, casting directors, camera operators, network execs and even people who ran fan websites during the show’s initial run on NBC.
Thanks to my rambunctious daughters, my attention span isn’t what it used to be. However, Greene’s book is so compelling, with such an inviting writing style, that I stayed up way too late finishing it. I was a zombie the next day, but it was worth it. There are a ton of interesting insights and “whoa!” moments, from the creation of the show – when critics thought it was going to be a pale imitation of Ricky Gervais’ original groundbreaking series – to it’s unexpected second life on Netflix.
I won’t get into all the stuff I found fascinating – I’ve got to leave some fun surprises for people to discover on their own – but here are some of my favorite revelations:
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| Courtesy of Dutton |
The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s, contains insights from dozens of people who were a part of the iconic NBC sitcom. That includes cast members, writers, producers, casting directors, camera operators, network execs and even people who ran fan websites during the show’s initial run on NBC.
Thanks to my rambunctious daughters, my attention span isn’t what it used to be. However, Greene’s book is so compelling, with such an inviting writing style, that I stayed up way too late finishing it. I was a zombie the next day, but it was worth it. There are a ton of interesting insights and “whoa!” moments, from the creation of the show – when critics thought it was going to be a pale imitation of Ricky Gervais’ original groundbreaking series – to it’s unexpected second life on Netflix.
I won’t get into all the stuff I found fascinating – I’ve got to leave some fun surprises for people to discover on their own – but here are some of my favorite revelations:
- Before Steve Carell was cast as Michael Scott, they offered the role to Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman. They turned it down, because back in the mid-2000s film actors still thought doing television was beneath them. Still, can you imagine how incredible Hoffman would’ve been as Michael?
- Carell barely beat out Bob Odenkirk for the role. They went with him because Odenkirk’s take on Michael was a little too dark. Poor guy. It’s a shame he had to settle for starring in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul – two of the greatest dramas in TV history.
- Those looking for stories about Carell’s massive ego or diva behavior won’t find any. Literally no one has a bad thing to say about him. Turns out he was the exact same person before and after he became a gigantic movie star: ridiculously kind and professional. (The 40-Year-Old Virgin made $177 million worldwide between the show’s first and second seasons, which helped keep it from getting canceled due to low ratings.) When he left at the end of the seventh season, he gave everyone who worked on the show a Rolex as a parting gift.
- The biggest bummer: according to several crew members, a couple of the show’s other stars didn’t stay as grounded as Carell once they got famous. Nobody comes right out and names names, but it’s not too hard to do the math and figure out who they’re alluding to.
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