The Office is one of the most revered comedies of all time. Gifs of Michael Scott shouting “BANKRUPTCY” appear in countless viral articles, Jim and Pam are relationship #goals and you’ve probably heard one of your friends make a Dwight Schrute reference at least a few times in your life. The Office is everywhere, and people are still rewatching it to this day—but now it’s your turn.
We can’t believe you’ve made it this far into life without being caned for not watching this show. Lucky for you, we’ve created a handy binge-watching guide, so that you can get stoked for what’s ahead.
While you’ll be laughing 90 percent of each episode, The Office still has time for honest, emotional moments about love, grief and confronting what life throws at you. Anybody who’s watched will tell you the same thing: if there’s any show you take the time to watch in your lifetime, The Office is number one.
How to Watch
NBC, Amazon, Netflix, Google Play
Reasons to Watch
The ensemble cast of The Office is addictive, impossible not to love and the true reason you need to watch this show. You have the hangdog Kevin, scarily authoritarian Angela and possible serial killer Creed, amongst many other unique personalities that make the show consistently hilarious. Their daily workplace struggles and feuds are escalated to ridiculous proportions, usually by their boss Michael Scott or the beet-farming Dwight, both of them as obnoxious and clueless as they are easy to love. The Jim and Pam saga is deeply relatable to anybody who’s ever had a crush on their best friend, and the mix of a dozen strange personalities all working in one office is way too good to miss.
Suggested Rate of Watching
The Office comes in at nine seasons and 201 episodes, but since each episode averages at roughly 20 minutes, the shows goes by incredibly fast. We recommend binging two to three episodes a day—unless you’re waaaay too invested and want to do a season a day over Christmas break.
You Will Like This Show if You Like…
Parks and Recreation, Modern Family, 30 Rock, Friends, Arrested Development, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Best Season
Season two is the best example of classic Office. For the first time, the characters are likable, humorous and deeply endearing. Michael and Dwight are at the top of their game, constantly spitting out weird lines and forming schemes to snort-laugh at, and the romantic tension between Jim and Pam will have you screaming. Season two hands-down holds some of the most memorable episodes, from “Booze Cruise” to “The Dundies.” This is the season of the The Office that gets you hooked and texting your friends every night saying “You HAVE to watch this show!”
Worst Season
Season one is the worst due to the tangible uncomfortability all the characters have with Michael Scott. At this point the humor seems mean-spirited, the characters have no real direction and Michael is out of control, obnoxiously offending as many people as possible in a way that makes him hard to like (despite the fact that he ends up as one of the most likable characters).
You can feel the awkward coming at you in waves. Despite all of the negative, season one still lays important foundations and establishes subtle relationships that would be lost if you skipped directly to season two. Our best advice is to suffer through it, take Michael’s personality with a grain of salt and know that season two gets so much better—it feels like an entirely new show.
A case can be made that seasons eight and nine are equally as terrible because a main character leaves the show, but despite negative hype, know that the incredible cast really holds the bulk of the show and makes it worth watching.
Episodes You Can’t Miss
Season 1, Episode 5: “Basketball”
Season 2, Episode 1: “The Dundies”
Season 2, Episode 7: “The Client”
Season 2, Episode 22: “Casino Night”
Season 3, Episode 1: “Gay Witch Hunt”
Season 3, Episode 8: “The Merger”
Season 3, Episode 22: “Beach Games”
Season 4, Episode 4: “Money”
Season 4, Episode 14: “Goodbye Toby”
All of Season 5
Season 6, Episodes 4 and 5: “Niagara: Part 1” and “Niagara: Part 2”
Season 7, Episode 12: “Ultimatum”
Season 7, Episode 21: “Goodbye Michael”
Season 7, Episode 24: “Search Committee”
Season 8, Episode 15: “Tallahassee”
Season 9, Episode 12: “Customer Loyalty”
Season 9, Episode 18: “Promos”
Season 9, Episode 23: “Finale”
Characters You’ll Be Obsessed With
Jim Halpert
Aside from the fact that you’re going to have a fat crush on Jim by the time the first episode ends, his comedic timing is impeccable. Jim is probably one of two people at Dunder Mifflin that isn’t neurotic, so he often looks at the camera vaguely flabbergasted when one of his coworkers is being a psycho. He also takes advantage of his coworkers’ personality shortcomings by coming up with elaborate pranks and lies that frustrate them but are hilarious for us. One time, Jim sent Dwight faxes claiming to be from his future self (which Dwight fell for) and ended up convincing him to throw his phone off a roof. Jim is the best, and we can’t wait for you to love him the way we do.
Dwight Schrute
Even though he’s Jim’s archenemy, it’s hard not to love Dwight. By far the funniest character on the show, Dwight takes his salesman responsibilities at Dunder Mifflin to insane levels, while living as a quasi-Amish beet farmer, and could be described as a fascist nerd. He’s elitist but lacks social skills and common sense. You find yourself rooting for Dwight in all situations because even though he’s clueless, he’s a survivor (literally he has years of training in survival skills) and you can’t help but relate to his weird take on life just a little bit.
Character You Will Equally Love and Hate
Michael Scott
The Office-watchers of the world stand equally divided on their feelings about Michael. Half just cannot with everything about the way he is. Half can see past his loud ignorance and find the sweet man underneath. Yes, he has no filter. He says things that are racist, sexist, homophobic, politically incorrect, and creepy, and lacks civility. ~But~ Michael desperately seeks approval and genuinely wants to develop friendships and be the best boss he can be. He just has no idea how, which is why he seems more like the world’s worst boss than the best boss. Underneath his demeaning behavior, Michael is a real person with a very evident human need for acceptance, and his love for his employees is unmatched.
Couples You Will Be Shipping
Jim and Pam
If you’ve heard anything at all about The Office, it’s probably about Jim and Pam. From their sweet, secret glances and bonding moments over office pranks, you will be desperately praying that these two get together.
Michael and Holly
A good chunk of this show is watching Michael painfully fail in his interactions with the female species, so when the mutually weird Holly comes into his life, it will be a breath of fresh air to find someone who you think goes with him so perfectly.
Ryan and Kelly
They love to hate each other, but you can’t deny that Kelly and Ryan belong together. Ryan is a business school tool, and Kelly is that obsessive girlfriend type you would usually be scared to date, but the combination of the two is perfect and hilarious.
Terminology You Need to Know
Dunder Mifflin — The paper company at which all of the characters work.
Scranton — A Pennsylvania town where the show takes place.
Dundies — A special award given by Michael Scott to Dunder Mifflin employees during a reception that takes place at Chili’s.
Best Guest Stars
Amy Adams, Ricky Gervais, Will Arnett, Ray Romano, Jim Carrey, Stephen Colbert, Josh Groban, Joan Cusack and Will Ferrell are just some of the stars that appear on The Office, but James Spader’s character, who has a longer stint on the show, is truly the one to watch.
Spader plays Robert California through seasons seven and eight, and while you might be equally horrified and intimidated by the baffling things that come out of his mouth, you’ll be on the edge of your seat waiting to see what odd thing he does next.
By the Numbers
Weddings: 4
Pregnancies: 4
Average Number of Times People Rewatch: 3
Times Michael Says “That’s what she said”: 45
Most Memorable Quotes
“I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.” — Michael
“Through concentration, I can raise and lower my cholesterol at will.” — Dwight
“Beets. Bears. Battlestar Galactica.” — Jim
“Dwight! You ignorant slut!” — Michael
“There is a master key and a spare key for the office. Dwight has them both. When I asked, ‘What if you die, Dwight? How will we get into the office?’ he said, ‘If I’m dead, you guys have been dead for weeks.’” — Pam
“The worst thing about prison was the Dementors.” — Michael
“Not enough for me? You are everything.” — Jim
“I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you actually left them.” — Andy
What to Do When You’re Done Watching
Your immediate reaction will be to have your mom hug you until you’re done crying and then to stare at a wall anxiously until you feel ready to move on from this chapter of your life. Once you’re a person again, it’s actually pretty common to rewatch the show right after and feed your wounds, but it also wouldn’t hurt to move on to another show like 30 Rock or Parks and Rec that has equally lovable characters.
While you’re at it, make sure to follow Office cast members like Rainn Wilson, Mindy Kaling, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey because they tend to post nostalgic photos from the series and all still hang out with each other. This show will be one of the best chapters of your life, so make sure to spread the love and pass it on to a friend.