Rainn Wilson, the actor who played Dwight in the US version of The Office, has spoken out about why the first season of the show is so different.
The US version of the UK classic show is beloved, leading to it being watched for 57 billion minutes in the United States alone in 2020.
This huge success has led to the show’s first spin-off, The Paper, which launches next month and will see Oscar Nunez return to his role in the show after 12 years.
The series will follow a failing midwestern newspaper company that tries to revitalise their paper by hiring a new plucky editor-in-chief, played by Domhnall Gleeson, as they are followed by the same documentary crew.
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Many are concerned by this upcoming first season of the show based on early looks, however if The Office US is anything to go by, it is worth giving them a season or two to figure things out.
The first season of the US Office is markedly different to the rest of the TV show.
Lasting only six episodes, it is far closer to the original UK version, it is far more cringeworthy and dour in its tone and has the show’s worst reviews of the first seven seasons in which Steve Carrell starred.
Speaking about this on a recent podcast appearance however, Rainn Wilson has spoken about why that was the case.
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He said in an appearance on Josh Peck’s The Good Guys podcast: “There was a big shift between season one and season two I don’t know if you noticed.
“If you watch season one it’s very drab, it’s darkly lit, people don’t have any makeup on. There’s nothing ‘American Television’ about it.
“In season two Steve [Carrell] does his hair a little better, we’re wearing nicer suits, the set gets a little warmer in the way that it’s lit… and it did help a lot.”
He went on to add that he felt the first season was ‘a little too close’ to the original BBC version starring Ricky Gervais.
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He added: “The show changed and became a little bit warmer and a little more human… I think Michael Scott became a little bit more likeable.”
The way the show majorly changed after its initial first season and, according to its own stars, improved massively, will be reassuring for fans nervous for The Paper.
Greg Daniels, who created The Office US and The Paper, said of the new show in a recent interview: “The point is, in this show, it’s sort of like people who have been a little bit beaten down in an uninspiring particular situation, becoming inspired by somebody new.
“I think journalism as a pursuit, is so important and the newspapers have been hollowed out by these economic forces.”
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The Paper releases September 5 in the UK on Sky and NOW.
Topics: The Office, TV, TV and Film
Michael Slavin