The US Office star Rainn Wilson has reflected on how poorly parts of the show has aged, saying it was “jaw-droppingly” offensive and would be “very, very different” if it was made in 2025.
Wilson played Dwight Schrute on all nine seasons of the NBC sitcom, an adaptation of the original UK show. The US Office ran for 201 episodes between 2005 and 2013.
Speaking on The Last Laugh podcast, Wilson contemplated the show’s legacy and how it has dated over time, saying it was very much a product of its time.
“Listen you know, the Benihana Christmas episode where Michael and Andy draw with a sharpie on one of the Asian women that they’ve brought back to the Christmas party is jaw droppingly kind of horrific,” Wilson said. “And it’s a tricky conversation, you know? They’re clueless and in their cluelessness they’re racist and insensitive, and they’re always saying the wrong thing. And that’s Michael, Dwight and Andy — and Kevin for that matter. So it’s a show based around clueless, insensitive, racist, sexist people that kind of mirrors the United States in a lot of ways.”
He continued: “You want to encourage it, because it’s funny as hell and it also kind of skewers a particular American sensibility. But it definitely goes pretty far if you dig deep,” “Could it happen today? I think it would have to be very, very different if it were made in this environment.”
His comments came just as a new spinoff of the show, The Paper, aired. In a four-star review, NME wrote: “As the series progresses, it finds its own identity and becomes much funnier in the process. In what is probably the standout episode, the TTT’s impartiality is threatened when Softees toilet tissue becomes implicated in a city-wide sewage scandal. This puts Ned in direct conflict with his obsequious boss Ken Davies (Alan Partridge alum Tim Key), a clueless company man who says “If it was up to me, our corporation would support gay people all year round,” without a hint of self-awareness.
Key may be a scene-stealer but he’s matched by [Sabrina] Impacciatore, who imbues narcissistic Esmeralda with deranged dignity. Quite often, she’s the agent of chaos who busts this show out of its comfort zone. In one episode, she becomes convinced that office duffer Barry (Duane R. Shepard Sr.) is an incubus pursuing her in her dreams. Does it all add up to watercooler TV? Probably not, but The Paper is definitely worth a binge on your next annual leave day.”
Meanwhile, last month, Wilson revealed he and his family were evacuated from their home in Oregon due to wildfires. Shortly after, he appealed for greater action to be taken on climate change, which has increased the number of wildfires in the US.
