The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History

The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2020-12-06 04:18:27
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Andy Greene
  • ISBN：9781524744984
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Editor Reviews

When Andy Greene interviewed me for this book， he was actually the first person to mention that I had acted in a TV show。 。 。 。 I thought up to that point that I was actually working at a paper company。 But in any case， I loved the book。 It's spot on， with great background stories， and I learned so much。”
—Creed Bratton， actor， The Office

“Writer Andy Greene puts one of the most resonant sitcoms in American comedy under a microscope in his in-depth oral history， The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s。 Even for the most insatiable fan， this rendering provides some of the most surprising revelations via an award-winning （and still quite passionate） cast and crew。”
—The A。V。 Club

“It just might be the perfect time to re-binge-watch the iconic TV series， and Greene’s 'untold story，' complete with cast interviews， is the ideal companion volume。”
—People 

“Fans of The Office who are looking for a meaningful way to celebrate the show's fifteenth anniversary are in luck。 。 。 。 [Author Andy] Greene conducted a whopping eighty-six interviews for this book， which he combined with archival material， past show-related interviews， and quotes from DVD commentaries。 The end result is a masterful， captivating story of The Office's nine-season run on NBC that will give fans a deeper understanding of what it was like working on the show， and offer a heavy dose of nostalgia。”
—Mashable

“[A] love letter to the show 。 。 。 a dream guide and oral history into the full creative process 。 。 。  The behind-the-scenes detailing of classic episodes along with the thoughts from the people on the front lines of the show make this a perfect book for fans along with students studying how television series are made。” 
—Jeff Ayers， Associated Press

“Perhaps the best review I can give for The Office: An Oral History is that as a huge fan of the show， this book made me laugh out loud and cry on many occasions while managing to surprise me at every turn。 I both learned and felt a lot， which is pretty much the best you can hope for in a book。”
—Hypable

“At times poignant， at times hilarious， and always fascinating， Andy Greene’s The Office is a treasure chest of new details and photos。 Along with your DVDs and bobbleheads， you must add this to your own superfan collection。”
—Jennie Tan， founder of the top fan site OfficeTally。com

“A tremendously fun must-read for anyone who loves the show！ Andy Greene gets you inside the entire process， including the show’s creation， casting， what happened inside the writer’s room， and what actors were thinking during specific scenes。 Reveals so many inside details about the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company， many that even I didn’t know—and I played the owner！”
—Andy Buckley （aka David Wallace）， actor， The Office

“A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at The Office。 Even though the show was my home for many years， I still learned a lot by reading this book。 I couldn't put it down！”
—Jennifer Celotta， executive producer and writer， The Office

“Andy Greene’s epic history of The Office is as brilliant， riotous， addictive， and essential as the show itself。 Greene tells the whole strangely heroic tale of how one weird show accidentally reshaped TV comedy—and makes it feel like a time capsule of our entire culture。”
—Rob Sheffield， New York Times bestselling author， Dreaming the Beatles and Love Is a Mixtape

“In this behind-the-scenes trove for the countless fans of The Office， Rolling Stone senior writer Greene pulls together comments， context， and insights in a round-table style that tracks the sitcom's origins and success。 。 。 。 With cogent chapters about key episodes， lead characters 。 。 。 craft talk， and nuts-and-bolts details， Greene smartly lets the contributors elaborate how a workplace mockumentary became a cultural phenomenon。 。 。 。 A fond， funny， informative trip down Memory Lane for series buffs and newcomers alike。”
—Kirkus Reviews

“First-time author Greene delivers a fascinating oral history of The Office。 。 。 。 Greene， a pop culture writer for Rolling Stone， illuminates the show thanks to nearly a hundred interviews with cast members， writers， directors， producers， and crew along with various TV executives and critics。 。 。 。 With its wealth of anecdotes， this entertaining history will delight the series' many fans。”
—Publishers Weekly

“Greene’s affectionate tribute will satisfy Office devotees eager for a behind-the-scenes look at this beloved sitcom。”
—Library Journal

From the Publisher

Reviews

sblonder ，

This was quite the tome。 It literally followed the Office and how it progressed through its 10 years - from pitching the show， to casting， to each season， Michael's goodbye， to their final episode and wrap party。 This literally gives you anything you could want to know about the workings of the show。 Besides just focusing on the stars， it highlights the producers， writers， camera men， and lower-tiered cast members。 It really is an intreguing look into the production side of a TV show。 I picked this up thinking it was going to be a bunch of funny stories from the time on the set， but that's not what it is。 There are some funny stories but it really focuses on the behind-the-scenes workings and how everyone worked together。 While I enjoyed the office， I am nowhere near a super-fan。 This book is for a super fan， it is a long， fully detailed explanation of so so so many things， and I appreciate that。 I felt like this information was necessary and needed to be recorded - but I just didn't quite care enough， and was trying to flip through it a tad faster。 I really enjoyed the writing style。 It is basically chronological and has the input of so many staff and cast members。 It is written more as an interview/conversation that flows。 Each person gets a short paragraph or a few sentences before it pops to someone else。 I felt like that kept the book moving for me。 I also appreciated that I could pick up and put this down in-between other readings， and activities and it was very managable to read bits here and there。 Overall， very informative， interesting and well written。

Courtney ，

A great dive into the history of the television series The Office！ Lots of new information that I haven't heard yet。

Kylara Jensen ，

I enjoyed learning all the behind the scenes tidbits some of which I'd heard before， some I didn't。 The formatting was difficult to get used to。 It's just a ton of different interview snippets cut together。 In retrospect the author did a really good job acting as an editor to cut all the interviews together and format the book。 But yeah for the first 2-3 chapters it was hard to get used。 The book becomes more narrative once we start on Season 1 and start going through each chapter and the I enjoyed learning all the behind the scenes tidbits some of which I'd heard before， some I didn't。 The formatting was difficult to get used to。 It's just a ton of different interview snippets cut together。 In retrospect the author did a really good job acting as an editor to cut all the interviews together and format the book。 But yeah for the first 2-3 chapters it was hard to get used。 The book becomes more narrative once we start on Season 1 and start going through each chapter and the different episodes。 。。。more

George Florin ，

Great insights into the back stories of some of the most liked characters in one of the most enjoyed TV show ever。 The author does a great job at unraveling some of the feelings the cast and crew had when filming the episodes， their hardships and struggles， as long as their comebacks and upsides。Definitely a must read for any The Office fan。

Ashley ，

Every Office super fan will absolutely love this book。 It made me appreciate the show even more and I couldnt get enough of all the trivia facts from my favorite episodes。 Every Office super fan will absolutely love this book。 It made me appreciate the show even more and I couldn’t get enough of all the trivia facts from my favorite episodes。 。。。more

Christine ，

This book is mostly a collection of interviews with cast members， crew， executives， creators， and writers from The Office， and it really works。 I thought it offered a truly fascinating and engaging look behind the scenes。 It's a must-read for all Office fans。 

Debbie "Buried in Her TBR Pile" ，

TBD

Michelle Maxwell ，

A must-read for any fan of The Office 🖤

Reeves Kirtner ，

Super fan of The Office？ Must read。

Olivia Simpson ，

A tremendously wonderful and insightful companion to a show that is beloved to me。 Do I know too much？？ Probably！ Did I love knowing too much？？ YEP

Deni ，

An interesting look at the writing and production side of the show， but it doesn't dig deep into the majority of the creative choices and doesn't offer much new information。 Certainly nostalgic though。 Makes you want to binge watch the show for the bazillionth time （obviously）。

Megan Byrd ，

A wonderful walk through of the creation and all nine seasons of The Office。 You learn more about the episodes and characters in addition to the actors， writers， and other staff。 An enjoyable read for Office fans。

Matthew Fitch ，

It definitely has decent parts such as the casting process， cast recollections， and who didnt think Steve Carell was a better person than actor。 And maybe this is my weakness as a reader but my eyes would grow heavy over the writing/technical part that dominates the book。 Still a good read for those that loved show。 Well， until Carell left and I dont think even the actors loved the final two seasons。。。🤓 It definitely has decent parts such as the casting process， cast recollections， and who didn’t think Steve Carell was a better person than actor。 And maybe this is my weakness as a reader but my eyes would grow heavy over the writing/technical part that dominates the book。 Still a good read for those that loved show。 Well， until Carell left and I don’t think even the actors loved the final two seasons。。。🤓 。。。more

Karin Mika ，

Although I liked The Office， I didn't love The Office， which probably explains why I did not love this book。 I generally like "Behind the Scenes" narratives sometimes more than the shows， but I didn't really like the way the book was put together。 The author put the book together like an episode of The Office with the story being told through the eyes of the （many， many） characters。 In the audio book， the dialogue was read by different people， but it wasn't the actors， which often made the Although I liked The Office， I didn't love The Office， which probably explains why I did not love this book。 I generally like "Behind the Scenes" narratives sometimes more than the shows， but I didn't really like the way the book was put together。 The author put the book together like an episode of The Office with the story being told through the eyes of the （many， many） characters。 In the audio book， the dialogue was read by different people， but it wasn't the actors， which often made the choppiness disconcerting。 The book also seemed to go episode by episode， which also made the book difficult to follow for someone who didn't have all of the episodes memorized。 For me， the book would have been better if it had been written in the voice of one person who contextualized the commentary made by the actors。 。。。more

Hannah Moerman ，

4。5 ✨ dont you love when something you read makes you love something you love just a little bit more？ now i will wait for one on the west wing。 👏 4。5 ✨ dont you love when something you read makes you love something you love just a little bit more？ now i will wait for one on the west wing。 👏🏼 。。。more

Karen ，

3。5 rounding down。 Enjoyable if overly-long oral history of the sitcom the Office。 I enjoyed the color and anecdotes and especially the behind-the-scenes looks at some particularly iconic episodes and characters （and now there are some I can't wait to go watch again）。 The chronological recounting of each season， though， could have been cut dramatically， I think， and in general the book could have been more tightly edited （as many of the testimonials were a bit repetitive， even down to the 3。5 rounding down。 Enjoyable if overly-long oral history of the sitcom the Office。 I enjoyed the color and anecdotes and especially the behind-the-scenes looks at some particularly iconic episodes and characters （and now there are some I can't wait to go watch again）。 The chronological recounting of each season， though， could have been cut dramatically， I think， and in general the book could have been more tightly edited （as many of the testimonials were a bit repetitive， even down to the metaphors used by different speakers）。 Definitely worthwhile for fans of the show or those who just finished binging all nine seasons and want to peek behind the curtain （or the watercooler？）。 。。。more

Hannah ，

This book was an absolute delight and so nostalgic。 I think the format of the audiobook was not my favorite， and I would prefer to read the physical copy， but I loved it nonetheless。 I kept trying to be objective throughout the listen because I don't want to say "This book is 5 stars，" when in reality the book may be 3 stars and I just love The Office so much that I'm having 5 stars worth of fun listening to it。 I really do think this book is 5 stars。 I have listened to interviews and podcasts This book was an absolute delight and so nostalgic。 I think the format of the audiobook was not my favorite， and I would prefer to read the physical copy， but I loved it nonetheless。 I kept trying to be objective throughout the listen because I don't want to say "This book is 5 stars，" when in reality the book may be 3 stars and I just love The Office so much that I'm having 5 stars worth of fun listening to it。 I really do think this book is 5 stars。 I have listened to interviews and podcasts and binged Youtube videos about the cast member's experience on The Office but I really knew very little about the production and writing process。 I knew a little about BJ Novak， Paul Lieberstein， and Mindy Kaling， and a few trivia items here and there， but this book does a really wonderful job of showing the cast experience as well as the production crew， writing team， creators， and directors。 I loved every second of the 14 hours it took to listen to this book and am likely going to buy a physical copy。 If you love The Office and are into the mechanics of comedy television， I would highly， highly recommend。 P。S。 the book itself is not comedy， although it is listed in the comedy genre。 I did not find the book funny， it's just about a funny television show。 。。。more

Justin Gerstenfield ，

Lots of great insights about the show and cast。

Matt Castello ，

THE definitive book on The Office。 Really wonderful insight and perspectives。 Efficiently quick 400-page read

Chris Bridson ，

A bit repetitive， but at times it's an interesting behind the scenes look at one of the greatest TV comedies ever。

Mindy ，

A fun trip down memory lane with behind-the-scenes looks at some of your favorite episodes， actors， characters， and crew for fans of The Office。

Rheetha Lawlor ，

I literally just finished the book， and so this is very fresh on my mind。 First of all， about 99。7 percent of it is quotes from various people who were involved in the making of the series。 I feel very strongly about this book because I love the show so much。 So I felt like I got to know the people who were involved much more， although there weren't too many secrets divulged。 There was still some controversies here and there such as whether or not Steve Carell wanted to leave the show， etc。 And I literally just finished the book， and so this is very fresh on my mind。 First of all， about 99。7 percent of it is quotes from various people who were involved in the making of the series。 I feel very strongly about this book because I love the show so much。 So I felt like I got to know the people who were involved much more， although there weren't too many secrets divulged。 There was still some controversies here and there such as whether or not Steve Carell wanted to leave the show， etc。 And I loved hearing all the different ideas that could have been， from Dwight jumping from Niagra Falls on a horse to the possibilities of Jim and Pam towards the end。 I won't say this book is for everyone， but for anyone who knows me， this was a book after my own heart。 I do wish I could meet any one of the people who helped provide the show to us mass millions。 I wouldn't mind if it was the caterer （who also was included in the book- how cool is that？） 。。。more

J。Elle ，

Excuse me while I go binge the show for the fortieth time。

Perri ，

I'm a fan but not a SUPER fan of The Office。 Hearing that it's going off Netflix， I wanted to rewatch it， but not the WHOLE thing。 So， I used this book to watch some of their highlighted episodes， and， in addition， got delightful behind-the-scenes insights into at the series with interviews from many of the writer， producers and actors。 Just what I wanted！

Tiffany Seelye ，

If you love The Office， you'll love this book。

Kate ，

Only read this if you are a fanatic "The Office" fan， or this book will be like watching paint dry。 If you ARE a "The Office" fan， it will be a mildly pleasant meander down the road of Dunder Mifflin。 However， since it's essentially just a bunch of interviews strung together chronologically - sometimes one painful line at a time - it's driven most by whomever the author could convince to talk to him， rather than by the voices and perspectives you necessarily would want to hear from the most。 The Only read this if you are a fanatic "The Office" fan， or this book will be like watching paint dry。 If you ARE a "The Office" fan， it will be a mildly pleasant meander down the road of Dunder Mifflin。 However， since it's essentially just a bunch of interviews strung together chronologically - sometimes one painful line at a time - it's driven most by whomever the author could convince to talk to him， rather than by the voices and perspectives you necessarily would want to hear from the most。 The strongest aspects were probably when you heard different perspectives on why certain things happen。 For example， there are varying narratives on whether Steve Carell left by choice or if he would have kept going for a few extra seasons。 Definitely the most satisfying bit - as a viewer still disgusted about season 8 - is hearing everyone admit what a truly terrible mistake Robert California was and how James Spader didn't really give a crap about the show， he just really needed the money because he'd spent all his Boston Legal earnings on a house renovation or something。 Do NOT listen to this as an audio book。 It is slow and painful。 。。。more

Sheri S。 ，

3。5 - Fans of The Office will really enjoy this book and hearing stories about the characters and the actors who played them。 I wouldn't consider myself a huge Office fan but I still found the book pretty entertaining。 It brought back memories of some of the funny and serious scenes （i。e。 cats falling out of the ceiling， Jim's proposal to Pam， etc。） and made me want to re-watch the final episode。 I really enjoyed learning more about the Creed Bratton and the actor who played him。 It was a fun 3。5 - Fans of The Office will really enjoy this book and hearing stories about the characters and the actors who played them。 I wouldn't consider myself a huge Office fan but I still found the book pretty entertaining。 It brought back memories of some of the funny and serious scenes （i。e。 cats falling out of the ceiling， Jim's proposal to Pam， etc。） and made me want to re-watch the final episode。 I really enjoyed learning more about the Creed Bratton and the actor who played him。 It was a fun book！ 。。。more

Drew ，

If youre a office fan you have to read this book！！！ It was so good， and so entertaining。 A must read！！！！ You wont be disappointed If you’re a office fan you have to read this book！！！ It was so good， and so entertaining。 A must read！！！！ You won’t be disappointed 。。。more

Sherri ，

Great book for any fan of The Office。

Danielle ，

This was a really fascinating read！ As someone who watched the show for the first time recently， its was really interesting to get context on how things like Steve Carrells movie career or the writers strike impacted the show。 It was also so cool to read about the writing processes of the scripts and how everything was done。 This was a really fascinating read！ As someone who watched the show for the first time recently， it’s was really interesting to get context on how things like Steve Carrell’s movie career or the writer’s strike impacted the show。 It was also so cool to read about the writing processes of the scripts and how everything was done。 。。。more

Elyse M ，

I'm a big fan of The Office， and love it moreso now。 So interesting to read how it started through to how it ended。 Really enjoyed the chapters about specific episodes。 Going back to watch them after reading about them made the episodes more fun to watch， like there were little things to look out for that I wouldn't otherwise notice。