10 things you did not know about NBC's The Office

Bob Odenkirk as Michael Scott? An African American Pam Beesly? A spin-off starring Ed Helms as Andy Bernard suburban father? These are some of the possibilities considered as successful British comedy The Office was adapted for American audiences.
Executive producer Ben Silverman first gained exposure fake documentary about a mundane job and his incompetent boss, on BBC2 during a trip to London. "I found it so blinding hysterical and awkward," he said, "I immediately went in pursuit of rights." Creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have met a variety of producers, but Silverman has been on King of the Hill co-creator Greg Daniels: "I thought he was so brilliant in the character development of the working class."
Daniels - who had been reunited with The Jim Henson Company on a new Muppet Show - agreed to sit down with Gervais and Merchant. "I stayed up all night watching season one of the UK's Office," he said. "I wanted to meet Stephen and Ricky, especially how they did it. Turns out their favorite Simpsons episode was that I wrote, "Homer Bad Man. "We talked about the Board and what to do with it."
However, Daniels was hesitant. "It took me a long time to agree to do so because I am a conservative person," he said. Once aboard, Daniels was meticulous in developing a version both honored the original, but has been adapted to the United States
The show barely made the air: "This is one of the worst ever test driver alongside Seinfeld," says star Rainn Wilson (Dwight) Despite the odds stacked against it, the Office. cheated cancellation and became a sensation in nine seasons.
With comedy ending its run May 16, the cast and producers have shared some of the lesser known behind what it took to build and maintain the Office Dunder Mifflin Scranton secrets.
The Office was originally developed with FX or HBO in mind.
FX, then president of entertainment Kevin Reilly took a keen interest in adapting Daniels. But when BBC America began running the UK series, Daniels feared that the cable would be eclipsed by taking the original. "I thought, 'Oh shit, let's compare the two versions here. Few people watched the British show in America, but anyone whose opinions I respected and dignified look. This has forced us to rethink where we sold it. " When Reilly moved to NBC, he always wanted to buy. "I said he did not feel like a show to NBC," said Daniels. "At the time, Will & Grace was their number one show ... I was a little audacity to the original British show. "For the driver, Daniels stuck near a first episode of the UK Office to avoid all the notes of the network.
Steve Carell become almost missed Michael Scott.
Can Universal Pictures Chairman Stacey Snider first suggested Carell producers. But Carell accepted a job in the NBC sitcom Come to Papa. Daniels also focused on Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad), David Koechner (who later played traveling salesman Todd Packer), Alan Tudyk (Suburgatory) and even Wilson, who was obviously more suitable for Dwight. But Papa Come quickly flopped and NBC try to let Carell Michael Scott. "He nailed it," says Silverman. "The rest is history."
Jim and Pam have been a story of interracial love.
"Jenna [Fischer] was the perfect Pam," says Daniels. "The only alternative to Jenna: I had a version in the spirit in which Pam was African-American and so was [his companion] Roy He was Craig Robinson, Roy and Erica Vittina Pam Phillips as I flirted with in the context .. Americanize it. "Other possible castings, Eric Stonestreet have been if Kevin Brian Baumgartner was not picked up, Parks and Recreation star Adam Scott tested as Jim and Mary Lynn Rajskub (24) auditioned as Pam.
There Dunder Mifflin branches throughout the Northeast.
When Jim (John Krasinski) moved to the Stamford branch of Dunder Mifflin at the beginning of season 3, Daniels came up with a list of other offices of the paper company. "There was a Nashua branch and Yonkers branch," he said. "We chose a lot of Scranton sized cities in the North-East who names a little humor."
The original idea of ​​the Office spin-off: A parody of PBS 'An American Family.
"We were going to do a version of the mockumentary Fort family, Andy Helms as Dad and Catherine Tate [who later joined the office as Nellie Bertram] as the mother, living in a cul-de-sac somewhere America. But in the past year, Modern Family came out, "says Daniels. "And they did." Other ideas considered but rejected: A family show Jim and Pam, Dwight to the Beet Farm (which was finally tried this year as a backdoor pilot farm before NBC nixed it) Darryl (Robinson) top Poster his own show, or even just another branch Dunder Mifflin. "The problem is that you do not want to do anything to harm the mother ship," says executive producer Michael Schur do. "In season 4, you could not take Jim and Pam from The Office."
How Parks and Recreation could be a spin-off office.
Rashida Jones cast in a different character Karen that his office kept parks and recreation to be a spin-off role. But executive producer Paul Lieberstein he had a unique way of doing this: the Office, a copy of breakages and throughout the episode, a repairman trying to fix it. At the end of the episode, the machine is loaded on a truck and in a renovated warehouse. Then, the copier is loaded onto another truck and taken to Pawnee, Indiana, where it is deposited in the parks and recreation office. In a twist on the "spin-off" tradition, the split character was the copy machine. Producers briefly considered the idea, but ultimately Parks and Recreation is his own creation.
Oscar (Oscar Nunez) was not supposed to be gay.
"But wardrobe put him in a pink shirt at a given" time, Daniels said the authors worked on a scenario in which Michael was trying to figure out who in the office might be gay -. Shirt and this led to great revelation the Oscar in the Season 3 episode Daniels said "Gay Witch Hunt.": "Many of our stories have been trying to figure out which would be extremely inappropriate for a boss to do."
The backstory of Dwight was inspired by the Wilson family, grandparents Daniels and UPN's Amish in the city.
"I brought the writers a bunch of pictures of my family, a lot park are very eclectic and trailer," says Wilson. "This gave them the idea that the bottom of Dwight could be more rural or white trash. It was introduced in season 2 that Dwight had a beet farm. Who was based on Greg's grandparents, who are to raise beets back in Poland before the war. " As the cousin of Dwight Mose, "I was really into this reality TV show Amish in the city and talked about how it was awkward in the writers' room," says Schur. "So Greg m did it play Mose. "Schur donated all the money he's actually playing Mose to charity." Everything was so absurd that I felt I could not keep the money, "he said .
Fischer regularly hear from viewers who do not like high-Pam wanted.
"Many people turned Pam when she became firmer," says Fischer. "It always made me sad. I'm so proud of her that she found her voice. But there are people, especially men, who are much more attracted to her as a wallflower. I think it is saying what they are looking for a woman. "
NBC ordered the farm to the series, Dwight would have left office in mid-season.
"Part of the plan was that Rainn leave mid-year," says Daniels. It happened, Nellie Tate would "step into the shoes Dwight," he added. Cousin Mose would become a commercial traveler, as Schur is busy production executive parks and recreation. "Mose would load a wagon with beets and go to the roadside farms throughout the state of Pennsylvania and to sell the Schrute family beet." And Fischer said she is certain that "at one point Jim and Pam have visited."
Wilson said he believes "NBC has made a big mistake going to the farm. I think there's a ton of potential. But if it was not picked up, I knew it was time to leave Dwight go to hang my glasses spoil the hard core in my hair and move on. This is what happened, and I'm over it. "