The American version of The Office is a favorite “comfort food” for many television viewers. With reruns airing on network TV regularly and the entire series available to stream on Peacock, it’s an easy sitcom to throw on when we need the familiarity of characters telling jokes we’ve heard a thousand times. Which is often!
Adapted from the British series of the same name created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, NBC’s The Office ran for nine seasons from 2005 to 2013. While we love it all, some seasons weren’t quite as enjoyable as others. Here’s how they rank from worst to best.
Season 1
Like many sitcoms that eventually became part of the TV lexicon, The Office didn’t start off as strongly as it would eventually become. Season 1 introduced us to Michael Scott, the Regional Branch Manager for Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The first season aligns very closely with the British show, and believe it or not, Michael isn’t even half as cringey as Gervais’s David Brent. Still, the characters lack depth, and without context we’re not as invested as we will soon be.
Season 9
After star Steve Carell left to pursue more movie work in the middle of Season 7, the show never fully recovered. The ninth and final season has some excellent episodes, including the tear-jerking finale featuring the return of Michael for Angela (Angela Kinsey) and Dwight’s (Rainn Wilson) wedding. However, adding two new characters, Pete “Plop” Miller (Jake Lacy) and Clark “New Dwight” Green (Clark Duke), to replace the irreplicable Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling) simply didn’t work.
Season 8
Season 8 suffers a similar fate to the final season. Writers struggled to find their way without Michael at the show’s center, focusing on Pam and Angela’s pregnancies and the branch’s bizarro new acting manager, Robert California (James Spader). There were simply too many awkward moments and not enough laughs in this season, but like chocolate, even when it’s bad, it’s still kind of good.
Season 5
This season marked a big change for Pam (Jenna Fischer), who breaks away from the norm to join Michael and Ryan (BJ Novak) for the Michael Scott Paper Company defection. There are also lots of noteworthy episodes that have been meme’d and shared for ages now: “Weight Loss,” “Stress Relief,” and of course, Kevin’s (Brian Baumgartner) infamous chili catastrophe in “Casual Friday.”
Season 6
This season finally answered the “will they or won’t they?” question for Pam and Jim (John Krasinski). The couple tied the knot (twice!) and delivered their first baby, Cece. Their two-part Niagara Falls wedding episodes are some of the best in the entire series, culminating in the epic flash mob aisle dance the whole crew performs during the wedding ceremony. Episodes like “Scott’s Tots” made us cringe just like we used to in earlier seasons.
Season 7
This was a difficult season because we had to say goodbye to Michael. Watching him finally fall in love with HR rep Holly Flax (Amy Ryan) after losing at love for so long was a sweet surprise, but the attempts to replace the boss didn’t go well. Will Ferrell tried his best to bring the funny with his Deangelo Vickers four-episode run, but it just didn’t stick. Despite the stumbles, this season has memorable episodes like “Threat Level Midnight” and of course, “Goodbye, Michael.”
Season 4
This season has so many of our favorite episodes! Ryan finally gets a much-deserved comeuppance when he’s arrested for fraud, Toby leaves for South America, Holly steps in as Michael’s new love interest after he finally breaks up with Jan (Malora Hardin), and Dwight kills Angela’s cat. We also get to see Andy’s (Ed Helms) bleeding nips in “Fun Run,” Michael who off his non-existent survival skills in “Survivor Man,” and of course, the penultimate Office cringe-fest, “Dinner Party.”
Season 3
In the first cast shakeup since the show began, the Stamford and Scranton branches merge and bring new characters Andy and Karen (Rashida Jones) on board. Pam finally sees that she messed up with Jim, but he is now dating Karen. Ryan somehow ascends the ranks to take Jan’s job at corporate, and Michael inadvertently sends a topless beach picture of Jan to the entire company. Season 3 gave us some of our favorite Office moments of all time, including “The Convict” (featuring Prison Mike!), and “Ben Franklin.”
Season 2
This is the season that made most of us loyal fans of The Office for life. After the initial awkwardness of season 1, fans got a deeper look at the quirky characters that make this show so much fun to watch. Angela and Dwight hook up, as do Jan and Michael, and Kelly and Ryan. Jim gets tired of waiting for Pam, so he transfers to Stamford and meets Karen. Pam feels God in a Chili’s restaurant during the first (and best) episode of “The Dundies,” and Michael cooks his foot on a George Foreman grill in “The Injury.”
So many quotable classics, so little time! We’ll never stop watching this enduring show. Thankfully, we won’t have to—The Office is currently streaming on Peacock.
(featured image: NBC)
