The eighth season of the American television comedy The Office commenced airing on NBC in the United States on September 22, 2011, and concluded on May 10, 2012, consisting of 24 episodes. The series is an American adaptation of the British comedy series of the same name, and is presented in a mockumentary format, portraying the daily lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictitious Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. The eighth season of The Office aired on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern) in the United States as part of the "Comedy Night Done Right" television block. It stars Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B. J. Novak, Ed Helms, and James Spader, with supporting performances from Catherine Tate, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nunez, Craig Robinson, Phyllis Smith, and Zach Woods. This was the first season without Steve Carell as Michael Scott in the lead role and the only one to not feature the character in any onscreen capacity, although he is occasionally mentioned.
The eighth season largely centers on Andy Bernard's (Ed Helms) ascension to regional manager, as well as the antics of Robert California (James Spader), the new CEO of Sabre, a fictional printer company that owns Dunder Mifflin. Halfway through the season, Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson)—along with Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), Stanley Hudson (Leslie David Baker), Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak), Erin Hannon (Ellie Kemper), and Cathy Simms (Lindsey Broad)—travel to Florida to help set up a Sabre Store, where Nellie Bertram (Catherine Tate) is introduced. Eventually, former CFO of Dunder Mifflin David Wallace (Andy Buckley) buys back the company, firing California.
Despite debuting with moderate viewing figures, the departure of Carell affected the show's ratings, which fell as the season progressed. The season ranked as the eighty-seventh-most watched television series during the 2011–12 television year and saw a dramatic decrease in ratings from the previous season. Critical reception was polarized. Many critics argued that the series should have ended after the departure of Carell; many also felt that the season recycled storylines from past episodes. Other critics were more positive, complimenting various actors and their characters. It marked the first time since season one that the show received no Emmy nominations.
Production The eighth season of The Office was the last season of the show to be produced by Universal Media Studios and Reveille Productions before the companies were renamed "Universal Television" and "Shine America", respectively. It was also produced by Deedle-Dee Productions. The show is based on the British comedy series of the same name, which was created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). This season of The Office was produced by Greg Daniels and Paul Liebersteinthe latter of whom served as the showrunner. Returning writers from the previous season included Lieberstein, Charlie Grandy, Justin Spitzer, Carrie Kemper, Daniel Chun, Robert Padnick, Aaron Shure, Steve Hely, Amelie Gillette, Mindy Kaling, and B. J. Novak; the latter two were both also credited as executive producers. It was previously unknown whether Kaling would write for the series any longer. Kaling herself confirmed via her Twitter page that she would write the Christmas-themed episode, "Christmas Wishes", which was the last episode to use the "Universal Media Studios" logo. Three new writers joined the staff beginning in season eight: Owen Ellickson, Allison Silverman and Dan Greaney. The season also saw the directorial debuts of cast members Ed Helms and Brian Baumgartner; Helms directed the episodes "Christmas Wishes" and "Welcome Party" and Baumgartner directed "After Hours".
The series was renewed for an eighth season on March 17, 2011, began filming on July 25, 2011, and the season concluded filming on March 9, 2012. Jenna Fischer's pregnancy was written into the show, and Pam was again pregnant at the start of the season with a boy as she was in real life. Unlike the sixth season, there was no episode focusing on the baby's birth; it was instead announced on a blog. In an interview, executive producer Lieberstein stated that, with the departure of Michael Scott, the writers would explore further into the other characters on the show, such as centering on a specific character for an episode. On January 25, 2012, news broke that NBC was planning a spin-off series starring Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute, that would have been set at Schrute Farms, Dwight's bed-and-breakfast and beet farm. The spin-off would have been executive produced by Wilson, Paul Lieberstein, Ben Silverman, and Howard Klein. Due to his initial involvement in the spin-off, Lieberstein stepped down as showrunner of The Office. On October 29, 2012, it was revealed that NBC was not going forward with the proposed spin-off, although the original backdoor pilot, "The Farm" aired later in the ninth season.
Casting Cody Horn, who guest-starred in the seventh season as Jordan Garfield, was originally supposed to be featured as a recurring character this season, but she did not return. The eighth season introduced several new characters. Stephen Collins, Dee Wallace and Josh Groban were cast as Andy's father, mother and brother, respectively, and appeared in the episode "Garden Party". From the episodes "Pam's Replacement" to "Last Day in Florida", Lindsey Broad had a recurring guest-star spot as Cathy Simms, Pam's temporary replacement while she was on maternity leave, and who remained employed at the company for a while after. Maura Tierney appeared in "Mrs. California", playing California's wife. Catherine Tate returned to reprise her role as Nellie Bertram, in a major arc starting in the episode "Tallahassee". Despite reports that she would also get romantically involved with Robert, this never occurred. Two writers for the animated comedy series The Simpsons, Matt Selman and Matt Warburton, appeared in the Kaling-scripted episode "Test the Store", and Simpsons star Dan Castellaneta appeared in the episode "Turf War". While, it was initially announced that the season would introduce Stanley Hudson's "other daughter and a new male addition to the accounting department", these new characters never appeared.
At the time, this season marked the final year that some cast members—notably Helms, Fischer, Novak, and Krasinski—were signed on for the show, as their contracts expired at the end of the season; this caused speculation that several members of the main cast would leave the series following this season. The eighth season was Novak's last as a series regular, although he made a couple of recurring appearances in the ninth season. It was also Kaling's final full season, due to her pilot, The Mindy Project, being picked up by Fox. On February 28, 2012, it was announced that Spader would not return for a ninth season of the show. There was initial speculation that following the eighth season, Daniels was considering rebooting the series due to the possible departures of main cast members. However, a new deal was negotiated with NBC, and all the main cast memberssans Spader, Novak, and Kalingwould return for the ninth season; NBC also announced that Catherine Tate would become a series regular.
Cast
The Office employs an ensemble cast. Most of the main characters, and some supporting ones, are based on characters from the British version of The Office. While these characters normally have the same attitudes and perceptions as their British counterparts, the roles have been redesigned to better fit the American show. The show is known for its large cast size, many of whom are known particularly for their improvisational work.
Main Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute, based upon Gareth Keenan, who is the office's top-performing sales representative. John Krasinski as Jim Halpert, a sales representative and prankster, who is based upon Tim Canterbury, and is married to Pam Halpert, the office administrator. Jenna Fischer as Pam Halpert, who is based on Dawn Tinsley, is shy, but is often a cohort with Jim in his pranks on Dwight. She is pregnant during the first episodes of the season and leaves midway through the season. B. J. Novak as Ryan Howard, a temporary worker, who is based on Ricky Howard and Neil Godwin. Hawaii, The Office & Lost in Space Castings Variety, Retrieved April 13, 2008 Ed Helms as Andy Bernard, the newly promoted manager—who was previously a salesman—and boastful Cornell alumnus whose love for a cappella music and awkward social skills generates mixed feelings from his employees. Andy is an original character, meaning he has no English equivalent from Gervais's series. James Spader as Robert California, the eccentric CEO of Sabre. Spader reprises his guest-starring role from the seventh season, and joined the regular cast to replace Kathy Bates's character.
Starring Catherine Tate as Nellie Bertram, the president of Sabre's special projects, who later usurps Andy's role as regional manager. Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson, a grumpy salesman. Brian Baumgartner as Kevin Malone, a dim-witted accountant, who is based on Keith Bishop. Creed Bratton as Creed Bratton, the office's strange quality assurance officer. Kate Flannery as Meredith Palmer, the promiscuous supplier relations representative. Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor, the pop-culture obsessed customer service representative. Ellie Kemper as Erin Hannon, the receptionist and love interest of Andy. Angela Kinsey as Angela Martin, a judgemental accountant. Paul Lieberstein as Toby Flenderson, the sad-eyed human resources representative. Oscar Nunez as Oscar Martinez, an intelligent accountant, who is also gay. Craig Robinson as Darryl Philbin, the warehouse manager. Phyllis Smith as Phyllis Vance, a motherly saleswoman. Zach Woods as Gabe Lewis, the director of Sabre sales.
Recurring Mark Proksch as Nate Nickerson, a warehouse worker. Ameenah Kaplan as Val Johnson, a warehouse worker and Darryl's love interest. Hugh Dane as Hank Tate, the building's security guard. Lindsey Broad as Cathy Simms, a temporary worker. Eleanor Seigler as Jessica, Andy's girlfriend. Jack Coleman as Robert Lipton, a state senator and Angela's husband. David Koechner as Todd Packer, a rude and offensive employee, now working in Florida after Dwight and Jim tried to get him fired. Georgia Engel as Irene, an old woman from Florida. Andy Buckley as David Wallace, the former CFO of Dunder Mifflin.
Notable guests Stephen Collins as Walter Bernard Sr., Andy's father. Josh Groban as Walter Bernard Jr., Andy's brother. Dee Wallace as Ellen Bernard, Andy's mother. Maura Tierney as Susan California, Robert's wife. Brett Gelman as an unnamed magician that Pam hires for Nellie's welcome party. Sendhil Ramamurthy as Ravi, a pediatric surgeon and Kelly's new boyfriend. Chris Bauer as Harry Jannerone, a salesman from the Syracuse, New York branch. Dan Castellaneta as Mr. Ramish, the CEO of Prestige Direct.
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