The Cover-Up (The Office)
Encyclopedia
"The Cover-Up" is the 24th episode of the sixth season
of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 124th episode overall. It aired May 6, 2010 on NBC
.
In the episode, Michael suspects Donna is cheating on him, and he pays Dwight $50 to investigate. Meanwhile, Andy is frustrated when no one takes his customer's complaint seriously.
The episode was written by Lee Eisenberg
and Gene Stupnitsky
, their third writing credit of the season after "The Lover
" and "Scott's Tots
." It was directed by Rainn Wilson
, who also portrays Dwight Schrute
on the show, marking his television directorial debut.
(Steve Carell
) is in good spirits due to his wildly successful relationship with Donna (Amy Pietz
). However, during another one of Michael's pointless meetings, other members of the office, particularly Ryan
(B. J. Novak
) and Kelly
(Mindy Kaling
), convince him that she might be cheating on him. Worried, Michael hires Dwight
(Rainn Wilson
) to tail her to see if she spends time with anyone else. Dwight follows Donna to her gym and attempts to seduce her. Donna rebukes him and calls security on him, whereby he openly admits he was sent there by Michael to keep tabs on her. An enraged Donna comes to the office to talk to Michael about the whole situation, and the two forgive each other and reconcile by planning a private vacation together.
Andy
(Ed Helms
) receives a call from a concerned customer that a Sabre printer caught fire during a routine operation. He becomes frustrated when Gabe
(Zach Woods
) fails to take his customer's complaint seriously. Capitalizing on his fears, Darryl
(Craig Robinson) tries to prank Andy into believing he has uncovered a conspiracy as a retaliation for Andy pinning one of his mistakes on the warehouse a few years prior (which nearly resulted in Darryl's termination). He even enlists Creed
(Creed Bratton
) to help, and spends the day leading Andy into greater levels of panic. After initially pretending to help Andy to not get fired, Darryl agrees to film Andy testing the printer in a typical fashion to test his burning printer theory. Though Darryl intends to use the video to further embarrass Andy, the printer indeed catches fire and explodes. This confirms Andy's suspicions, and scares Darryl straight.
While Donna and Michael are planning their trip, Pam
(Jenna Fischer
) snoops around on Facebook
, and finds pictures of Donna hugging and kissing another man. At first, she and Jim
(John Krasinski
) were skeptical of Donna cheating, and even berated Michael for having destructive tendencies with his personal life. But now they realize his fears are correct, and try to warn him as best they can. Pam shows Michael the pictures she found, and he confronts Donna with the evidence. At the end of the episode, Donna reveals that it is Michael who is the "other guy"; the photos are of her and her current husband.
It was written by Lee Eisenberg
and Gene Stupnitsky
, their third writing credit of the season after "The Lover
" and "Scott's Tots
." It was directed by Rainn Wilson
, who also portrays Dwight Schrute
on the show, marking his television directorial debut. He is the fourth actor of the series to make a directorial debut this season after B. J. Novak
, John Krasinski
and Mindy Kaling
. Cast members Steve Carell
and Paul Lieberstein
also directed episodes this season, but have previously directed for the series. This episode was dedicated to the memory of Larry Einhorn, whose son, Randall Einhorn
, has directed 11 previous episodes of the series, served as this episode's consultant and cinematographer
, and went on to direct other episodes - including the next episode.
Cindy White of IGN
gave the episode a 8.0/10, saying it was "Impressive" and "While 'The Cover-Up' did manage to move along two story threads leading up to the end of the season, it wasn't really a standout episode, especially in contrast to last week's. There weren't as many quotable lines or memorable moments as I usually expect from The Office." Leonard Pierce of The A.V. Club
gave the episode an A−, writing "It's an extremely adept episode, skillfully blending its themes with a solid structure and tons of good jokes in a way that this season has rarely achieved", but said the episode wasn't as good as the other NBC Comedy Night Done Right
shows, Community
and Parks and Recreation
. Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly
said "The episode was called 'The Cover-Up,' and even if it didn’t quite follow through on the promise of that opening scene, it was a good little ditty." James Poniewozik of Time
gave the episode a positive review writing "Credit to the show for setting that up (Michael realizing he is a mistress), though it eluded me and, I suppose, everyone else not versed in the secret signals of heart-shaped jewelry.
The Office (U.S. TV series) season 6
The American television comedy The Office was renewed by NBC for a sixth season on January 15, 2009. The season premiered on September 17, 2009 and concluded on May 20, 2010. The episodes aired on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. EDT as part of Comedy Night Done Right...
of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 124th episode overall. It aired May 6, 2010 on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
In the episode, Michael suspects Donna is cheating on him, and he pays Dwight $50 to investigate. Meanwhile, Andy is frustrated when no one takes his customer's complaint seriously.
The episode was written by Lee Eisenberg
Lee Eisenberg
Lee Eisenberg is a film and television writer. He usually works with Gene Stupnitsky.-Life and career:In television, he wrote for the NBC comedy series The Office from seasons 2 to 6, and served as a co-executive producer and directed two episodes with Stupnitsky, "Michael Scott Paper Company" and...
and Gene Stupnitsky
Gene Stupnitsky
Gene Stupnitsky is a film and television writer. He usually works with Lee Eisenberg.In television, he wrote for the NBC comedy series The Office from seasons 2 to 6, and served as a co-executive producer and directed two episodes with Eisenberg, "Michael Scott Paper Company" and "The Lover"...
, their third writing credit of the season after "The Lover
The Lover (The Office)
"The Lover" is the 7th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 107th episode overall. It was written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky and directed by Lee Eisenberg. It originally aired on October 22, 2009 on NBC....
" and "Scott's Tots
Scott's Tots
"Scott's Tots" is the 12th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 112th episode overall. It was written by Gene Stupnitsky & Lee Eisenberg and directed by B. J. Novak, which marks his directorial debut on the network series...
." It was directed by Rainn Wilson
Rainn Wilson
Rainn Dietrich Wilson is an American actor and comedian. He is primarily known for his role as the egomaniacal Dwight Schrute on the American version of the television comedy The Office...
, who also portrays Dwight Schrute
Dwight Schrute
Dwight Kurt Schrute III is a character on NBC's The Office portrayed by Rainn Wilson. He originally exactly resembled Gareth Keenan from the original UK version of The Office. Dwight is the top salesman and former acting manager for the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and has won numerous awards for...
on the show, marking his television directorial debut.
Plot
MichaelMichael Scott (The Office)
Michael Gary Scott is a fictional character on NBC's The Office, portrayed by Steve Carell, and based on David Brent from the original British version. Michael, the central character of the series, was the manager of the Scranton branch of paper and printer distribution company Dunder Mifflin Inc...
(Steve Carell
Steve Carell
Steven John "Steve" Carell is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
) is in good spirits due to his wildly successful relationship with Donna (Amy Pietz
Amy Pietz
Amy Pietz is an American film and television actress.-Early life:Pietz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the adopted daughter of Nancy, a nurse, and Arnold Pietz, a truck driver. She trained throughout her childhood in ballet and prepared to go professional, but eventually decided not to due to...
). However, during another one of Michael's pointless meetings, other members of the office, particularly Ryan
Ryan Howard (The Office)
Ryan Bailey Howard , played by B. J. Novak, is a fictional character on the US television sitcom The Office. He is based upon Ricky Howard from the original version of The Office , but his role is significantly expanded and he is a main character.-Character profile:Little is known about Ryan's...
(B. J. Novak
B. J. Novak
Benjamin Joseph Manaly “B. J.” Novak is an American actor, stand-up comedian, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for being a writer and co-executive producer for and playing the role of Ryan Howard on the US version of The Office, as well as appearing in Inglourious Basterds...
) and Kelly
Kelly Kapoor
Kelly Rajnigandha Kapoor , is a fictional character from the US television series, The Office. She is played by Mindy Kaling, who is also a writer and producer for the show....
(Mindy Kaling
Mindy Kaling
Vera Mindy Chokalingam , better known as Mindy Kaling, is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer who plays Kelly Kapoor on the NBC sitcom The Office. Kaling is also a co-executive producer and writer of several of the show's episodes.-Early life:Kaling was born Vera Chokalingam in...
), convince him that she might be cheating on him. Worried, Michael hires Dwight
Dwight Schrute
Dwight Kurt Schrute III is a character on NBC's The Office portrayed by Rainn Wilson. He originally exactly resembled Gareth Keenan from the original UK version of The Office. Dwight is the top salesman and former acting manager for the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and has won numerous awards for...
(Rainn Wilson
Rainn Wilson
Rainn Dietrich Wilson is an American actor and comedian. He is primarily known for his role as the egomaniacal Dwight Schrute on the American version of the television comedy The Office...
) to tail her to see if she spends time with anyone else. Dwight follows Donna to her gym and attempts to seduce her. Donna rebukes him and calls security on him, whereby he openly admits he was sent there by Michael to keep tabs on her. An enraged Donna comes to the office to talk to Michael about the whole situation, and the two forgive each other and reconcile by planning a private vacation together.
Andy
Andy Bernard
Andrew "Andy" Baines Bernard is a fictional character from the U.S. television series The Office. The character is highly insecure, yet egotistical, constantly mentioning his education at Cornell University...
(Ed Helms
Ed Helms
Edward Paul "Ed" Helms is an American actor and comedian known for his work as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, as Andy Bernard on the US version of the sitcom/mockumentary The Office and for his role as Dr. Stu Price in The Hangover films.- Early life :Helms was born and raised...
) receives a call from a concerned customer that a Sabre printer caught fire during a routine operation. He becomes frustrated when Gabe
Gabe Lewis
Gabriel Stuart "Gabe" Lewis is a fictional character on NBC's The Office. He first appears in the sixth season, where he is the Coordinating Director of Emerging Regions for the Sabre Corporate headquarters in Florida...
(Zach Woods
Zach Woods
Zach Woods is an American actor and comedian. From 2010-11, he portrayed Gabe Lewis on the NBC sitcom The Office. He was promoted to a series regular beginning in Season 7....
) fails to take his customer's complaint seriously. Capitalizing on his fears, Darryl
Darryl Philbin
Darryl Mathias Philbin is a fictional character from the US television series The Office. He is played by Craig Robinson.-Overview:Darryl Philbin is the foreman of the warehouse of the Scranton branch of fictitious paper distributor Dunder Mifflin....
(Craig Robinson) tries to prank Andy into believing he has uncovered a conspiracy as a retaliation for Andy pinning one of his mistakes on the warehouse a few years prior (which nearly resulted in Darryl's termination). He even enlists Creed
Creed Bratton (character)
Creed Rowland Bratton a.k.a. "William Charles Schneider" is a fictional character from the U.S. television series The Office. Confusion may arise from the fact that the character is played by and partially based on the musician of the same name, Creed Bratton...
(Creed Bratton
Creed Bratton
Creed Bratton is an American actor and musician, a former member of The Grass Roots...
) to help, and spends the day leading Andy into greater levels of panic. After initially pretending to help Andy to not get fired, Darryl agrees to film Andy testing the printer in a typical fashion to test his burning printer theory. Though Darryl intends to use the video to further embarrass Andy, the printer indeed catches fire and explodes. This confirms Andy's suspicions, and scares Darryl straight.
While Donna and Michael are planning their trip, Pam
Pam Beesly
Pamela Morgan "Pam" Halpert is a fictional character on the U.S. television sitcom The Office, played by Jenna Fischer. Her counterpart in the original UK series of The Office is Dawn Tinsley....
(Jenna Fischer
Jenna Fischer
Regina Marie "Jenna" Fischer is an American actress and director. She is most widely known for her Emmy-nominated portrayal of Pam Halpert on the NBC situation comedy and mockumentary The Office, and has also appeared in several films, including Blades of Glory, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,...
) snoops around on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, and finds pictures of Donna hugging and kissing another man. At first, she and Jim
Jim Halpert
James Duncan "Jim" Halpert is a fictional character in the United States version of the television sitcom The Office, played by John Krasinski. The character is based on Tim Canterbury from the original version of The Office...
(John Krasinski
John Krasinski
John Burke Krasinski is an American actor, film director, and writer. He is most widely known for playing Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office...
) were skeptical of Donna cheating, and even berated Michael for having destructive tendencies with his personal life. But now they realize his fears are correct, and try to warn him as best they can. Pam shows Michael the pictures she found, and he confronts Donna with the evidence. At the end of the episode, Donna reveals that it is Michael who is the "other guy"; the photos are of her and her current husband.
Production
Lee Eisenberg
Lee Eisenberg is a film and television writer. He usually works with Gene Stupnitsky.-Life and career:In television, he wrote for the NBC comedy series The Office from seasons 2 to 6, and served as a co-executive producer and directed two episodes with Stupnitsky, "Michael Scott Paper Company" and...
and Gene Stupnitsky
Gene Stupnitsky
Gene Stupnitsky is a film and television writer. He usually works with Lee Eisenberg.In television, he wrote for the NBC comedy series The Office from seasons 2 to 6, and served as a co-executive producer and directed two episodes with Eisenberg, "Michael Scott Paper Company" and "The Lover"...
, their third writing credit of the season after "The Lover
The Lover (The Office)
"The Lover" is the 7th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 107th episode overall. It was written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky and directed by Lee Eisenberg. It originally aired on October 22, 2009 on NBC....
" and "Scott's Tots
Scott's Tots
"Scott's Tots" is the 12th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 112th episode overall. It was written by Gene Stupnitsky & Lee Eisenberg and directed by B. J. Novak, which marks his directorial debut on the network series...
." It was directed by Rainn Wilson
Rainn Wilson
Rainn Dietrich Wilson is an American actor and comedian. He is primarily known for his role as the egomaniacal Dwight Schrute on the American version of the television comedy The Office...
, who also portrays Dwight Schrute
Dwight Schrute
Dwight Kurt Schrute III is a character on NBC's The Office portrayed by Rainn Wilson. He originally exactly resembled Gareth Keenan from the original UK version of The Office. Dwight is the top salesman and former acting manager for the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and has won numerous awards for...
on the show, marking his television directorial debut. He is the fourth actor of the series to make a directorial debut this season after B. J. Novak
B. J. Novak
Benjamin Joseph Manaly “B. J.” Novak is an American actor, stand-up comedian, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for being a writer and co-executive producer for and playing the role of Ryan Howard on the US version of The Office, as well as appearing in Inglourious Basterds...
, John Krasinski
John Krasinski
John Burke Krasinski is an American actor, film director, and writer. He is most widely known for playing Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office...
and Mindy Kaling
Mindy Kaling
Vera Mindy Chokalingam , better known as Mindy Kaling, is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer who plays Kelly Kapoor on the NBC sitcom The Office. Kaling is also a co-executive producer and writer of several of the show's episodes.-Early life:Kaling was born Vera Chokalingam in...
. Cast members Steve Carell
Steve Carell
Steven John "Steve" Carell is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
and Paul Lieberstein
Paul Lieberstein
Paul Bevan Lieberstein is an American screenwriter, actor and television producer. An Emmy Award winner, he is most widely known as a writer, producer, and as supporting cast member Toby Flenderson on the U.S...
also directed episodes this season, but have previously directed for the series. This episode was dedicated to the memory of Larry Einhorn, whose son, Randall Einhorn
Randall Einhorn
Randall Einhorn is an American television director and cinematographer. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.Einhorn is best known for his work on The Office . He also directed The Accountants, a ten-part webisode spinoff of The Office which appeared online between the second and third seasons...
, has directed 11 previous episodes of the series, served as this episode's consultant and cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
, and went on to direct other episodes - including the next episode.
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "The Cover-Up" was watched by 6.84 million viewers with a 3.5 rating and a 10 share in the 18–49 demographic.Cindy White of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the episode a 8.0/10, saying it was "Impressive" and "While 'The Cover-Up' did manage to move along two story threads leading up to the end of the season, it wasn't really a standout episode, especially in contrast to last week's. There weren't as many quotable lines or memorable moments as I usually expect from The Office." Leonard Pierce of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
gave the episode an A−, writing "It's an extremely adept episode, skillfully blending its themes with a solid structure and tons of good jokes in a way that this season has rarely achieved", but said the episode wasn't as good as the other NBC Comedy Night Done Right
Must See TV
"Must See TV" is an advertising slogan used by the NBC television network to brand its prime time blocks of sitcoms during the 1990s, and most often applied to the network's Thursday night lineup, which featured such popular sitcoms as The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court, A Different...
shows, Community
Community (TV series)
Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. The series is about a group of students at a community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado. The series heavily uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television...
and Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation is an American comedy television series on NBC that focuses on Leslie Knope , a mid-level bureaucrat in the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the series debuted on April 9, 2009; it has run for three seasons and...
. Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
said "The episode was called 'The Cover-Up,' and even if it didn’t quite follow through on the promise of that opening scene, it was a good little ditty." James Poniewozik of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
gave the episode a positive review writing "Credit to the show for setting that up (Michael realizing he is a mistress), though it eluded me and, I suppose, everyone else not versed in the secret signals of heart-shaped jewelry.
External links
- "The Cover-Up" at NBC.comNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...