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The Office (U.S. TV series) season 2
Encyclopedia
The second season of the American situation comedy
television series, The Office, premiered in the United States on NBC
on September 20, 2005, and ended on May 11, 2006. The season had 22 episodes, including its first 40-minute "super-sized" episode. The Office is an American adaptation of the British TV series of the same name
, and is presented in a mockumentary
format, documenting the daily lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania
branch of the fictitious Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.
Season two of The Office aired on Tuesdays in the United States at 9:30 p.m. from September 20, 2005 to December 6, 2005. The timeslot changed to Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. from January 5, 2006 to May 11, 2006. The second season was released in a four-disc DVD boxset in Region 1 on September 12, 2006, and in Region 2 on January 28, 2008. The DVD set contained all 22 episodes, as well as commentaries from creators, writers, actors, and directors on some of the episodes, while also containing deleted scenes
from all of the episodes. It was released by Universal Studios Home Entertainment
.
and Deedle-Dee Productions, both in association with NBC Universal Television Studios. The show is based on the British series created by Ricky Gervais
and Stephen Merchant
, who are executive producer
s on the show. The Office is produced by Greg Daniels
, who is also executive producer and show runner
. Returning writers from last season include Daniels, Larry Wilmore
, Michael Schur
, Mindy Kaling
, Paul Lieberstein
, and B. J. Novak
. Joining the writing staff for the second season are Lee Eisenberg
and Gene Stupnitsky
, who also served as story editors, and Jennifer Celotta
, who was a consulting producer. Some of the actors also received promotions: Kaling was promoted to story editor, Novak became a co-producer, and Lieberstein became a co-executive producer. Series star, Steve Carell
, wrote his first Office episode, the season finale, "Casino Night".
Season two featured episodes directed by eight different directors, each of whom aside from Bryan Gordon
directed multiple episodes. The Office has a "team of directors" as well as several freelance directors. Gordon, Ken Kwapis
, Ken Whittingham
, and Daniels had all previously directed episodes during season one, while Dennie Gordon
, Paul Feig
, Victor Nelli, Jr.
, and Charles McDougall
each made their directorial debut for the show. While The Office was mainly filmed on a studio set at Valley Center Studios in Van Nuys, California
, the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania
, where the show is set, was also used for shots of the opening theme.
Despite low ratings from the first season of the show, NBC renewed The Office a second season. The season was originally set for a run of six episodes, but NBC later ordered seven more episodes, bringing the total number of episodes in the second season to thirteen. In early November, NBC again ordered additional episodes, this time three, for The Office, bringing the season total to sixteen, and NBC later ordered a full season, 22 episodes, for The Office.
. All of the main characters, and some minor 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 improvisation
al work. Steve Carell stars as Michael Scott
, Regional Manager of the Dunder Mifflin Scranton Branch. Loosely based on David Brent
, Gervais' character in the British version, Scott is a dim-witted and lonely man, who attempts to win friends as the office comedian, usually making himself look bad in the process. Rainn Wilson
portrays Dwight Schrute
, who, based upon Gareth Keenan
, is the Assistant to the Regional Manager, although the character frequently fails to include "to the" in his title. John Krasinski
portrays Jim Halpert
, a sales representative and prankster, who is based upon Tim Canterbury
, and is in love with Pam Beesly
, the receptionist. Pam, who is based on Dawn Tinsley
, is shy, but is often a cohort with Jim in his pranks on Dwight. B. J. Novak portrays Ryan Howard
, who is a temporary worker.
Halfway through the season, eight of the show's recurring guest stars are promoted to series regulars and credited just after the main titles and before the writers and producers. They include Jan Levenson, Michael's main love interest and Vice-President of Regional Sales, who is portrayed by Melora Hardin
; Roy Anderson
, a warehouse worker and Pam's fiance played by David Denman
; Angela Martin
, Oscar Martinez
, and Kevin Malone
the office's accountants, portrayed by Angela Kinsey
, Oscar Nunez
, and Brian Baumgartner
, respectively; Phyllis Lapin
(portrayed by Phyllis Smith), and Stanley Hudson
(portrayed by Leslie David Baker
), who, along with Schrute and Halpert compose the sales division of Dunder Mifflin Scranton; and Meredith Palmer
, played by Kate Flannery
, the promiscuous Supplier Relations Representative.
Also recurring in season two are writer-actress Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor
, the pop culture-obsessed Customer Service Representative; writer-actor Paul Lieberstein as Toby Flenderson
, the sad-eyed Human Resources Representative; Creed Bratton
, who plays a fictionalized version of himself
as the office's Quality Assurance Officer; and Warehouse Supervisor Darryl Philbin
, played by Craig Robinson. These four would also be promoted to series regulars over the course of the next two seasons.
As the second season started, the success of Carell's hit summer movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin
and online sales of episodes at iTunes
helped the show to garner viewers. By early January, episodes from The Office occupied ten of the twenty slots in the iTunes list of most popular downloads. The increase in viewership led NBC to move the series to the "Must See TV
" Thursday night in January 2006, where ratings continued to grow. By the end of the 2005–2006 season, it placed 67th (tied with 20/20). It averaged eight million viewers, and scored a 4.0/10 in the Nielsen ratings
, meaning that on average four percent of households were tuned in at any given moment and ten percent of all televisions in use at the time were tuned into the program. The show received dramatic gains in viewers from the previous year, up forty percent in total viewers and up sixty percent in viewers ages 18–49. The season featured the show's first forty minute long episode, the season finale "Casino Night". Josh Wolk, an Entertainment Weekly
television critic, said that the show has "...perfecting workaday moments so hilariously and relatably awkward that it makes viewers both laugh and cringe...". In 2006, the DVD set of the second season was the 17th highest selling DVD on Amazon
.
, and won the award for Outstanding Comedy Series. Other nominations included Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Carell, for his portrayal of Michael Scott, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for Michael Schur, for the episode "Christmas Party", and Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Comedy Series for both "Christmas Party", edited by David Rogers, and "Booze Cruise", edited by Dean Holland. Carell also received the Television Critic's Award for Best Individual Achievement in Comedy, and the show received the Television Critic's Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy. For the episode "Michael's Birthday
", Ken Whittingham
won the award for Outstanding Director in Comedy Series at the NAACP Image Awards. At the 2007 Writers Guild of America Awards, Office received the award for Best Comedy Series, and Carell won the award for Episodic Comedic Writing for the episode "Casino Night". The Office was also honored as a recipient of a Peabody Award
in 2006, honoring the show for excellence in radio and/or television broadcasting. The episode "Casino Night" received a nomination at the American Cinema Editors Awards 2007
for Best Edited Half-Hour Series for Television, which it won. For writing "Casino Night", Carell was nominated for and won a 2007 Writers Guild of America
award for an Episodic Comedy of any length.
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
television series, The Office, premiered in the United States 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...
on September 20, 2005, and ended on May 11, 2006. The season had 22 episodes, including its first 40-minute "super-sized" episode. The Office is an American adaptation of the British TV series of the same name
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
, and is presented in a mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
format, documenting the daily lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
branch of the fictitious Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.
Season two of The Office aired on Tuesdays in the United States at 9:30 p.m. from September 20, 2005 to December 6, 2005. The timeslot changed to Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. from January 5, 2006 to May 11, 2006. The second season was released in a four-disc DVD boxset in Region 1 on September 12, 2006, and in Region 2 on January 28, 2008. The DVD set contained all 22 episodes, as well as commentaries from creators, writers, actors, and directors on some of the episodes, while also containing deleted scenes
Deleted Scenes
A deleted scene is a scene removed from or replaced by another scene in the final version of a film or television series.It may also refer to:* "Deleted Scenes", an episode of the Adult Swim animated television series, Aqua Teen Hunger Force...
from all of the episodes. It was released by Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is the home video division of Universal Pictures...
.
Production
The second season of the show was produced by Reveille ProductionsReveille Productions
Reveille Productions is an independently-owned television and motion picture studio and production company based in Los Angeles. The studio was founded by Ben Silverman in March 2002....
and Deedle-Dee Productions, both in association with NBC Universal Television Studios. The show is based on the British series created by Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
and Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
, who are executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
s on the show. The Office is produced by Greg Daniels
Greg Daniels
Gregory Martin "Greg" Daniels is an American television comedy writer, producer, and director.-Life and career:...
, who is also executive producer and show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
. Returning writers from last season include Daniels, Larry Wilmore
Larry Wilmore
Larry Wilmore is an American writer, actor and television producer.-Early life:Wilmore grew up in suburban Los Angeles, the child of a Catholic family. His father is a doctor...
, Michael Schur
Michael Schur
Michael Herbert Schur is an American television producer and writer, best known for his work on the NBC comedy series The Office and Parks and Recreation, the latter of which he co-created along with Greg Daniels...
, 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...
, 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...
, and 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...
. Joining the writing staff for the second season are 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"...
, who also served as story editors, and Jennifer Celotta
Jennifer Celotta
Jennifer Ann Celotta is an American television producer and writer. Among her credits are Home Improvement, Malcolm in the Middle, Greg the Bunny, Andy Richter Controls The Universe and The Office...
, who was a consulting producer. Some of the actors also received promotions: Kaling was promoted to story editor, Novak became a co-producer, and Lieberstein became a co-executive producer. Series star, 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...
, wrote his first Office episode, the season finale, "Casino Night".
Season two featured episodes directed by eight different directors, each of whom aside from Bryan Gordon
Bryan Gordon
Bryan Gordon is a television and film director and writer. He has been nominated three times for the Directors Guild of America Award and in 2002 received the Directors Guild award for comedy directing. He’s been nominated for an Emmy twice – both for his work on the HBO series Curb Your...
directed multiple episodes. The Office has a "team of directors" as well as several freelance directors. Gordon, Ken Kwapis
Ken Kwapis
Ken Kwapis is an American film and television director and screenwriter. He specialized in the single-camera sitcom in the 1990s and 2000s and has directed feature films such as Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and He's Just Not That Into...
, Ken Whittingham
Ken Whittingham
Ken Whittingham is an American television director.His most notable directorial work includes a number of episodes from each of the television series 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Suburgatory, The Middle, Parenthood, The Bernie Mac Show, Scrubs, Everybody Hates Chris, The Office, My Name Is Earl,...
, and Daniels had all previously directed episodes during season one, while Dennie Gordon
Dennie Gordon
Dennie Gordon is an American film and television director.Her directorial television credits include, Chicago Hope, Picket Fences, Dawson's Creek, Sports Night, Ally McBeal, The Practice, 30 Rock, Grounded for Life and among other series.She has also directed the feature films Joe Dirt, New York...
, Paul Feig
Paul Feig
Paul S. Feig is an American director, actor and author. Feig is known for playing Mr. Eugene Pool, Sabrina's science teacher, on the first season of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch as well as Tim a camp counselor on the hit kids movie Heavyweights...
, Victor Nelli, Jr.
Victor Nelli, Jr.
Victor Nelli, Jr. is an American television director and producer.He began his professional career at Viacom, Inc. working as a cinematographer on the MTV and Comedy Central series The Real World House of Style, Mr. Show with Bob and David and number of other series. He eventually made his...
, and Charles McDougall
Charles McDougall
Charles McDougall is a British Emmy Award and BAFTA-winning director.-Biography:McDougall has directed for popular television series which include the pilot episode of ABC's Desperate Housewives . McDougall has also directed episodes of Queer as Folk on Channel 4 and Sex and the City on HBO...
each made their directorial debut for the show. While The Office was mainly filmed on a studio set at Valley Center Studios in Van Nuys, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, where the show is set, was also used for shots of the opening theme.
Despite low ratings from the first season of the show, NBC renewed The Office a second season. The season was originally set for a run of six episodes, but NBC later ordered seven more episodes, bringing the total number of episodes in the second season to thirteen. In early November, NBC again ordered additional episodes, this time three, for The Office, bringing the season total to sixteen, and NBC later ordered a full season, 22 episodes, for The Office.
Cast
The Office employs an ensemble castEnsemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
. All of the main characters, and some minor ones, are based on characters from the British version of The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
. 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 improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
al work. Steve Carell stars as Michael Scott
Michael 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...
, Regional Manager of the Dunder Mifflin Scranton Branch. Loosely based on David Brent
David Brent
David Brent is a fictional character in the BBC television mockumentary The Office, as well as a recurring character in the NBC series of the same name, portrayed by co-writer and director Ricky Gervais. Brent is a white-collar office middle-manager and the principal character of the BBC series...
, Gervais' character in the British version, Scott is a dim-witted and lonely man, who attempts to win friends as the office comedian, usually making himself look bad in the process. 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...
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...
, who, based upon Gareth Keenan
Gareth Keenan
Gareth Keenan is a fictional paper salesman on BBC's comedy The Office. He is portrayed in the series by Mackenzie Crook as a gaunt, self-important team leader proud of his alleged lieutenant status in the Territorial Army...
, is the Assistant to the Regional Manager, although the character frequently fails to include "to the" in his title. 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...
portrays Jim Halpert
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...
, a sales representative and prankster, who is based upon Tim Canterbury
Tim Canterbury
Tim Canterbury is a main character in the BBC sitcom The Office, played by Martin Freeman. He is a 30-year-old sales representative for paper merchants Wernham Hogg and lives with his parents. He spent one year at a university before dropping out, and one day hopes to return to get a psychology...
, and is in love with Pam Beesly
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....
, the receptionist. Pam, who is based on Dawn Tinsley
Dawn Tinsley
Dawn Tinsley is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom The Office, played by Lucy Davis. She is a receptionist for paper merchants Wernham Hogg and is engaged to warehouse worker Lee. Her American The Office equivalent is Pam Beesly...
, is shy, but is often a cohort with Jim in his pranks on Dwight. B. J. Novak portrays Ryan Howard
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...
, who is a temporary worker.
Halfway through the season, eight of the show's recurring guest stars are promoted to series regulars and credited just after the main titles and before the writers and producers. They include Jan Levenson, Michael's main love interest and Vice-President of Regional Sales, who is portrayed by Melora Hardin
Melora Hardin
Melora Diane Hardin is an American actress, best known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's The Office and Trudy Monk on USA's Monk.-Early life:...
; Roy Anderson
Roy Anderson (The Office)
Royson "Roy" Allan Anderson is a fictional character from the US television series The Office, portrayed by David Denman. His counterpart in the original UK series of The Office is Lee.-Overview:...
, a warehouse worker and Pam's fiance played by David Denman
David Denman
David Denman is an American film and television actor.-Education:After graduating from Fountain Valley High School, Denman attended the summer training congress at American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco before receiving his B.F.A. from Juilliard.-Career:He made his film debut with Keanu...
; Angela Martin
Angela Martin
Angela Noelle Martin is a fictional character from the US television series The Office played by American actress Angela Kinsey. She is an original character, and has no equivalent in the British version of the show, The Office.-Overview:...
, Oscar Martinez
Oscar Martinez
Oscar Jual Paul Martinez is a fictional character from the US television series The Office. He is played by Oscar Nunez.-Overview:Oscar Martinez is an accountant at the paper distributor Dunder Mifflin. He is a first generation Mexican-American. Oscar is also openly homosexual after being...
, and Kevin Malone
Kevin Malone
Kevin Jaye Malone is a character in the United States television series The Office. He is played by Brian Baumgartner. Kevin's counterpart in the UK series is Keith Bishop.-Biography:...
the office's accountants, portrayed by Angela Kinsey
Angela Kinsey
Angela Kinsey is an American actress. She currently appears as the uptight accountant Angela Martin on the hit NBC television series The Office.-Personal life:...
, Oscar Nunez
Oscar Nunez
Oscar Nunez , sometimes credited as Oscar Núñez, is a Cuban American actor and comedian.He currently appears as Dunder Mifflin's paper supply accountant, Oscar Martinez, on NBC's The Office.-Career:...
, and Brian Baumgartner
Brian Baumgartner
Brian Baumgartner is an Emmy Award-winning American film and television actor, best known for playing Kevin Malone on The Office.-Personal life:...
, respectively; Phyllis Lapin
Phyllis Lapin
Phyllis Margaret Vance is a fictional character from the US television series The Office. She is played by Phyllis Smith.-Biography:...
(portrayed by Phyllis Smith), and Stanley Hudson
Stanley Hudson
Stanley James Hudson is a fictional character from the US television series The Office. He is played by Leslie David Baker. Stanley's counterpart in the UK series is Malcolm.-Overview:...
(portrayed by Leslie David Baker
Leslie David Baker
Leslie David Baker is an American film and television actor who plays Stanley Hudson on The Office. He also had several small roles in Scrubs and appeared on That '70s Show as a janitor after a Ted Nugent concert and played an office worker in several of OfficeMax's "Rubberband Man" series of...
), who, along with Schrute and Halpert compose the sales division of Dunder Mifflin Scranton; and Meredith Palmer
Meredith Palmer
Meredith Elizabeth Palmer is a fictional character from the US television series The Office. She is played by Kate Flannery. She is an original character and has no equivalent in the British version of the show, The Office....
, played by Kate Flannery
Kate Flannery
Katherine Patricia "Kate" Flannery is an American actress best known for playing the role of Meredith Palmer on the NBC hit series The Office.-Personal life:...
, the promiscuous Supplier Relations Representative.
Also recurring in season two are writer-actress Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor
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....
, the pop culture-obsessed Customer Service Representative; writer-actor Paul Lieberstein as Toby Flenderson
Toby Flenderson
Toby Wyatt Flenderson, M.S.W. born 1971 is a character from the US television series The Office. He is played by Paul Lieberstein. He is an original character and has no equivalent in the British version of the show, The Office.-Overview:...
, the sad-eyed Human Resources Representative; Creed Bratton
Creed Bratton
Creed Bratton is an American actor and musician, a former member of The Grass Roots...
, who plays a fictionalized version of himself
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...
as the office's Quality Assurance Officer; and Warehouse Supervisor Darryl Philbin
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....
, played by Craig Robinson. These four would also be promoted to series regulars over the course of the next two seasons.
Reception
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a 2005 American buddy comedy film about a middle-aged man's journey to finally have sex. The film was written and directed by Judd Apatow and co-written by its lead star, Steve Carell, though the film itself features a great deal of improvised dialogue...
and online sales of episodes at iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
helped the show to garner viewers. By early January, episodes from The Office occupied ten of the twenty slots in the iTunes list of most popular downloads. The increase in viewership led NBC to move the series to the "Must See TV
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...
" Thursday night in January 2006, where ratings continued to grow. By the end of the 2005–2006 season, it placed 67th (tied with 20/20). It averaged eight million viewers, and scored a 4.0/10 in the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, meaning that on average four percent of households were tuned in at any given moment and ten percent of all televisions in use at the time were tuned into the program. The show received dramatic gains in viewers from the previous year, up forty percent in total viewers and up sixty percent in viewers ages 18–49. The season featured the show's first forty minute long episode, the season finale "Casino Night". Josh Wolk, an 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...
television critic, said that the show has "...perfecting workaday moments so hilariously and relatably awkward that it makes viewers both laugh and cringe...". In 2006, the DVD set of the second season was the 17th highest selling DVD on Amazon
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
.
Honors
The second season of The Office received five Primetime Emmy Awards nominations at the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards58th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on Sunday, August 27, 2006 on NBC at 8:00pm ET with Conan O'Brien hosting the show...
, and won the award for Outstanding Comedy Series. Other nominations included Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Carell, for his portrayal of Michael Scott, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for Michael Schur, for the episode "Christmas Party", and Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Comedy Series for both "Christmas Party", edited by David Rogers, and "Booze Cruise", edited by Dean Holland. Carell also received the Television Critic's Award for Best Individual Achievement in Comedy, and the show received the Television Critic's Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy. For the episode "Michael's Birthday
Michael's Birthday
"Michael's Birthday" is the nineteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's twenty-fifth episode overall. Written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, and directed by Ken Whittingham, the episode first aired in the United States on March...
", Ken Whittingham
Ken Whittingham
Ken Whittingham is an American television director.His most notable directorial work includes a number of episodes from each of the television series 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Suburgatory, The Middle, Parenthood, The Bernie Mac Show, Scrubs, Everybody Hates Chris, The Office, My Name Is Earl,...
won the award for Outstanding Director in Comedy Series at the NAACP Image Awards. At the 2007 Writers Guild of America Awards, Office received the award for Best Comedy Series, and Carell won the award for Episodic Comedic Writing for the episode "Casino Night". The Office was also honored as a recipient of a Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
in 2006, honoring the show for excellence in radio and/or television broadcasting. The episode "Casino Night" received a nomination at the American Cinema Editors Awards 2007
American Cinema Editors Awards 2007
The 58th ACE Eddie Awards were held on 17 February 2008 in the International Ballroom, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles, California, USA; the nominees and winners are listed below.-Film: Best Edited Film - Dramatic:...
for Best Edited Half-Hour Series for Television, which it won. For writing "Casino Night", Carell was nominated for and won a 2007 Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
award for an Episodic Comedy of any length.
Episodes
In the following table, "№" refers to the episode's number within the entire series, whereas "#" indicates the episode's number within that particular season. "U.S. viewers (million)" refers to the number of Americans who viewed the episode on the night of broadcast. Episodes are listed by the order in which they aired, and may not necessarily correspond to their production codes. † denotes a longer 40-minute episode (with advertisements; actual runtime around 28 minutes).| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | U.S. viewers (million) |
Original air date | Production code |
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