Victoria Salvatore
On the surface, “The Office” is a comedy but it became much more than that over the nine seasons that it aired.
Although “The Office” is primarily a comedy it also offers romance, heart-to-heart moments, serious story lines, and despite outrageous situations it’s relatable.
One of the strongest story lines of the show is Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly’s relationship. It’s one of the most realistic aspects of the show and it helps to balance out the craziness of their boss Michael Scott.
Their relationship gives the audience something to root for and it provides an emotional attachment to the show.
The relationship between Dwight and Jim is also a highlight of the show especially in the later seasons when Michael leaves. Their relationship develops from a rivalry to a close friendship.
The character development of each office worker is exceptional. Every character offers something to the show.
In most shows, background characters are useless and disposable but in “The Office” characters like Creed or Meredith are just as funny as Michael.
The show is at its prime during the 4th and 5th season because all the characters have been established and the character development can be more drawn out over the second half of the show.
Towards the end all of the characters grow closer and tighter as Michael wanted them to be from the start.
A big problem many shows face is introducing new characters and making them as likable as the characters already in the show. “The Office” incorporates multiple new characters and has the ability to make them integal to the story.
It’s easy to forget that Andy and Erin weren’t in the show since the beginning because by the end they fit so seamlessly into the group of characters.
Even characters like Nelly and Gabe that are initially annoying eventually become a big part of the cast.
The most relatable aspect of the show is the simplicity of it. At the end of the show Pam says “There’s a lot of beauty in ordinary things.”
The entire show revolves around a workplace which is often the most mundane part of people’s lives, but the characters lives are all impacted by their co-workers at Dunder Mifflin.
Anyone who hasn’t seen “The Office” should definitely binge watch all of the seasons on Netflix.
