The worst episode ofThe Officewas a backdoor pilot for a failed spinoff series, so it’s a concerning sign for the upcoming spinoff that’ll actually get made. Across its nine seasons,The Officedelivered some really great episodes. “Dinner Party” and “Scott’s Tots” are two masterpieces of cringe comedy that are as excruciating as they are hilarious. “Stress Relief” provided two all-time classic sequences: Dwight’s disastrous fire drill and the roast of Michael Scott. The final episode, simply titled “Finale,” was the perfect ending for the series, concluding the show on a suitably bittersweet note.
But, as with any series that goes for more than 200 episodes,The Officedelivered a handful of duds, too. “The Banker” is a glorified clip show, “Customer Loyalty” introduced the notorious Brian the sound guy, and “Angry Andy” rehashed a much better episode from the show’s earlier seasons to much lesser comedic effect. Out of allThe Office’s worst episodes,there’s one that stands out from the rest as the true low point of the series — season 9, episode 17, “The Farm” — and it’s a bad sign for the new spinoff.
What Makes “The Farm” The Office’s Worst Episode
It Removes The Fish-Out-Of-Water Conceit From Dwight’s Character
AsThe Officewas coming to an end, NBC started trying to think of ways to keep monetizing the franchise.The network planned a spinoff show,The Farm, which would follow Dwight back to Schrute Farmswith his extended family. The season 9 episode“The Farm” was produced as a backdoor pilotfor the spinoff. A backdoor pilot is a pilot episode for a new show that gets made as an episode of an existing show and snuck into that show’s run. For example,The Cosby Showepisode “Hillman” served as a backdoor pilot for Denise’s spinoff,A Different World.
In The Office, Dwight isn’t a funny character just because he’s an eccentric farmer with weird family traditions; he’s funny because that guy is planted into a mundane office setting and surrounded by comparatively normal people.
Ultimately, NBC decided not to pick upThe Farmto series — and it’s easy to see why. This episoderemoved everything that made Dwight work as a character. InThe Office, Dwight isn’t a funny character just because he’s an eccentric farmer with weird family traditions; he’s funny because that guy is planted into a mundane office setting and surrounded by comparatively normal people. By putting Dwight in his natural habitat,The Farmremoved the fish-out-of-water aspect that makes Dwight work so well as part of an ensemble.It’s just 30 minutes of Dwight unchained, in his element.
“The Farm” Is A Reminder Of How Difficult It Is To Make An Office Spinoff
It’s Not Easy To Capture Lightning In A Bottle A Second Time
“The Farm” proved just how difficult it would be to make a successful spinoff fromThe Office. It’s not as easy as it looks to catch lightning in a bottle a second time. It’s a near-impossible feat to come up with a sprawling ensemble of characters who all work well together and all click with audiences like the ragtag staff of Dunder Mifflin. “The Farm” sets up a new ensemble of characters around Dwight, and it just doesn’t work as well.The on-screen chemistry isn’t thereand neither is the hilariously mismatched dynamic that creates comedic conflict.
10 The Office Episodes That Didn’t Fit With The Rest Of The Show
From “The Farm” to “Stairmageddon,” some episodes of The Office are so tonally jarring that they don’t even feel like episodes of The Office.
Since early 2024, Greg Daniels has been hard at work ona new spinoff fromThe Office, which will stream on Peacock.This new spinoff, titledThe Paper, will revolve around the same documentary crewfrom the original show choosing a new American workplace to document. They’ll find their new subject in a dying newspaper in the Midwest, which is being revived with a team of volunteer reporters. Just from that premise alone,The Papersounds a lot more promising thanThe Farm, but spinoffs are always a dicey business.
The Office’s New Show Is Already Avoiding The Mistake That Killed The Farm
It Has A Brand-New Cast Of Characters
The Paperis already avoiding the biggest mistake thatThe Farmmade asa spinoff fromThe Office, because it’s introducing a brand-new cast of characters in a brand-new setting.It’s not trying to take one aspect of the original series and stretch it out into its own show; it’s starting from scratch. There’s a lot more thought and originality in the concept ofThe Paper.
Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore have been cast to star inThe Paper.
WithThe Farm, NBC just determined who the most popular character inThe Officewas and demanded that a new series be built around him. Networks often try this, but it’s rarely a formula for a hit TV show. It can happen —FrasierandBetter Call Saulare two of the greatest TV shows ever made — but there are a lot more that fail miserably, likeJoey.
