“No, you dummies, I’m going to do it this way.” The Office was not axed and became a hit, even though the first season condemned the TV series to failure
The American TV series The Office found itself in trouble at the beginning. The TV series needed changes, but those that Greg Daniels wanted to make were met with opposition. Nonetheless, he made his stand.
Although today The Office is regarded as a brilliant comedy TV series, in the beginning it was not at all received so positively. The first season did poorly, and so much so that it was in danger of being deleted. Kevin Reilly, a director at NBC, had to beg the possibility of a second season, on which the future of the TV show and reputation of said director depended.
Expectations were therefore high, and the creators, headed by Greg Daniels, had to meet them. Some changes had to be made, regarding this the showrunner of the TV series had no doubts. And he was helped in understanding what they should look like by the new hit comedy starring Steve Carell – The 40-Year-Old Virgin. The film helped the creator understand the strengths of the star of his TV show, which he should use, instead of strictly sticking to what was in the original.
During an interview with Vox, screenwriter Michael Schur talked about how the screenwriters opposed Daniels, who wanted to make significant changes to a key character. They didn't like his idea.
And the writers – his own writers, me included! – rebelled and said, “You’re going to ruin it. The thing that Ricky [Gervais] and Steve [Merchant made] is perfect, and how dare you, and the whole point is it’s supposed to be bleak, and Michael Scott, like David Brent, is a terrible person.” And Greg patiently listened to all of us, and heard us all out, and said, “No, you dummies, I’m going to do it this way, and we’re going to add just a tiny little glimmer of hope to the end of every episode.”
Daniels knew that changes were needed and they needed to adapt The Office to American audiences, so he decided to slightly change the tone of the TV series and change the main character so that Carell could squeeze more out of the role and shine. In turn, this turned out to be a hit, as Michael Scott became a strong asset to The Office after the changes.
Kevin Reilly, having faith in The Office and risking his reputation for a comedy TV series, made no mistake. His faith that American The Office could succeed was not mistaken – the TV show just needed to stand on its own two feet and capitalize on its strengths.
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