It is no secret that The Office will be coming to NBCUniversal’s upcoming streaming service, Peacock. While it is one of Netflix users’ favorite shows, they will not be able to stream it too much longer. Peacock will be the series’ new streaming home. Could it also be the destination of a potential reboot? One of The Office’s executive producers has weighed in.
Through the years, there have been tantalizing cast reunions, and ambitious ideas floated. Nothing has yet to manifest into definitive plans for a reboot of The Office, though. What does the show's future hold now that it is heading to Peacock? Asked about the potential of a reboot on the streamer, Michael Schur told The Daily Beast:
I don’t think anyone would ever do that without [creator] Greg Daniels’ at least blessing, if not outright participation. Unless he was just like, yeah, go do whatever you want. I mean Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant had a really wonderful attitude. Because as I’m sure you remember, the announcement that there was going to be an American version of this was met with a loud thud from the critical community. But Ricky and Stephen had this lovely attitude that was like, ‘Yeah, go nuts. We made our thing, there’s DVDs of it on our shelves, we can watch them whenever we want. This won’t retroactively hurt our version.’ So I suppose Greg and Steve [Carell] and everyone else involved could potentially have that attitude and just say, ‘Go crazy.’ But it’s hard to imagine.
So, after a blessing from Greg Daniels, then we could get a potential reboot on Peacock? The Office’s executive producer believes that it could also take the original showrunner's participation before anything could happen on the reboot front. Michael Schur also points out the process it took to get the U.S. remake approved by the original series’ creators.
According to Michael Schur, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant gave The Office’s U.S. counterpart free reign. The Office’s executive producer muses that such a scenario regarding a Peacock reboot is possible with Greg Daniels and Steve Carell. However, he acknowledges its unlikelihood, calling it “hard to imagine.” Schur explained why that is so tough to conjure, saying:
I mean, Greg put so much thought and care into that show. The reason it turned out not to be a terrible idea was Greg Daniels. It’s way harder than it seems to do that premise well. So it would take a heroic effort. If it’s not him, it would take an incredibly thoughtful and careful person to execute it properly. But I don’t know, we’ll see.
Reboot speculation has been a frequent topic of conversation surrounding The Office. Rainn Wilson and Steve Carell have been among those to weigh in on the potential. The Office’s co-creator indicates that without Greg Daniels’ touch, it would not work. Since Michael Schur executive produced The Office, he would know.
On that note, Greg Daniels had previously shared his most prominent concern with reviving the show. As fans wait to see if anything ever happens on that front, The Office’s stars have provided updates on where some characters are now, including Jim and Pam. As with any hope surrounding a revival or reboot, it helps that The Office’s cast has remained close.
Fans will have to stay tuned. Peacock has not even launched yet. However, speculation and hope surrounding The Office’s future remains a beloved pastime among the series’ enthusiasts. Whether it comes in the form of a reunion, a reboot, or a revival, time holds the ultimate reveal. The show still has an ardent fanbase who'd love to see it return, even if only for a short time.
Following its run on Netflix, The Office has arguably added even more viewers to its following. Peacock is probably hoping that many still wanting access to the show will come aboard the new streamer to keep watching it, and there are three subscription plans to help with that!
The Office is currently streaming on Netflix, along with 2020’s new releases. Peacock launches for subscribers of Comcast’s X1 and Flex during this year’s spring premieres on April 15 before going national on July 15.
