Over 21 years after its premiere, the impact of The Office is still being felt on entertainment in one way or another. NBC‘s adaptation of the hit British series by Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais forged a legacy all its own by shedding the drearier office satire for a warmer approach built on dry humor, eccentric personalities, and a cavalcade of memorable supporting characters with their own roles at Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch. It helped launch actors like Steve Carell and John Krasinski into superstardom, won armloads of awards, including five Emmys and a Peabody, and has remained one of the go-to streaming comfort shows years after its end. Series creator Greg Daniels is still working in that same world, too, thanks to its spin-off series, The Paper, starring Domhnall Gleeson.
While Peacock already has Season 2 of The Paper set to premiere next week, it’s about to revisit The Office even sooner with a new title that honors the legacy of the legendary sitcom. Deadline reported today that Fan Level Midnight: Devoted to The Office, a new documentary exploring the show’s history and impact, has been picked up by the streamer for release on September 7. Directed by Shawn Cauthen, it’ll consist of six episodes spanning the evolution of Dunder Mifflin from a ratings-challenged first season to the departure of Michael Scott and a finale high note that cemented its legacy as one of the greatest television series ever made. Filming also traveled from the actual home of the titular office, Scranton, Pennsylvania, to the sound stages in Van Nuys, where the show came to life, all while getting the perspective of diehard fans along the way.
Fan Level Midnight will mix archival footage and interviews of most of the main cast and creatives with a few new conversations with key figures from series history, ranging from former NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly to director and executive producer Paul Feig and stars Andy Buckley and Leslie David Baker. Throughout it all, Cauthen will unpack some of the pivotal moments that defined the course of the show. That includes some of the early challenges to keep The Office at NBC and evolve the premise to better fit American audiences, as well as breakdowns of the most creatively risky episodes, like the infamous “Diversity Day.” As the name suggests, though, a big part of it all is exploring why The Office specifically has left such a lasting impression on audiences.
‘Fan Level Midnight’ Explores ‘The Office’s Rise as More Than a Show
The timing couldn’t be more perfect with the return of The Paper, something Peacock likely hopes to capitalize on as everyone starts thinking about The Office and its wider world again. Cauthen, who previously helmed 2019’s Netflix vs. the World, also edited Fan Level Midnight and produced with John Matthews, while Tim Ogletree and Jeremy Loethen served as executive producers. It’s been a long journey for the project, which was first teased with a trailer back in 2020 while it was still in production. In an official statement, he emphasized that his goal for the documentary was to go beyond the creative journey and the people behind it, but show how this piece of television history was so much more meaningful to the individual people who loved it.
“The Office became something much bigger than a television show. People have built friendships around it, found comfort in it during incredibly difficult moments, and continue discovering it for the first time. We wanted Fan Level Midnight to tell the story of the people who made the show, but just as importantly, the people who never stopped loving it.”
Fan Level Midnight: Devoted to The Office premieres on Peacock on September 7. Check out the original trailer in the player above.
via Collider