This book was assembled from a number of sources, primarily from nearly ninety new interviews I conducted with members of the cast, writers, directors, producers, and crew along with various Hollywood executives, TV critics, and even the good folks at the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce. Since not everyone was available to speak, I also used archival material, including interviews I did with cast and crew over the past decade as part of my job as a staff writer at Rolling Stone, some DVD commentary, and other published interviews about the show and the people who starred in and created it. Brackets are sometimes used for clarity or to change the tense of a statement, and a full list of sources by chapter is in the back.
cast of characters
ACTORS
Devon Abner (Devon White, Seasons 1, 2, and 9)
Leslie David Baker (Stanley Hudson, Seasons 19)
Brian Baumgartner (Kevin Malone, Seasons 19)
Creed Bratton (Creed Bratton, Seasons 19)
Andy Buckley (David Wallace, Seasons 26, 8, and 9)
Steve Carell (Michael Scott, Seasons 17 and 9)
Clark Duke (Clark Green, Season 9)
Idris Elba (Charles Miner, Season 5)
Will Ferrell (Deangelo Vickers, Season 7)
Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly Halpert, Seasons 19)
Kate Flannery (Meredith Palmer, Seasons 19)
Beth Grant (Melvina, Seasons 4 and 9)
Melora Hardin (Jan Levinson, Seasons 15, 7, and 9)
Ed Helms (Andy Bernard, Seasons 39)
Hidetoshi Imura (Hidetoshi Hasagawa, Seasons 39)
Rashida Jones (Karen Filippelli, Seasons 35 and 7)
Mindy Kaling (Kelly Kapoor/Writer, Seasons 19)
Ellie Kemper (Erin Hannon, Seasons 59)
Angela Kinsey (Angela Martin, Seasons 19)
John Krasinski (Jim Halpert, Seasons 19)
Paul Lieberstein (Toby Flenderson/Writer, Seasons 19)
B. J. Novak (Ryan Howard/Writer, Seasons 19)
Oscar Nunez (Oscar Martinez, Seasons 19)
Mark Proksch (Nate Nickerson, Seasons 79)
Craig Robinson (Darryl Philbin, Seasons 19)
Karly Rothenberg (Madge Madsen, Seasons 18)
Amy Ryan (Holly Flax, Seasons 4, 5, and 7)
Robert Shafer (Bob Vance, Seasons 27 and 9)
Phyllis Smith (Phyllis Lapin Vance, Seasons 19)
James Spader (Robert California, Seasons 7 and 8)
Calvin Tenner (Lester/Calvin/Glenn, Seasons 29)
Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute, Seasons 19)
Christopher T. Wood (Chilis Manager, Season 2)
Zach Woods (Gabe Lewis, Seasons 69)
WRITERS
Jen Celotta (Seasons 26)
Danny Chun (Seasons 68)
Lee Eisenberg (Seasons 26)
Owen Ellickson (Seasons 8 and 9)
Anthony Farrell (Seasons 4 and 5)
Brent Forrester (Seasons 39)
Amelie Gillette (Seasons 7 and 8)
Warren Lieberstein (Seasons 59)
Peter Ocko (Season 7)
Michael Schur (Seasons 15)
Aaron Shure (Seasons 58)
Justin Spitzer (Seasons 39)
Gene Stupnitsky (Seasons 26)
Halsted Sullivan (Seasons 59)
Caroline Williams (Season 3)
Larry Wilmore (Seasons 2 and 3)
DIRECTORS
J. J. Abrams
Jeff Blitz
Paul Feig
Tucker Gates
Bryan Gordon
Ken Kwapis
Ken Whittingham
PRODUCERS
Steve Burgess
Randy Cordray
Greg Daniels
Ben Silverman
Teri Weinberg
PRODUCTION STAFF
Shelley Adajian (Standby Painter)
Carey Bennett (Costume Designer)
Kelly Cantley (First Assistant Director)
Roxxi Dott (Hairstylist)
Randall Einhorn (Director/Cinematographer)
Briton W. Erwin (Post-production Supervisor)
Kim Ferry (Hairstylist)
Michael Gallenberg (Production Designer)
Sergio Giacoman (Caterer)
Richard Gonzales (Second Assistant Director)
Lisa Hans-Wolf (Makeup Artist)
Donald Lee Harris (Production Designer)
Dean Holland (Editor)
Allison Jones (Casting Director)
Jason Kessler (Script Coordinator)
Rusty Mahmood (First Assistant Director)
Ben Patrick (Sound Mixer)
Alysia Raycraft (Costume Designer)
David Rogers (Editor)
Henry Saine (Graphic Designer)
Claire Scanlon (Editor)
Peter Smokler (Cinematographer)
Matt Sohn (Cinematographer/Camera Operator)
Kasia Trojak (Second Assistant Director)
Mary Wall (Assistant to Greg Daniels)
Brian Wittle (Boom Operator/Sound Mixer)
NBC/GE/FOX EXECUTIVES
Bob Greenblatt (Chairman of NBC Entertainment)
Jeff Immelt (GE CEO)
Kevin Reilly (NBC Entertainment Division President)
Stacey Snider (20th Century Fox Chairman/CEO)
Jeff Zucker (CEO of NBCUniversal)
TV CRITICS/WEBSITE OPERATORS
Myles McNutt (AV Club)
Nathan Rabin (AV Club)
Alan Sepinwall (Newark Star-Ledger /HitFix/Uproxx)
Rob Sheffield ( Rolling Stone )
Jennie Tan (OfficeTally.com Webmaster)
THE GREATER SCRANTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Robert Durkin (President and Chief Executive Officer)
Mari Potis (Director of Membership and Events)
WRITER OF THE SONG THAT ONE NIGHT
Todd Fancey (New Pornographers Guitarist)
THE UK OFFICE
Ash Atalla (Producer)
Ricky Gervais (David Brent/Cocreator)
Anil Gupta (Executive Producer)
Andy Hollis (Cinematographer)
Ewen MacIntosh (Big Keith)
Stephen Merchant (Cocreator)
Jon Plowman (Executive Producer)