The Office

The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History

By: Andy Greene

Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Holter Graham, P.J. Ochlan, Fred Berman, Thérèse Plummer, Sean Runnette, Sullivan Jones, Obi Abili, Josh Cohen, Various

Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

An instant New York Times best seller

The untold stories behind The Office, one of the most iconic television shows of the 21st century, told by its creators, writers, and actors.

When did you last hang out with Jim, Pam, Dwight, Michael, and the rest of Dunder Mifflin? It might have been back in 2013, when the series finale aired...or it might have been last night, when you watched three episodes in a row. But either way, long after the show first aired, it’s more popular than ever, and fans have only one problem - what to watch, or listen to, next.

Fortunately, Rolling Stone writer Andy Greene has that answer. In his brand-new oral history, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s, Greene will take listeners behind the scenes of their favorite moments and characters. Greene gives us the true inside story behind the entire show, from its origins on the BBC through its impressive nine-season run in America, with in-depth research and exclusive interviews. Fans will get the inside scoop on key episodes from "The Dundies" to "Threat Level Midnight" and "Goodbye, Michael", including behind-the-scenes details like the battle to keep it on the air when NBC wanted to pull the plug after just six episodes and the failed attempt to bring in James Gandolfini as the new boss after Steve Carell left, spotlighting the incredible, genre-redefining show created by the family-like team, who together took a quirky British import with dicey prospects and turned it into a primetime giant with true historical and cultural significance.

Hilarious, heartwarming, and revelatory, The Office gives fans and pop culture buffs a front-row seat to the phenomenal sequence of events that launched The Office into wild popularity, changing the face of television and how we all see our office lives for decades to come.

©2020 Andy Greene (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Interesting behind the scenes info

The voice actors were laughable. I literally laughed out loud each time they said their names. Could’ve done a lot better with the voices it really took away from the book.

enjoyed more than I thought I would

if your're a big fan, you will enjoy this book a lot. great behind the scenes stuff.

Sub-par narration

The story is interesting and reveals great behind the scenes info.

The glaring drawback: over-thought performance and direction. No point in using 20 different narrators especially when there is no attempt to sound like the real actors. And their voices are not distinct enough for us to identify who is speaking--they could just swap out one voice-actor for another and the listener wouldn't even notice. I've listened to dozens of bios where a single narrator does DISTINCT male and female voices AND i would know who is speaking. Not so much here.

Decided to submit review after hearing another narrator misquote the show. It's happened a few times already and takes me out of the book. In this case, a male narrator recites Pam's outburst at the beach party... he ends it with the British inflection "Good day!" instead of the actual "[yeah... this was a] Good day." Small potatoes but distracting nonetheless.

I really enjoyed this

it was an easy listen - I agree with others that the attempted voices were a lose, but the story itself was great. it's helped me to watch the series in a new light - thinking about how producers were behind the fax machine. or that the actors were struggling not to break :)

Great Oral History (That's What She Said)

Everything you ever wanted to know about The Office, told in the style of oral history where most of the text is made up of direct quotes from the participants -- actors, writers, directors, producers, crew members, TV executives, and others. Mostly about the U.S. version, but with a complete history as well of the original British show. With a broad range of narrators taking on the roles of the interviewees.

If you're a fan of The Office, this is a must listen, you will absolutely love it, especially in this format, which is perfect for pop culture histories (there's an awesome oral history of SNL, to cite just one example). If you're not familiar with The Office, this will mostly be irrelevant. And both of those things for the same reason -- the book covers all 11 seasons (US and UK) in minute detail, as well as a dozen key episodes, and every major actor and character (and even many minor actors and characters, including extras!).

If I have one criticism (and it doesn't even rise to causing any deduction from 5 stars across the board) it is that many of the major figures (especially US showrunner Greg Daniels and most of the major actors) are underrepresented, with the writers getting the bulk of quotes -- I suspect most of what you hear from the major figures comes from prior interviews, while most of the others were done for this book (the author says as much at the start).

No matter -- great stuff full of detailed information that every serious fan wants to know.

Extremely Entertaining

Loved it! I listened to it when I would go for a walk, but would find myself still listening it to an hour after I was done!
Disclaimer: I'm an office fanatic!

Enjoyed it

I really enjoyed this book
Huge office fan and loved the juicy bits in here

Great for any Office Fan

I loved the insight this book gave into my favorite show. There’s so many interesting views from the cast and crew. I didn’t like the voice cast in this one, it was an ensemble of voice actors to read for different people interviewed in the book. I think one narrator would have been better.

For the true fans of the show.

This was a great book for the true fans. The stories in the book tell so much about the behind the scenes from season one to the end. I really enjoyed hearing about the creative aspects of how the show was written and how the stories and characters came to be. If you're a fan of the office this us a must.

Love, LOVE The Story of The Office

I love listening to the behind the scenes details, conversations and stories covering all the 9 seasons and key episodes of The Office. Adding actors performing the actual quotes of conversations from the cast, staff and producers adds remarkable insight. They did a commendable job. I found it all quite interesting. There were times I couldn't stop listening... as a true fan, I was hooked on this book!

Hear ye, hear ye, I highly recommend Andy Greene's The Office, The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000's!