The Christmas episode of ‘The Office’ that saved the comedy from cancellation

Over the years, the US version of ‘The Office’ has been praised (and mostly associated with it being the only one) and cited as one of the best comedies in the entire history of television. But like anyone who wants a space in the annals of history, it hasn’t been easy, and if it weren’t for a Christmas installment, the series would have been cancelled.

Now that ‘The Office’ hits Netflix on January 1, and with that it’s available on three major streaming platforms, like Amazon Prime Video and HBO Max, it’s a good time to figure out where all the success behind it comes from. Greg Daniels’ show caught up, and knowing that not once, but several times, the show was about to be cancelled.

After a rather harsh first season and heir to the humor of the British version, there was a Christmas episode that saved “The Office” from cancellation. This is ‘Christmas Party’, the chapter of the second season, originally planned for only six chapters, but thanks to the audience bounce, was able to complete 22 episodes.

Angela Kinsey and Brian Baumgartner, who bring Angela and Kevin to life, confirm ‘The Christmas Party’ saved ‘The Office’: “We almost got canceled two, three, four, ten, twelve times in the beginning [de la temporada]”. Only then did the chain give them one last chance, a Christmas miracle: “We got off quickly and then we came back and [ese episodio] it was really a defining event for us. And we really took off from there.

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What is “The Christmas Party” from “The Office” about?

Although “The Office” already had memorable moments, it was only with “The Christmas Party” that the series showed what it was capable of, acid humor, but also tender moments. It all begins, as expected, at Christmas, when the Dunder Mifflin workers decide to make a trade with “invisible Santa”, but as expected, everything goes wrong thanks to Michael Scott (Steve Carrell).

And it’s thanks to Michael that the episode shines, as he went from being an annoying and unpleasant person, to a boss who seeks the approval of his employees. Critics and fans started taking notice of the series, and later awards, praise started coming in and ‘The Office’ got the opportunity to continue with more seasons.

“After the episode aired, we were the number one show on iTunes and suddenly we were like, ‘Wait, we’ve found our audience.’ From that moment on, things changed and we set off”. And there, the Christmas episodes were something important for the cast: “They became something like legendary episodes […] We knew there was going to be some ridiculous drama. We all loved these episodes.