The Office Season 1
Overview
The Office Season 1 is the first season of the American mockumentary sitcom, based on the British series of the same name by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. The first season is set at the Dunder Mifflin paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The series follows the daily lives of the office employees, who are unaware that they are being filmed for a documentary. The first season introduces the characters, including Michael Scott (Steve Carell), the delusional, inappropriate, and well-meaning regional manager who desperately wants to be loved by his employees; Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), a power-hungry, socially awkward, beet-farming salesman who is Michael's sycophantic assistant; Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), a smart, funny salesman who is in love with the receptionist and constantly pranks Dwight; Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer), the receptionist who is engaged to a boring warehouse worker, Roy, and who has feelings for Jim; and Ryan Howard (B.J. Novak), a temp who is the show's audience surrogate. The first season is only six episodes long, but it establishes the tone of the series: cringe comedy, talking-head interviews, and a focus on the mundane absurdities of office life. The season includes the episode "Diversity Day," where Michael's attempt at a sensitivity training session goes horribly wrong; "The Alliance," where Dwight and Jim form a temporary alliance; and "Basketball," where the office workers play a game against the warehouse workers. The first season was not an immediate ratings success, but it gained a cult following and laid the groundwork for the show's later success. The season finale ends with Jim finally telling Pam how he feels, setting up the will-they-won't-they romance that would become a central storyline.
