Steve Carell opens up on how the now iconic The Office pilot was highly unsuccessful

The iconic sitcom The Office has been widely cherished by fans over the years. But 21 years after its debut, would anyone believe that the show had a rocky start?

At Amy Poehler's Good Hang Podcast, Steve Carell, who portrayed Michael Scott, has spilled the beans about it. In the conversation, he mentioned how the pilot episode of the mockumentary series was met with intense backlash during the initial testing by NBC.

Keep reading to find out what exactly the actor revealed about the early reception of The Office pilot episode.

Steve Carell reminisces about the beginnings of The Office, and it was far from smooth

In a conversation with Amy Poehler, Steve Carell candidly shared the initial response that The Office pilot had received during testing. The conversation about the sitcom started when Poehler recollected Parks and Recreation. She mentions how the show's tumultuous opening had gravely impacted her, making her feel “dissociated.”

That is when Carell brought up The Office, which also had a rough beginning. He states:

“Our pilot was the lowest-testing pilot in the history, I think, of NBC. People really hated it. They actively hated this show, and I don’t quite know how it got legs after that.”

In this statement, Steve Carell reflects on how it feels to witness the show's success, with its pilot garnering such a negative response at the beginning. With a shaky start like that, it is undoubtedly difficult to wrap one's head around how it went on to achieve such success later.

Another reason for the skepticism is that The Office is derived from the sought-after British series starring Ricky Gervais. Amy Poehler addresses this particular fact as she reflects on her Saturday Night Live days. She adds:

“Everyone was like, ‘This is a terrible idea, this is a terrible idea. No one can be as good as Ricky Gervais, no one can do that show."

However, the tables turned when people came to know it was Steve Carell who would be portraying Michael Scott, as she says:

"And then we heard it was you, and we were like, ‘Oh. Oh, whoever’s making this show wants it to be funny.'”

Carell also shared his process of playing the character, where he revealed that he would consciously steer clear of watching the British series before auditioning. The reason behind this is that he did not want Ricky Gervais's portrayal of Scott to influence his acting approach. In fact, he was not even encouraged to audition for the part by many of his friends. Paul Rudd was one of them as well, as the Foxcatcher star tells us with a chuckle.

In spite of a difficult takeoff, The Office went on to mark its place as one of the most successful sitcoms in television history. The series has been in existence since 2005 and concluded in 2013. Although the sitcom ended 13 years ago, it continues to have a lasting impact on pop culture. Fans of the show are either rewatching it or are enjoying the memes inspired by its legendary moments.

Trending

Stay tuned for more such stories at Soap Central!

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback