Celebrate 20 years of The Office with a look back at 12 of the best episodes, from the hilarious dinner party to Jim and Pam’s wedding.
It’s hard to believe, but The Office — that is, the US version that transformed the mundane world of paper sales into an all-time comedy masterpiece — celebrates its 20th anniversary this coming week. That’s right, the very first episode aired on NBC this month back in 2005, introducing us to Michael Scott, Jim and Pam, Dwight Schrute, and the rest of the Dunder Mifflin crew.
From its humble beginnings as a remake of the British series, The Office quickly found its own unique voice, blending cringe comedy with heartfelt storytelling and giving us one of the most beloved sitcoms in the history of TV. And as Brian Baumgartner (a.k.a. Kevin Malone) told me back in 2020, for a piece I wrote about Brian’s then-new Office podcast, the cast of the show felt they were onto something special almost immediately:
“I will say, from the second episode we shot, Diversity Day, I remember specifically being very aware that what the show was doing was special and unique … I specifically remember as we were shooting day after day, almost exclusively in the conference room, that if people gave the show a shot, we had the chance to be doing something special. You know, that episode (Diversity Day) focused on race. And what we were doing, what we were talking about, and the way we were talking about real issues, hopefully in a funny way, was something that really hadn’t been done since All In The Family.”
Fast forward to 2025, and the legacy of The Office is still going strong. In fact, a new iteration of the show is coming to Peacock later this year. The setting will shift to the office of a dying newspaper, with at least one familiar face (Dunder Mifflin accountant Oscar Martinez) set to appear.
But before we dive into the next chapter of The Office, let’s take a trip down memory lane. In honor of the show’s 20th anniversary, here are 12 of the best episodes ever, episodes that I’ve always thought best capture the magic, hilarity, and heart that made The Office such a phenomenon.The most unforgettable Office episodes
The Dundies.
