Despite being one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time, the worst The Office episodes prove it was far from perfect. The mockumentary series had a rough start; its pilot season received several poor reviews from critics – many saying that it was just a loose Americanized reimagining of its original inspiration – and even came close to cancelation at one point. Today, The Office is still considered an all-time great sitcom and is constantly being quoted and referenced by fans, but even the best TV shows have their share of poorly written episodes.
The Office is such a bingeworthy show and continues to be a fan-favorite series even though it’s been off the air for over a decade. Fans return because of the hilarious moments, lovable characters, and nostalgic factor. But not every episode of the show is a winner, and it started going downhill in the later seasons when Michael (Steve Carell) left the show. The series sometimes lost sight of what made fans love it in the first or tried too hard to make new aspects of the show work, resulting in some of the worst The Office episodes.
Despite being one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time, the worst The Office episodes prove it was far from perfect. The mockumentary series had a rough start; its pilot season received several poor reviews from critics – many saying that it was just a loose Americanized reimagining of its original inspiration – and even came close to cancelation at one point. Today, The Office is still considered an all-time great sitcom and is constantly being quoted and referenced by fans, but even the best TV shows have their share of poorly written episodes.
The Office is such a bingeworthy show and continues to be a fan-favorite series even though it’s been off the air for over a decade. Fans return because of the hilarious moments, lovable characters, and nostalgic factor. But not every episode of the show is a winner, and it started going downhill in the later seasons when Michael (Steve Carell) left the show. The series sometimes lost sight of what made fans love it in the first or tried too hard to make new aspects of the show work, resulting in some of the worst The Office episodes.
15.Jury Duty
Season 8, Episode 13
The main plot of “Jury Duty” centers on The Office’s Dwight and Angela as Dwight has suspicions about the early birth of her baby. Angela claims that the baby is the Senator’s but with the dates not adding up right, everyone begins to wonder if Dwight might be the father of the child. Dwight focuses on this but also wants to catch Jim in a lie when he claims to have had jury duty for a week.
While there is some heart in this episode with The Office ultimately sympathizing with Jim taking time off to help Pam with the kids, the episode suffers from a common issue in season 8 of The Office with a lack of laughs. Even the drama with Angela’s baby feels like something from another series and is hard to get invested in.
14.Todd Packer
Season 7, Episode 17
Michael convinces Holly to give The Office’s Todd Packer (David Koechner) by lying that Todd is a respectable employee. The office is furious because Michael is the only one who likes the crass and inappropriate Packer, and Holly quickly regrets rehiring him. Meanwhile, Andy is upset that Pam gets a new computer for reception but not for any of the salespeople, specifically him. Packer had been a hilarious side character but the focus on him doesn’t work. The point of the character is that he is mean-spirited and obnoxious, so he’s much better in small doses.
13.Christening
Season 7, Episode 7
One of the biggest issues of the later seasons was the scarcity of ideas surrounding Jim and Pam’s office relationship. As a result, they sometimes dragged the story with uninteresting storylines. Their christening turns into a disaster when way too many people show up including Michael and several office employees.
Michael tries to find belongings and decides to join a group of close-knit churchgoers who are about to go on a mission trip to Mexico. Though there are some good moments with Michael’s short-lived journey and Toby trying to reconnect with God, the main storyline was considered a bore by many viewers.
12.Andy’s Ancestry
Season 9, Episode 3
“Andy’s Ancestry” from the final season of The Office was indicative of how the show was starting to lose grip of its characters. Nellie plays a prank on Andy when she tells him that she researched his ancestry and he comes from a long line of slave owners in the United States, causing Andy to overcompensate.
Meanwhile, Pam tries to connect with Nellie and attempts to teach her to drive. Andy and Nellie are two characters that the show didn’t know how to utilize. Attempting to make Andy the new Michael feels especially forced in this episode. However, the fake Jim (Randall Park) prank ranks as one of the best cold opens in series history.
11.Couples Discount
Season 9, Episode 15
“Couples Discount” suffered from the same unrealistic, wacky writing of the later seasons. After Michael left Scranton and Dunder Mifflin behind to start his new life with Holly Flax, the business, his coworkers, and just the overall quality of The Office suffered drastically. The concept of this episode was having the characters pair off into pretend couples to take advantage of a couples’ discount at a local mini-mall. It was not a memorable installment, and there was nothing special about it that would make it stand out from any other episode of The Office.
10.Lotto
Season 8, Episode 3
Season 8 is the worst season of The Office and features several of the show’s worst episodes. “Lotto” was another forgettable installment where the warehouse employees win the lottery and promptly quit their jobs, leading Andy and Darryl on a quest to find new workers. Meanwhile, the other Dunder Mifflin employees fantasize about winning the lottery. Though the show is used to showcasing hijinks, this episode felt as though it was veering into silly sitcom tropes just to add a spark to the show.
9.Roy’s Wedding
Season 9, Episode 2
“Roy’s Wedding” holds a sour place in many fans’ hearts, as it’s remembered for being the beginning of Jim and Pam’s marital problems. The better part of season 9 felt very different from any other season, mainly because Jim and Pam were at odds throughout. This was an especially upsetting episode for fans of the pairing.
The concept of the episode is that Jim and Pam begin to question their entire relationship after attending Pam’s ex-fiancee’s wedding. While it was an interesting and unexpected way to wrap up Roy’s storyline, seeing Jim and Pam becoming unhappy wasn’t something viewers wanted.
8.Fundraiser
Season 8, Episode 22
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One of the fans’ main complaints following Michael Scott’s departure from Dunder Mifflin was that The Office almost immediately tried to remedy the sadness that understandably followed. Being introduced in season 3, Andy was always portrayed as obnoxious, which isn’t typical of a charismatic protagonist. “Fundraiser” followed Andy’s further downward spiral as he attempted some sort of revenge after being fired by Robert California. While Michael’s meltdowns were often hilarious, seeing Andy deteriorate like this was more disturbing and pathetic than the show intended.
7.Angry Andy
Season 8, Episode 21
While “Angry Andy” might suggest that it unwisely puts Andy at the forefront, he is far from the episode’s problem. The battle for the position of manager between Andy and Nellie is the strangest storyline and seems to come out of nowhere. Nellie was forced into the show without ever feeling like a good fit and her takeover of the office was a bad way to get audiences on her side. Andy also isn’t sympathetic enough in the way that audiences can get behind, unlike Michael in his battle with Idris Elba’s Charles in The Office season 5.
6.Welcome Party
Season 8, Episode 20
“Welcome Party” is another episode that made the miscalculation of how much the audience wanted to see Andy and Nellie’s struggle for power in The Office. With Nellie usurping the position when Andy went to win Erin back, Robert California forces the office to throw a party for Nellie.
After making Nellie such an unlikable character, the show awkwardly tries to make her sympathetic in a very forced storyline involving a magician. Similarly, at a point when the audience must care about Andy, the episode makes him more unlikable when he brings Erin along to break up with his girlfriend.
5.Here Comes The Treble
Season 9, Episode 5
Season 9’s drama with Jim and Pam’s marital troubles might have been an interesting storyline to explore if done right, but fans just didn’t want to see the unhappiness of these two dragged out for so long across the final season. “Here Comes Treble” starts with Pam upset about Jim taking a new job without consulting her. With a solid comedic storyline to go along with it, the episode might have been better. Sadly, the episode leans into Andy’s pettiness which is neither funny nor entertaining while also featuring a completely wasted cameo from Stephen Colbert.
4.Gettysburg
Season 8, Episode 8
To reignite some of the fun of The Office, the post-Michael season mistook that character’s appeal for the wacky adventures he would take the team on. “Gettysburg” attempts this with Dunder Mifflin employees who are forced to go on a field trip. It feels as though the episode ended with that idea as the company outing is the least interesting part of the episode and serves as a concerning tease for the rest of the season. One highlight featuring Robert California mistaking Kevin as an employee with big ideas fails to elevate the installment enough.
3.Get The Girl
Season 8, Episode 19
The romance between Andy and Erin received mixed reviews from audiences and critics. Their relationship had a major presence in the 8th and 9th seasons and probably would have been a successful, even endearing storyline if it hadn’t been written in such a heavy-handed manner.
“Get the Girl” featured Andy driving across the country to Tallahassee to track down Erin. He tries to serenade her in a cringeworthy scene along with other absurd things in an attempt to win Erin’s heart. “Get the Girl” is another example of how the series didn’t know what to do with Andy. Failing to make him a clone of Michael leads to them hopping around from one idea to the next in an attempt to make him endearing and succeeding at doing the opposite.
2.Vandalism
Season 9, Episode 14
This episode of The Office centers on some odd storylines as Pam tries to figure out who vandalized her mural in the warehouse and it leads to an aggressive altercation between her and the culprit. In an attempt to keep Jim and Darryl in the show after they leave to start their new business, an uninteresting story involves them struggling as new roommates.
With the cast of the series scattered, the episode feels strange and out of place. However, it is the choice to break the fourth wall of the documentary crew that proves to be a a big mistake as this wasn’t the kind of thing that the audience wanted to see.
1.The Banker
Season 6, Episode 14
In “The Banker,” Michael Scott is still the boss. However, “The Banker” is the worst episode of the series because it’s an unnecessary clip show. The plot revolves around the looming threat of a visit from a high-profile investment banker. The office answers the banker’s questions about the company leading to a revisiting of some of the series’ best moments. Clip shows have been common in sitcoms for years, but in the age of YouTube when these clips were readily available to watch, this episode of The Office is pointless.
