During quarantine, Nick Janicki finished a The Office season 10 fan fiction, made up of 24 episodes. Told in mockumentary fashion, The Office was an adaption led by Greg Daniels of the initial BBC series co-created and starring Ricky Gervais in the early 2000s. The legendary American sitcom had an unbeatable cast featuring the likes of Steve Carell and A Quiet Place mastermind John Krasinski. A five-time Emmy winner, the show had a rocky start but was able to gain traction with audiences through its endearing character development and hilarity.
Based in a fictional office by the name of Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the show is one of the best-known workplace comedies in American television. In fact, its series finale that aired in 2013 had 5.69 million viewers. The show has a long-standing legacy and continues to be a cultural icon as well as a source for funny memes. They’re especially needed now, as shelter-in-place has affected everyone across the globe, posing all sorts of changes and obstacles. For many, the time spent in isolation has been a way for creatives to get new (and old) projects done. In fact, two former The Office executive producers are creating a remote workplace comedy. Janicki, a fan of The Office, has taken it a step further, writing another much-needed season during quarantine.
Janicki has put up all 24 episodes for the world to read and enjoy on his website. At an impressive 900 pages, Janicki shares a description for his Season 10: “We’ve seen memes created. We’ve seen 280-characters-or-less scenes written out. Let’s kick it up a notch (or ten) and take an in-depth look at where our favorite T.V. coworkers would be in 2020. A whole episode, you say? Nay – a whole season.” Each episode is laid out in an organized, nice way for readers to easily navigate and download in PDF format. Janicki let the world know he wrote a fan fiction screenplay for the brand new season of The Office on Reddit, which has been shared by over 30k users already.
Set in the year 2020, Janicki’s new season imagines where the beloved characters of the show would be (and how they might act) in these modern times. A few episodes are not only funny, but also provide solid inside jokes. For example, in the first episode, “Arrivals,” Dwight Schrute offers his criticism on the merits of the film A Quiet Place. Dwight essentially criticizes Jim Halpert’s parenting skills while providing a funny survival guide for dealing with the kind of aliens found in the movie. Plus, Janicki does a terrific job of maintaining Michael Scott’s iconic yet absurd one-liners and incorrect word usage. In the next episode, “Brownies,” Michael Scott says, “No weirdo, it’s just an expression. Like a homely.“
Quarantine has shown that good can come out of a global pandemic, even if it’s just creatives like Janicki creating binge-worthy, all-access screenplays for The Office enthusiasts. Even though a real season likely won’t come from this, the fan-inspired season 10 is an incredible idea brought to life during these uncertain times. Janicki has clearly put hard work into his extensive ode to one of TV’s best sitcoms.
