Mindy Kaling: We couldnt make The Office now, its too fearless & taboo

Publish date: 2024-06-02

I’m not obsessed with The Office and I don’t watch the reruns. When the show originally aired, I probably watched the first four seasons or so? But I eventually stopped, especially when Jim and Pam got together and all of the stunt-casting with guest-stars started happening. I don’t remember The Office being particularly controversial or scandalous, and people still enjoy the series now. It’s like Friends – the younger peeps feel like they’ve “discovered” it on streaming and it’s more popular now than it was during its original run. It seems like a historical relic more than anything, the idea that people work in a regular office and there’s no telecommuting and people hang out with their coworkers and get into adventures. I bring all of this up because Mindy Kaling claimed that you couldn’t make The Office today because the characters would be canceled now.

The ensemble cast of “The Office” is always asked when a reunion or reboot series might finally be made, but original star and writer Mindy Kaling recently told “Good Morning America” that “The Office” just couldn’t be made today. Why? “That show is so inappropriate now,” Kaling said.

“The writers who I’m still in touch with now, we always talk about how so much of that show we probably couldn’t make now,” Kaling added. “Tastes have changed, and honestly what offends people has changed so much now. I think that actually is one of the reasons the show is popular, because people feel like there’s something kind of fearless about it or taboo that it talks about on the show.”

When asked what her character, the pop-culture obsessed Kelly Kapoor, would be doing in a 2022 version of “The Office,” Kaling responded, “I think she would have quit Dunder Mifflin to become an influencer, and then probably be canceled, almost immediately. Actually, most of the characters on that show would be canceled by now.”

[From Variety]

Did I miss something in the later episodes or something? While the “Dwight” character would probably launch a thousand thinkpieces if he was introduced as a fictional character today, I think mostly the show would still be accepted and liked today? As in, people still LIKE the show today. Sure, maybe some storylines and characters would be written differently, without a doubt. Same with Friends, same with Sex and the City, same with all of those ‘90s and early-00s water-cooler shows (except maybe Frasier, which weirdly seems timeless). Basically, I have no idea what Mindy is talking about. She seems to think The Office was a lot edgier than it actually was. She’s right about one thing: Kelly absolutely would have become an influencer. She would be obsessed with Instagram and she would be selling her makeup line out of Dunder Mifflin’s parking lot.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – OCTOBER 15: Mindy Kaling arrives at the 2nd Annual Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Gala presented by Rolex held at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 15, 2022 in Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 731060844, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Mindy Kaling, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 15: Mindy Kaling attends the 2nd Annual Academy Museum Gala at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 15, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.,Image: 731158957, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Mindy Kaling, Credit line: Jeffrey Mayer / Avalon Mindy Kaling arrives at the Academy’s 13th Governors Awards on Saturday, November 19, 2022, in Los Angeles.,Image: 739032235, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Editorial Use Only, Model Release: no, Credit line: Blaine Ohigashi / Avalon
New York, NY – Actress Mindy Kaling looks radiant as she makes an appearance at Good Morning America in New York City. Pictured: Mindy Kaling BACKGRID USA 1 DECEMBER 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*

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