It’s been two decades since The Office first and the cast is feeling nostalgic about the early days of the now-iconic sitcom. In a special interview with Today that aired on Thursday, April 17, several cast members—Leslie David Baker, Oscar Nuñez, Angela Kinsey, Ellie Kemper, Creed Bratton, Brian Baumgartner, and Kate Flannery—looked back on the show’s humble beginnings and surprising success.



When The Office first hit television screens in 2005, most of its cast were relatively unknown. Kate Flannery, who played Meredith Palmer, recalled, “The thing about our show that is so special, I think for all of us, is that none of us were famous when we started. So, as the show got famous, we did, too.”


With long hours on set and an uncertain future in the show’s early seasons, the cast found creative—and very relatable—ways to pass the time. “I did my taxes the first year,” Flannery shared. Leslie David Baker (Stanley) added, “Phyllis did her taxes. I did my taxes. We found my house, her house.”


Oscar Nuñez, who portrayed the detail-oriented accountant Oscar Martinez, joked, “Call me crazy, but I was learning my lines and concentrating on my craft.”


Based on Ricky Gervais’ British series of the same name, the American adaptation was developed by Greg Daniels and centered on the mundane but endearing life of employees at the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Steve Carell’s Michael Scott—“World’s Best Boss” in his own mind—anchored the show’s quirky tone, with a cast of misfits that quickly grew on audiences.


Despite its massive fanbase today, The Office didn’t have a guaranteed future at the start. Angela Kinsey (Angela Martin) revealed that she even removed her name from her trailer after the first season, unsure whether the show would continue.