Star Of ‘The Office’ Criticizes Show That Made Him Famous Over ‘Insensitive’ Jokes

During an appearance on “The Last Laugh” podcast released Wednesday, “The Office” star Rainn Wilson criticized the show that earned him three Emmy nominations, saying it sometimes “took it too far,” and would have to be a “very, very different” show if it was made in 2025.

“Listen you know, the Benihana Christmas episode where Michael [Steve Carell] and Andy [Ed Helms] draw with a sharpie on one of the Asian women that they’ve brought back to the Christmas party is jaw-droppingly kind of horrific,” Wilson said. 

“And it’s a tricky conversation. It’s like they’re clueless, and in their cluelessness, they’re racist and insensitive, and they’re always saying the wrong thing,” he continued. “And that’s Michael, Dwight, and Andy…and Kevin [Brian Baumgartner] for that matter. So it’s a show based around clueless, insensitive, racist, sexist people that kind of mirrors the United States in a lot of ways.”

However, Wilson admitted that as humor it’s “funny as hell and it also kind of skewers a particular American sensibility.”

“Could it happen today?” he pondered. “I think it would have to be very, very different if it were made in this environment.”

The mockumentary-style comedy about a fictional paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania aired on NBC from 2005 to 2013. In recent years, the show has resurged in popularity on streaming services such as Netflix and Peacock.

A spinoff called “The Farm” had been planned, which would have starred Wilson’s character. The show had a backdoor pilot during a season 9 episode of “The Office,” but NBC ultimately never moved forward with it. 

“[NBC was] just not interested at all in ‘Office’ spinoffs at the time. Had they taken ‘The Farm,’ they’d probably have another billion dollars in the bank. Even now, all the people that have seen ‘The Office’ 20 times, they’re going to watch ‘The Farm’ at least once or twice,” Wilson reminisced. “Would it have been as good as ‘The Office?’ No. No way. Not even close. Would it have been good? Would it have been solid? Would it have been a good solid comedy? Yeah, it would have, and we would’ve done some really cool stuff. And I think they really missed out,” he added.

🚨 ALL EPISODES OF #THEPAPER ARE STREAMING NOW ON PEACOCK pic.twitter.com/dVoqzavhCn

— Peacock (@peacock) September 4, 2025

Peacock, NBC’s online streaming service, recently debuted “The Paper,” an “Office” spinoff by Greg Daniels, the creator behind the original show. The series was renewed for a second season one day before its premiere on Peacock.