It's a dark day for many Netflix subscribers, as the first of the year marks the end of The Office streaming on the service. Now, the popular series has moved to NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock. The good news is that the first two seasons are streaming for free for anyone to watch, but binging the rest of the series would require subscribing to Peacock, which costs $4.99 a month with ads and $9.99 a month without.
With so many of us already subscribed to multiple streaming services, the idea of signing up for yet another doesn't sound very appealing. However, it just might be worth it for fans of The Office with so much additional content that comes along with the episodes. Bloopers, behind-the-scenes footage, and the digital series originally released as webisodes are all available to watch along with the show on Peacock.
Additionally, Peacock is offering "Superfan Episodes" of the show. By including deleted scenes and never-before-seen footage, these episodes are longer cuts of the originals we've been binging for years on Netflix. The special episodes start with Season 3 and are already available for subscribers to watch. More Superfan Episodes are set to come in the future as well with more installments arriving in March.
Peacock has also curated various sets of episodes into specific playlists for fans of The Office. That includes a Jim & Pam playlist, focusing on the romance that blossoms between the two over the course of the series, along with another playlist for Fights, Pranks & Feuds. For those who found the series less enjoyable after Steve Carell's exit, there's also a Best of Michael Scott playlist. Similarly, there are other character-specific playlists included, such as Best of Jim, Best of Pam, Best of Creed, Best of Dwight, Best of Kelly, and Worst of Toby.
Based on the British television series of the same name, The Office ran on NBC between 2005 and 2013. A mockumentary series, the show follows the employees of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company working in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Steve Carell led the series as Michael Scott with an ensemble cast that also included Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B. J. Novak, Kate Flannery, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nunez, Ed Helms, Creed Bratton, Phyllis Smith, Ellie Kemper, and Mindy Kaling.
In 2019, NBCUniversal's Bonnie Hammer revealed that the hope at Peacock is to one day see a reboot of the show. The revelation came after the company had acquired the streaming rights back from Netflix for over $500 million, clearly noticing how popular the series continues to be so many years after it came to an end.
"The Office comes back to us in January 2021. It is my hope that we can figure what that great reboot would be," Hammer said, adding that the brass at NBCUniversal are "having conversations" about the potential reboot.
It does feel strange to see that The Office is no longer on Netflix, but spending five bucks a month to see extended cuts of fan favorite episodes isn't the worth thing in the world. If money is an issue, the first two seasons will also be there to watch for free along with plenty of extras and behind-the-scenes footage. You can find out more information and sign up for a free or paid account now at the official website for Peacock.