“You couldn’t make ‘The Office’ today,” says Rainn Wilson, reflecting on the sitcom’s controversial humor

‘The Office’ is always remembered as one of the greatest sitcoms of recent years. While the version that aired on this side of the world became the most popular, the DNA of the UK original has always remained there, and creating something like that from scratch might not work out the same way.

That’s the view of Rainn Wilson, who played Dwight Schrute, in a recent interview with Fox News. In the interview, he argues that ‘The Office’, as it debuted in 2005, is something that couldn’t be made today, because it might be considered “truly inappropriate.”

“I do feel like you couldn’t make ‘The Office’ today,” said Wilson. “I think it would be too hard to be as politically incorrect as the show was. And I do kind of miss that.” During the interview, Wilson also mentioned that the lack of self-awareness on the part of his character and Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell) was part of the show’s inappropriate humor and that, today, it couldn’t happen in 2026. “We milked that for a lot of great, really inappropriate stuff,” Wilson recalled. “But even with the fact that painting that character as just an idiot, I don’t think you could get away with it today.”

‘The Office’ Continues with Spin-offs and Regional Versions

Despite Rainn’s comments, ‘The Office’ remains a force with enough clout to keep spawning new series. In September 2025, we saw the premiere of 'The Paper,’ a spin-off series that could be considered a direct sequel to ‘The Office,’ drawing on elements and characters but now following the day-to-day life of a struggling Midwestern newspaper, and featuring the talents of Domhnall Gleeson, Sabrina Impacciatore, Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Ramona Young, Tim Key, and Oscar Nuñez.

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On the other hand, ‘The Office’ has spawned regional adaptations in countries around the world that have sought to present those office antics as a universal language. Despite some failed adaptations, the most recent regional version to debut, ‘La Oficina’ on Prime Video, proved to be a hit in its home country, Mexico, even sparking interest among Latino audiences in the U.S. to watch this version, which effectively uses that politically incorrect humor to create the awkward moments for which ‘The Office’ is remembered. Maybe someone should let Rainn know that this kind of humor still works.

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