THE DECISION TO add The Office to the streaming service provided by Netflix meant it was highly likely that the audience at home would start calling for a revival of the show; the original of which was created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.
And while Steve Carell, who played Michael Scott in the US version, understands the enthusiasm, he is cognisant that the essence of the show would likely fall flat in today’s cultural climate.
Speaking to Esquire, he explained why he thought the idea was a non-starter.
It might be impossible to do that show today and have people accept it the way it was accepted ten years ago. The climate’s different.
“I mean, the whole idea of that character, Michael Scott, so much of it was predicated on inappropriate behaviour. I mean, he’s certainly not a model boss,” he said of the character he played for eight years between the show’s launch in 2005 until its finale in 2013.
A lot of what is depicted on that show is completely wrong-minded. That’s the point, you know? But I just don’t know how that would fly now.
Appearing to make reference to the TimesUp movement and the sentiments born of it, the actor is of the opinion that a revival simply wouldn’t work in today’s society.
There’s a very high awareness of offensive things today — which is good, for sure. But at the same time, when you take a character like that too literally, it doesn’t really work.
Friends came in for criticism in recent months when it was added to Netflix, with new viewers questioning some of the show’s approaches to certain topics.
