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Cori Lenon
A few weeks ago, I tweeted that I was looking for fans of The Office who can't stop, won't stop rewatching the series, and that they should email me if they'd like to contribute to an article about their obsession. By the next morning, I had 32 messages in my inbox with subject lines like, "I will rewatch The Office until I'm dead" and "YES I WATCH THE OFFICE ON REPEAT AND I HAVE NO SHAME." I'd noticed that rewatching The Office seemed to be a very common activity, with fans posting about their rewatches on Twitter and memes about it popping up on Instagram. But why? Through emails from fans and talking to experts in psychology and media, I set out to find out why exactly rewatching The Office is such A Thing.
I get loving The Office. That part is totally understandable. After Season 1, NBC re-ran the entire six-episode season, and flipping around my parents' non-cable TV while bored one evening led me to find what is now my favorite comedy of all time. I watched every episode that aired that night. I was hooked.
I watched the show through to the finale, but for me and other fans, viewing The Office didn't end when the show did in 2013. In the time since it premiered, Netflix has taken over, and now fans like me can relive "Your dentist's name is... Crentist?" whenever we want. And whenever we want is, apparently, all the time.
Another fan, Sara, who is now 22, explains that the show helped her through a death she experienced when she was 15: "I had just lost a member of my family to cancer and had no real coping skills or support system, so I legitimately spent a huge portion of that summer watching every season on Netflix."
Others said The Office was there for them through trauma or heartbreak. "Sometimes I go a month or two without watching, but I mostly started it as a way to kind of distract from trauma I was experiencing when I was young," writes Kathleen, 20. And Sahra, also 20, explains, "I watched the series for the first time the summer I graduated high school. I was going through my first heartbreak and as silly as it sounds The Office was there for me."
And, of course, there are much lighter reasons why fans watch the series, too. Erin, 26, bonds with her family over the show: "Every Christmas my family sits down after opening gifts and we watch every Office Christmas episode."
Then, there are the love stories. "Growing up, I remember hearing people say, 'There's a lid for every pot', and The Office demonstrates this idea well," writes 28-year-old Randyl. "Of course, like many, I loved Jim and Pam ... but the Michael/Holly and Dwight/Angela romances were what made me truly believe that there's someone out there for everyone."
Like that last comment, some of the responses were self-deprecating, but it's clear that there's no need to be. If you think you're weird for having seen the entire series 15 times, there's someone else out there who quoted The Office in their high school yearbook. (It was me. I am that person.) But why this show? It's easy to say it's because of the characters or the jokes or the familiarity, but a lot of shows can provide that. Why is The Office the one where the connection is so strong?
Pamela Rutledge, the director of the Media Psychology Research Center, has an idea that goes deeper than just loving Michael's one-liners or Jim and Pam's love story. "The Office is an ensemble production, which means there are multiple psychological access points and emotional hooks to enter the world," she tells me via email. "People can identify with all sorts of situations in the context of office politics and interpersonal relationships." In other words, while you might relate to Jim's job anxiety one day, the next time you're watching, you might really connect with Kelly's situation with Ryan (if so, sorry about that).
Rutledge further explains that watching the show can actually have a physical effect on your mind and body: "Anxiety that might be generated by personal associations is alleviated through humor which changes our body chemistry, reducing stress and improving our sense of well-being." This speaks to the many responses from people who said watching The Office improves their mental health or helped when they were going through a tough time.
But it's not just about the emotional experience and our subconsciouses getting used to the show. There is something particular about The Office's writing and production that sets it apart. Bustle Associate TV Editor Martha Sorren thinks the setting of the show provides a soothing quality that keeps people coming back.
"I have a theory that the contained set is a large part of why people rewatch The Office," she says. "You always know exactly what it's going to look like, who sits where, and what's going to happen when. It's a neutral resting place for your brain because everything always looks the same. There's no work for your mind to do, and therefore it's the truest form of relaxation TV."
Greg DePaul, who teaches Sitcom Writing at the New School and wrote the movies Bride Wars and Saving Silverman, also mentions the workplace setting, but thinks the show being incredibly detail-oriented is part of what makes fans rewatch.
It really has it all, and that just becomes more and more apparent each time you watch. "The Office just hits the right buttons," Davenport says. "If you want some absurdist quirky shit, you've got that. If you want bonafide love stories, it has that. If you want heartwarming friendships or just hilarious comedy, they've got you."
We might not all go to such lengths, but if it was possible for the show to truly disappear out of our lives (or, you know, leave Netflix), it would be a major blow. Usually with TV shows, you might think that one viewing is enough; with The Office, a lot of people really need it.
"In one episode Jim asks Pam what movie she would take to a stranded island with her that she could watch forever and never get sick of," writes Emily, 23, summing up the entire situation with a reference, like any true fan should. "I would pick all seasons of The Office."
Every season of The Office is available on Netflix in the UK and Ireland. If you sign up now, Netflix still offers free 1-month trials in some countries, and plan upgrades in others. If you're in the US, you can watch The Office on Peacock. The first two seasons are available for free, and you can get a subscription for $4.99. Peacock also offers extra scenes that didn't make it into the show originally, bloopers, and other exclusive The Office content.
Even though it's no more accessible on Hulu, you can still watch The Office on Amazon Prime Video's US or UK versions. Amazon Prime provides a 30-day trial of its service. After this period, you can choose to enroll in a Video-only plan for a monthly cost of $8.99.
Amazon Prime has a 1 month free trial in the US and UK to watch every season of The Office for free for 30 days. No matter which platform you choose, you will have access to watch every episode!
However, if you are already in the UK or Ireland, you can stream The Office on Netflix securely with a VPN. My favorite is ExpressVPN because of its fast speeds and solid connections that offer HD streaming. Its impressive number of servers also means that you will always be able to connect to a fast nearby server from your current UK location. You can try ExpressVPN out risk-free since it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Steven is a diligent technology researcher (and enthusiast), as well as an award-winning academic writer. When he's not delving into the world of cybersecurity, he can usually be found writing as a published author and poet.
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple languages.[6]
Launched on January 16, 2007, nearly a decade after Netflix, Inc. began its pioneering DVD-by-mail movie rental service, Netflix is the most-subscribed video on demand streaming media services, with over 277.7 million paid memberships in more than 190 countries as of July 2024.[5][7] By 2022, "Netflix Original" productions accounted for half of its library in the United States and the namesake company had ventured into other categories, such as video game publishing of mobile games through its flagship service. As of October 2023, Netflix is the 23rd most-visited website in the world, with 23.66% of its traffic coming from the United States, followed by the United Kingdom at 5.84% and Brazil at 5.64%.[8][9]
Initially, Netflix offered a per-rental model for each DVD but introduced a monthly subscription concept in September 1999.[20] The per-rental model was dropped by early 2000, allowing the company to focus on the business model of flat-fee unlimited rentals without due dates, late fees, shipping and handling fees, or per-title rental fees.[21] In September 2000, during the dot-com bubble, while Netflix was suffering losses, Hastings and Randolph offered to sell the company to Blockbuster for $50 million. John Antioco, CEO of Blockbuster, thought the offer was a joke and declined, saying, "The dot-com hysteria is completely overblown."[22][23] While Netflix experienced fast growth in early 2001, the continued effects of the dot-com bubble collapse and the September 11 attacks caused the company to hold off plans for its initial public offering (IPO) and to lay off one-third of its 120 employees.[24]
DVD players were a popular gift for holiday sales in late 2001, and demand for DVD subscription services were "growing like crazy", according to chief talent officer Patty McCord.[25] The company went public on May 23, 2002, selling 5.5 million shares of common stock at US$15.00 per share.[26] In 2003, Netflix was issued a patent by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office to cover its subscription rental service and several extensions.[27] Netflix posted its first profit in 2003, earning $6.5 million on revenues of $272 million; by 2004, profit had increased to $49 million on over $500 million in revenues.[28] In 2005, 35,000 different films were available, and Netflix shipped 1 million DVDs out every day.[29]
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