"Broke" is the twenty-fifth episode of the fifth season of the television series The Office and the 97th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 23, 2009. In this episode, Michael learns his paper company is broke, and tries to keep this fact a secret when Dunder Mifflin offers to buy out the Michael Scott Paper Company since the company has stolen most of Dunder Mifflin Scranton's core clients.
The episode was written by Charlie Grandy and directed by Steve Carell, marking his directorial debut. "Broke" was the last of a six-episode arc involving Michael quitting to start the Michael Scott Paper Company; it was also the last of six episodes to prominently feature Idris Elba as Dunder Mifflin V.P. Charles Miner. According to Nielsen ratings, it was watched by 7.21 million viewers, and received the season's lowest rating in the 18–49 age group during its regular timeslot to that point in the season.
Plot
Michael Scott, Pam Beesly and Ryan Howard make paper deliveries in a used van. This routine, in addition to their duties at the Michael Scott Paper Company, takes such a toll on the group that they look into hiring a delivery person. They are told by their accountant that because of their low prices and fixed-cost pricing model, they not only cannot afford a delivery person, but will be bankrupt in another month.
At Dunder Mifflin, Charles Miner announces that the Scranton branch, previously the company's most profitable office, has lost ten major clients to Michael's company. Chief Financial Officer David Wallace visits Scranton to see what can be done to stem the losses. In an about-face from his no-nonsense persona, Charles sucks up to David. David calls a meeting with Charles and Jim Halpert, but Charles insists Dwight Schrute be present because he is Charles's right-hand man. During the meeting, Dwight embarrasses Charles with outlandish suggestions.
David decides the cheapest option is for Dunder Mifflin to buy out the Michael Scott Paper Company. Jim has learned the company's financial situation from Pam but feigns uncertainty when asked whether Michael is likely to be interested in a buyout. At David and Charles's orders, Jim brings the idea of a buyout to Michael, reassuring Michael that Dunder Mifflin is unaware of his company's financial situation. Dwight learns from a past client that Michael is begging customers for more money and informs Charles, but Jim manipulates their conversation so that Charles refuses to listen.
After Michael rejects an initial offer of $12,000 to buy the company, David suggests that he is bluffing, saying he knows that his company's prices are too low to be sustainable. Michael rebuts that Dunder Mifflin's best branch is "bleeding" and David could be replaced during an upcoming stockholder meeting. David gives a second offer of $60,000, but Michael rejects this offer at the last second and demands the company give him his old job back and hire Ryan and Pam as salespeople. David is reluctant to hire three people with full benefits, especially given Ryan's disastrous history with the company, and likens it to "a multimillion-dollar buyout". Michael refuses to back down, and David agrees to his demands.
As Charles leaves Scranton, Michael does not allow him any final words, mirroring Charles's earlier treatment of Michael.
Production
"Broke" was written by Charlie Grandy and directed by Steve Carell, who made his directorial debut with the episode. It was the last of a six-episode story arc involving Idris Elba's character Charles Miner, although Elba has indicated the character would return in future episodes: "Mr. Charles doesn't leave the picture. [...] My storyline has come to an end, but there is a good indication that the writers see my character coming back." Elba made an appearance in "Company Picnic", the fifth season finale. Elba said he did not watch "Broke" after it aired because "I'm hypercritical about my work, so I try not to torture myself."
The official website for The Office included three cut scenes from "Broke". In the first 90-second clip, Michael is running late because he overslept, and he instinctively runs into the Dunder Mifflin office by accident instead of his Michael Scott Paper Company office. In the second one-minute clip, Andy is angry that he cannot find his personalized coffee mug with his face on it, and he and the others around the office complain about losing their clients to Michael's new company. In the final 80-second clip, stress drives Ryan to the breaking point and he begins trashing the Michael Scott Paper Company Office, for which he quickly recovers and apologizes.