The sixth season of the American television comedy The Office premiered in the United States on NBC on September 17, 2009, and concluded on May 20, 2010. The season consisted of 22 half-hour episodes, and 2 hour-long episodes to comprise the 26 total episodes of material created. The Office is an American adaptation of the British TV series of the same name, and is presented in a mockumentary format, portraying the daily lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictitious Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. The season stars Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B. J. Novak, and Ed Helms, with supporting performances from Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nunez, Craig Robinson, and Phyllis Smith.
The season has been cited by several critics as weaker than earlier seasons, despite still receiving generally favorable reviews. The season ranked fifty-second in the season ratings with an average of 7.80 million viewers per episode, marking a steep drop in the ratings from the previous season which had an average of nine million viewers.
The sixth season of The Office aired on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern) in the United States. The season was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Universal Studios Home Entertainment in a four-disc box set in the Region 1 area on September 7, 2010. The DVD set contains all 26 episodes, as well as commentaries from creators, writers, actors, and directors on some of the episodes. It also contains deleted scenes from all of the episodes, as well as bloopers.
Production
The sixth season of the show was produced by Reveille Productions and Deedle-Dee Productions, both in association with Universal Media Studios. The show is based upon the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, both of whom are executive producers on both the US and UK versions. The Office is produced by Greg Daniels, who is also an executive producer. Daniels would have a limited role in this season, only co-writing an episode and directing another, as he was busy writing his new show, Parks and Recreation which he co-created with Office writer/producer Michael Schur, who left the writing staff of The Office after season four to focus on the new show. Returning writers from the previous season include Mindy Kaling, B. J. Novak, Paul Lieberstein, Lee Eisenberg, Gene Stupnitsky, Brent Forrester, Justin Spitzer, Jennifer Celotta, Aaron Shure, Charlie Grandy, Warren Lieberstein, and Halsted Sullivan. New writers in the sixth season include Daniel Chun, Jason Kessler (who served as script coordinator) and Jonathan Hughes (who previously wrote several of the Office webisodes). Lieberstein served as executive producer and showrunner. Kaling, Novak, Eisenberg, Stupnitsky and Shure were co-executive producers; Celotta and Forrester were consulting producers; Chun was a supervising producer; and Spitzer, Grandy, Warren Lieberstein and Halsted Sullivan were producers.
This season featured 26 episodes directed by 20 directors. Paul Lieberstein, Randall Einhorn and Seth Gordon each directed several episodes during the season. Writers Jennifer Celotta, Lee Eisenberg and Brent Forrester each directed episodes. Cast members B. J. Novak, John Krasinski, Steve Carell, Mindy Kaling and Rainn Wilson all directed episodes as well.
Season overview
Notable plots that affect the sixth season and beyond include:
Jim Halpert's promotion to co-manager alongside Michael Scott, but later returns to sales. Dwight Schrute's anger and jealousy that he was passed over for the co-manager job and his subsequent attempts to sabotage Jim Jim's wedding to Pam Beesly Michael engaging in a romantic relationship with Pam's mother Helene, much to Pam's horror Dunder Mifflin navigating through the economic crisis Dunder Mifflin getting bought out by Florida-based printer company Sabre and the arrival of Sabre representatives Jo Bennett and Gabe Lewis Warehouse foreman Darryl Philbin earning a promotion to the upstairs office Andy Bernard's attempts to court Erin Hannon Jim and Pam welcoming their first child, Cecelia "Cece" Halpert Dwight Schrute and Angela Martin contractually agree to have a baby together
Cast
Many characters portrayed by The Office cast are based on the British version of the show. While these characters normally have the same attitude and perceptions as their British counterparts, the roles have been redesigned to better fit the American show. The show is known for its generally large cast size, with many of its actors and actresses known particularly for their improvisational work.