Anna Daniels
In a book about The Office, Andy Greene’s The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s, some of the series’ writers have revealed that there was division over which character would best serve the show as Regional Manager. According to Amelie Gillette, who wrote for The Office seasons 7 and 8, the staff was divided into two camps: Team Andy and Team Dwight.
Team Dwight felt that the audience would be expecting him to finally get the job he’d been working toward for years. And there’s no denying that Dwight as a character presents infinite insane story line possibilities. Meanwhile, Team Andy felt that Dwight being the obvious choice was a good reason not to go for him. We already knew what a Dwight regime would look like: it involved painting his office black “to intimidate [his] subordinates,” handing out Schrute Bucks, and carrying around an antique gun. (If you’re thinking that a lot can happen at a fictional paper company, you’re not the only who’d like the entire story of The Office finally explained.) It was less clear how Andy would approach being in charge, which made the prospect more exciting.
It wasn’t just that putting Andy in charge could potentially pave the way for a more surprising show. Some writers felt that giving Dwight what he wanted would make him a less interesting character. Aaron Shure, a writer from seasons 5 to 8, said that Dwight lacked the compassion that had made the deeply flawed Michael Scott so compelling. (That balancing act is just part of how The Office changed TV.) He also felt that Dwight was funnier when his totalitarian tendencies were being thwarted. Ultimately, the scheming that had primed Dwight for the job worked against him.
Written by: Looper
