Inside the Office of “The Office”
The US version of NBC’s sitcom “The Office” was on the air for eight years. In that time, a lot of things changed at Dunder Mifflin. Jim and Pam got married, the Scranton branch escaped redundancy only to be bought by Sabre and Dwight was… well, still Dwight. (Although he did end up owning the building, so there’s proof that everything changes, even things that seem to stay the same.)
Of course, just like in your actual office, the floor plan changes when people come and go and new names appear on the front of the building. Fortunately, there are plenty of obsessive “Office” fans out there on the interwebs, documenting each and every change to the Dunder Mifflin cubicle seating chart.
Season One: “The Office” Floor Plan, Classic Edition
Pam sits at reception, Jim and Dwight sit next to each other, and Michael’s desk is in his office, even if he prefers to be out on the floor distracting everyone from doing work. Note the presence of Devin, a.k.a. “that guy Michael fired in season two.”
Season Two: Temporary Moves
Season two is arguably when the US version hit its stride. This is the season when Jim temporarily relocated Dwight’s desk to the men’s room, and found his own seat relocated to the Annex when someone left Michael a little present on his carpet. Also worth noting on this map: Vance refrigeration, over by the elevators. We’re surprised that Bob Vance didn’t find a way to slap his branding all over that section of the chart.
Season Three: Post Stamford Merger
In the third season, Jim moved to the Stamford branch and started dating Karen, who then moved with Jim (and most of the Stamford branch) back to Scranton when the Stamford branch closed. Confused yet? Not as confused as you would have been, had Michael not driven most of the former Stamford-ites crazy on their first day, causing them to quit.
Season Four: Post-Post Stamford Merger
This is the most up-to-date seating chart we could find, and it’s still pretty current. By this time, Karen has gone off to greener pastures (or to Utica, anyway). Jim and Pam are together, and Andy has moved closer to Big Tuna. As always, the Creed stands alone. And a good thing it is, too. Don’t forget that he sprouts mung beans in his desk: “Very nutritious, but they smell like death.”
Season Five: The Michael Scott Paper Company, Inc.
Season five has a lot of big changes. Once David Wallace sends in Charles Miner to supervise Michael, he gets fed up and quits, with Pam following right behind them. Charles Miner then takes over his office temporarily, and a new receptionist joins the squad (Kelly, who goes by her middle name Erin to avoid confusion).
Michael, Pam and Ryan run their course at the Michael Scott Paper Company, Inc. until Dunder Mifflin repurchases them. Pam is hired back as a full-time salesperson, and Ryan takes back his temp job. Pam then takes a desk right across from Dwight while Jim earns a new position as co-regional manager in the back office.
Season Six: Sabre Printers
After Dunder Mifflin falls under, a printer company named Sabre takes over and purchases the remaining branches of Dunder Mifflin. The corporate representative, Gabe, now makes a makeshift desk in the Annex. Darryl is also promoted to Warehouse Manager. Michael is demoted to a salesperson, and Jim gets demoted again. After all their flip-flopping, Darryl gets his large office near accounting, Jim sits next to Pam and Michael is back where he belongs: in his office.
Season Seven: Goodbye Michael
As Holly Flax replaces Toby in HR, she and Michael rekindle their love. They end up leaving the show, leaving behind two empty seats. A temporary manager named Deangelo Vickers takes Michael’s seat for a few episodes, but after much deliberation, they fail to find anyone to replace Michael until season eight.
Season Eight: Andy Is Manager
Robert California, the new CEO of Sabre, makes Andy the new regional manager during the season premiere. Cathy takes over Pam’s seat for a spell while she is on maternity leave. Andy also loses his seat to Nellie Bertram in later episodes. In the end, Nellie takes Andy’s old desk, Cathy quits and Andy is back in his rightful place as manager.
Season Nine: Endings and Beginnings
Pete and Clark, the two new hires, take over Kelly and Ryan’s old slots in the Annex after Kelly quits. By the finale, Dwight earns his spot as regional manager. Jim and Pam leave, Nellie, Darryl and Andy all quit, Stanley retires and Kevin and Toby get fired. Few remain out of the original crew, and their seats are all taken by new bodies.
We also can’t forget Michael’s final appearance at Dwight’s wedding: “It’s like all my children grew up and married each other. It’s every parent’s dream!”
Bonus Round: The Sims Hit “The Office”
We found some weird, weird stuff while we were looking for these charts. (Let’s just say, a lot of people have even more time on their hands than we do.) The greatest of them all, though, might be The Sims environment mockup of the Dunder Mifflin office.
And as a bonus on top of a bonus, here’s Michael’s office the way The Sims would do it:
You’re welcome.
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