TV & Movies

21 The Office Moments That Will Still Make You Laugh Out Loud

Prepare to laugh-cry.

by Erica Kam and Candace Cordelia Smith
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
Steve Carell stars as Michael Scott in "The Office."
NBCUniversal

It's been almost nine years since The Office went off the air for good, but that doesn't mean it's lost any of its popularity — ask any fan, and they'll still be able to list off moments from The Office that still make them laugh. In fact, rumors of a potential cast reunion and all five seasons (plus exclusive bonus content!) of the series streaming on Peacock proves the beloved mockumentary comedy remains as relevant as it was in its heyday of the late 2000s and early 2010s.

Not every joke on the show stands the test of time, of course. Some even wonder whether The Office as a concept is problematic when scrutinized in the context of current conversations about workplace behavior. Certain episodes also still prove to be divisive years later. (I still can't watch "Scott's Tots.") But when the show was good, it was good — the humor was on-point, the characters were delightfully ridiculous yet realistic, and people continued to quote those moments for years afterward.

Whether you loved the show while it was on or currently marathon the series on Peacock, here are some of the funniest moments from The Office that will make you laugh a second time around.

1

Jim Attempts Identity Theft

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In Season 3, Jim comes to the office dressed just like Dwight, glasses and all, and nails the impersonation down to his impression of Dwight's know-it-all manner of speech. The moment is funny on its own, but Dwight's serious reaction — "Identity theft is not a joke, Jim! Millions of families suffer every year!" — makes it iconic. In a strange turn of life imitating art, a picture of actor John Krasinski, who portrayed Jim, was photoshopped onto a driver’s license in an attempt to “fraudulently obtain jobless benefits” in 2021. Office fans today continue to tweet GIFs and comments related to Jim’s famous identity theft moment.

2

Erin And Andy's Not-Quite-Rhyming Song

When Dunder Mifflin welcomes new company Sabre to the office in Season 6, Erin and Andy go above and beyond by writing "Dunder Mifflin Is A Part of Sabre," sung to the tune of Miley Cyrus' hit song "Party in the USA." The only problem? They learn the company's name is pronounced "Saber" and not "Sabray," throwing off every clever lyrical rhyme they thought of.

3

Michael Isn't Invited To Jim's Barbecue

In Season 2, Michael monitors the employees' emails and stumbles across an invitation to a barbecue that Jim purposely did not invite Michael to. His attempts to get everyone to spill the beans about the party as they leave the office spawns excuses from a charity bake drive (Angela) to the Alaska Film Festival (Kevin). The Hangover’s Ken Jeong stars as Bill, one of the people in Michael’s improv class, and the episode is credited as Jeong’s “breakthrough role.”

4

Jim Threatens Dwight (With Love)

Just because Dwight is given the title of (Acting) Manager in this Season 7 episode, that doesn't mean Jim still won't mess with him. When Dwight threatens to fire him once he gets promoted, Jim one-upped him in his best seductive voice: "If you get promoted, and if you haven't fallen in love with me by then." Scary stuff. Still, audiences learned that it’s “better to be pre-pre-pre-prepared” in certain situations… like being threatened with being pre-fired.

5

Kevin's Chili Incident

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Pretty much every fan of The Office recalls this cold open from "Casual Friday," when Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) brings in his so-called "famous" chili, only to spill it on the floor. The mess he makes while trying to clean it up apparently caused Baumgartner to smell like chili even after several showers, according to an interview he did with Entertainment Weekly in May 2013. In a 2021 interview with The A.V. Club, Baumgartner shared his acting process as he filmed the scene. “I just went for it and started grabbing the folders, clipboards, paper, and whatever to try and save the carpet and chili. Once I am messy, I was able to do a number of things, a lot which was improv,” he recalled.

6

The Server Password

The cold opens are some of the most memorable scenes of the show, and this one is no exception: When the server goes down after a power outage in Season 7, the employees of Dunder Mifflin start throwing out suggestions for what the password might be. The answer ("bigboobz" — with a Z!) is, uh, not exactly safe for work.

7

Michael's Plasma TV

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In the Season 4 episode, “Dinner Party,” Jim and Pam visit Jan and Michael for dinner, and Michael shows off his plasma TV (and how it can fold into the wall), which is smaller than some laptops. Writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky earned an Emmy nomination for their work on “Dinner Party,” and Paul Feig won a Directors Guild of America award for this episode as well. Bonus: The bloopers from this scene are even funnier than the scene itself.

8

Stanley On Pretzel Day

Stanley is not usually one to express much emotion, but Pretzel Day is a different story. In Season 3, he and Michael even have an unlikely bonding moment over the free pretzels that are brought into the office, when Phyllis is "saying hi" to her husband (aka, cutting in line, the worst possible offense). Fans continue to share Stanley Pretzel Day GIFs on social media, especially on National Pretzel Day in April.

9

Ryan Realizes His Mistake

In a Season 2 episode, Kelly excitedly reveals to Jim that she and Ryan finally hooked up on Feb. 13, meaning she has a boyfriend for Valentine's Day. Ryan, who hadn't realized the date, is not as pleased about this development. Years after the episode originally aired, B.J. Novak, who played Ryan on The Office, tweeted two throwback pictures of the moment his character realizes his mistake. “Be careful out there,” he wrote on Feb. 13.

10

Pam's Dundies Speech

Pam gets intoxicated toward the end of the Dundies in Season 2, prompting her to act way less reserved than she usually is. When she wins the award for Whitest Sneakers, her speech includes the oh-so-quotable line, "I feel God in this Chili's tonight." Unfortunately, God and her speech couldn’t save Pam from being banned from all Chili’s restaurants for life. Sneaking drinks from other people’s tables will do that.

11

Michael Drives Into A Lake

Michael and Dwight are on a mission to visit old clients and win back their business in this Season 4 episode, but Michael follows the GPS' instructions a little too well and drives them into Lake Scranton. As expected, Dwight is prepared to rescue them. In case you were wondering, “they really drove a real car into a real lake” for the episode, according to Jenna Fischer. The scene was shot safely, of course, with the show’s camera operator in the back seat of the car.

12

Creed's Matchmaking Fail

In Season 5, Creed attempts to set Jim up with his daughter, but when Jim tells him he's engaged to Pam, Creed responds, "I thought you were gay." "Then why would you want to set me up with your daughter?" Jim asks. Creed, still serious, says, "I don't know." Perhaps Creed should have followed his own advice during the scene when he says, “Sometimes it’s best just to stay out of it.” Oh, Creed.

13

Michael's Post-Grill Injury Phone Call

How does one manage to grill their own foot? Well, that exact thing happened to Michael in Season 2. Michael enjoys having breakfast in bed and waking up to the smell of bacon, but when this leads him to burn his foot on his George Foreman Grill, he calls into the office in pain to demand help in this episode. After his foot is treated, Michael arrives at the office much more concerned about his injury than the rest of his colleagues.

14

Kelly Makes A Sports Metaphor

In Season 2, Jan hosts a seminar for the women of Dunder Mifflin, which includes learning sports terminology to avoid being left out of conversations in the workplace. Kelly decides to tease Jan about her relationship with Michael by wondering about the meaning of the term "second base." The way that Kelly asks the question sounds innocent, but she knows exactly what she’s doing in asking Jan, who is a little taken aback by it.

15

Angela (Tries To) Save Bandit The Cat

The office freaks out during Dwight's fire drill in Season 5, and after Oscar tries to climb through the ceiling, Angela throws her cat, Bandit (who had been inside a filing cabinet), after him. Her efforts don't do much good, but they are pretty funny. The memorable scene was even recreated by Angela Kinsey and her Baking with Josh and Angecostar Josh on Instagram in 2018. No animals were harmed in the recreated scene or the original Office episode.

16

Creed Demonstrates Toby's Self-Defense Tips

“Self-defense is not some fun boxing match. This is about escaping with your life,” says Toby, who, in Season 8, teaches the office self-defense skills. His advice is to "Strike, Scream, Run,” and when Toby suggests doing some practice, Creed gets a little too into it by striking an unsuspecting Meredith. He screams and runs out of the office afterwards, but hey, he was just following instructions. At least Toby admits Creed’s zealous behavior “may have been his fault.”

17

Andy & Dwight Duel Each Other

After learning about Angela's affair with Dwight in Season 5, the men decide to duel in the parking lot. Though Dwight thinks he has the upper hand, Andy surprises him by pinning him against the hedge with his car. Meanwhile, the other employees watch in fascination from the office window. Angela can’t believe that a duel in her honor is happening, but Kelly believes it makes sense as “people have fewer choices as they get older.”

18

The Appearance Of Asian Jim

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Randall Park takes over for John Krasinski in this Season 9 cold open, mastering his classic "look into the camera" move. Pam and Jim go all out for this prank on Dwight, down to recreated family photos and a kiss between Pam and "Jim." Park admitted to not remembering his small role in an interview with Conan O’Brien in 2021. He recalled a drive-by encounter with a fan who shouted “Asian Jim!” at him, which made him wonder if he was a target of racism. “I had forgotten about my appearance on The Office,” he added.

19

Recyclops

Dwight's earth-saving (and later earth-destroying) alter-ego wreaks havoc in the office on Earth Day in this Season 6 episode. Jim also provides some insight into Recyclops' origin story, in which he "renounced Earth Day and vowed to destroy the planet he once loved." The introduction of Recyclops is regarded as one of the best Season 6 cold opens of The Office.

20

Dwight Asks Toby For Help

Because Toby works in human resources, Dwight seeks him out for help with questions about "human anatomy," as Toby puts it. You can imagine how many takes Rainn Wilson had to do to whisper, "Where is the clitoris?" with a straight face and Toby with an even straighter one. In fact, the bloopers of this scene from Season 2 make it even better.

21

Oscar Asks, "Where, Dwight? Where?"

During Season 5, Dwight admits to hooking up in the office with Angela, and Oscar demands to know where. Horror begins to dawn on Oscar as he realizes the truth (his desk — yikes). Oscar’s facial expressions are pitch-perfect in the scene and are included in a hilarious “Best of Oscar” video montage on YouTube.

With a whopping 201 episodes, there's no shortage of moments in The Office that will continue to provide laughter, even years after the show finished its run. These beloved characters may have finished their time at Dunder Mifflin, but hey, why not just rewatch the whole thing again?

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