The creation of any book is a team effort, but that’s especially true when it comes to an oral history. Were it not for the eighty-six individuals who graciously agreed to talk to me for this book, it simply wouldn’t exist. Many of them spoke to me on the phone, but others sat with me in restaurants, hotel rooms, all around the Rolling Stone offices, and even their own homes. They shared scripts, call sheets, behind-the-scenes photographs, and, in one case, the actual pig nose that Dwight wore in the season nine episode “Here Comes Trouble.” (It proudly sits on my desk to this day.)
I want to start by thanking them all by name: Devon Abner, J. J. Abrams, Shelley Adajian, Ash Atalla, Carey Bennett, Jeff Blitz, Creed Bratton, Andy Buckley, Steve Burgess, Kelly Cantley, Jen Celotta, Danny Chun, Randy Cordray, Roxxi Dott, Clark Duke, Robert Durkin, Randall Einhorn, Lee Eisenberg, Idris Elba, Owen Ellickson, Briton W. Erwin, Anthony Farrell, Paul Feig, Kim Ferry, Kate Flannery, Brent Forrester, Michael Gallenberg, Tucker Gates, Ricky Gervais, Sergio Giacoman, Amelie Gillette, Richard Gonzales, Bryan Gordon, Bob Greenblatt, Anil Gupta, Melora Hardin, Donald Lee Harris, Dean Holland, Andy Hollis, Jeff Immelt, Hidetoshi Imura, Allison Jones, Jason Kessler, Ken Kwapis, Warren Lieberstein, Ewen MacIntosh, Rusty Mahmood, Myles McNutt, Stephen Merchant, Oscar Nunez, Peter Ocko, Ben Patrick, Jon Plowman, Mari Potis, Mark Proksch, Nathan Rabin, Alysia Raycraft, Kevin Reilly, Karly Rothenberg, Amy Ryan, Henry Saine, Claire Scanlon, Alan Sepinwall, Robert Shafer, Rob Sheffield, Aaron Shure, Ben Silverman, Peter Smokler, Stacey Snider, Matt Sohn, James Spader, Justin Spitzer, Gene Stupnitsky, Halsted Sullivan, Jennie Tan, Calvin Tenner, Kasia Trojak, Mary Wall, Teri Weinberg, Ken Whittingham, Caroline Williams, Larry Wilmore, Brian Wittle, Lisa Hans-Wolf, Christopher Wood, and Jeff Zucker.
Along the way, many agreed to multiple interviews, passed on invaluable contacts, vouched for me to others, and never expressed even the slightest bit of irritation when I asked them to divulge bits of trivia about episodes they worked on, in many cases, well over a decade ago. I want to especially call out Randy Cordray for the countless hours he spent on the phone with me across several months, and Allison Jones for sending me all her original casting documents. Warren Lieberstein, Matt Sohn, Ben Silverman, Carey Bennett, Jennie Tan, Kim Ferry, Roxxi Dott, Jen Celotta, and Brian Wittle all went the extra mile as well.
Before I even had the slightest inkling I’d ever write a book about The Office, I interviewed Greg Daniels, Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski, Ed Helms, Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, and Paul Lieberstein about their work on the show as part of my duties at Rolling Stone. Many of their quotes have never been printed anywhere, and they gave me a huge cache of material to draw from before I started to conduct new interviews. I’m enormously grateful to all of them.
This whole journey would have never started if I hadn’t received an e-mail from literary agent extraordinaire Rick Richter to see if I had any ideas for a book. It just so happened I was nearly done reporting an oral history of “The Dinner Party” episode of The Office that I felt could be the beginning of a book. Before I knew it, we were signing a deal with Dutton. He not only made everything happen, but he made it happen astonishingly fast.
My editor, Jill Schwartzman, and her colleague Marya Pasciuto guided me through every step of the writing and reporting process. Their optimism, resolve, and editorial brilliance gave me strength even during the difficult moments when I feared I’d never even finish the first draft. They always believed in this book and allowed me to believe in myself. I can’t imagine how I could have done this without them.
I wrote this book during the course of a single year while keeping my full-time job as a senior writer at Rolling Stone. I never would have attempted such a crazy thing had Jason Fine and Christian Hoard not given me the go-ahead the moment they heard about this. It was a year when The Office seemed to fill my every waking thought, but somehow they never uttered a word of complaint and trusted me to juggle all my tasks. They were my biggest supporters and remain dear friends. The same goes for other Rolling Stone staff members past and present, including Sean Woods, Brian Hiatt, Patrick Doyle, Alison Weinflash, Jason Newman, Gus Wenner, Jerry Portwood, Hank Shteamer, Kory Grow, David Fear, Maria Fontoura, David Browne, Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Tessa Stuart, Joe Levy, Nathan Brackett, Will Dana, Caryn Ganz, Jonathan Ringen, Cady Drell, Marielle Anas, and Daniela Tijerina. I have learned so much from working with each and every one of you over these many years.
I got my first job at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when I was eighteen. Sharon Uhl, Carole Bell, Brian Kenyon, Howard Kramer, and the late Jim Henke took me under their wings and showed me a kindness I’ll never be able to repay as long as I live. Were it not for the pivotal time I spent there in the early 2000s, I have no idea where my career would have gone.
Jann Wenner hired me to write for Rolling Stone when I was less than a year out of college. I barely knew how to put two words together, but he somehow saw potential, and I work every day to make him proud. He is one of my all-time heroes. Jay Penske was kind enough to keep me on staff, along with the entire edit team, when he bought the magazine in 2017. To say that I’m eternally grateful for that would be a gross understatement.
Rob Sheffield was my favorite pop culture writer before I even met him. He’s been a close friend for years, but I’m still in absolute awe of his genius and his generosity. Likewise, Alan Sepinwall is an amazing addition to the Rolling Stone team (not to mention a walking TV encyclopedia), and he was an invaluable resource during this process.
My dear friends Daniel Jacobson, Jessie Katz, Sarah Silberman, Mary Coffman, Sarah Abrams Beraha, and Andrew Kilpatrick were there for the ups and downs of this whole saga. I’m very luck to have them in my life. In that same vein, Creed Bratton became an unlikely friend when I met him nearly a decade ago, when I wrote an article about him in Rolling Stone. He was the first person in Office world I told about this book, and he was incredibly helpful and supportive as I worked on it, even feeding me sushi in his home while we spent hours going over his incredible story. He’s a living example of the fact that it’s never too late in life to find success if you work hard enough.
My most sincere gratitude goes toward my family. My sister, Jennifer Wolinetz; brother-in-law, Adam Wolinetz; and nephews, Chase and Spencer, cheered for me throughout this whole time, and I don’t even mind that they’ve never really watched The Office. I do hope that one day they give it a fair chance, though. I really think they’d like it.
My girlfriend, Angie Martoccio, kept me sane and grounded throughout all of this and was always understanding of the late nights, mood shifts, endless conversations about the greatness of season two, and the weekends when I was chained to my computer working on this thing. She also maintained my interview schedule, traveled with me to London to interview the Office UK gang, and helped me find some of the more obscure interview subjects. If anyone was my coauthor on this, it was her. She is the love of my life.
Finally, thanks to my mother and father, Bill and Sally Greene, for never pushing me to go to law school or insisting I find a more practical career path. You also filled our house with television sets and let me watch whatever I wanted at all hours of the day. It finally paid off. I love you both more than I can ever say.