The minds behind 'The Office' developing a sitcom inspired by coronavirus pandemic

When you ask a bunch of creative people who love to tell stories about humanity to physically distance and spend time away from their current Hollywood projects, it’s really only a matter of time before they begin to construct stories about the isolation experience. Need proof? Two of the people responsible for bringing laughs on The Office have already started working on their own version of a workplace sitcom inspired by—you guessed it—the coronavirus crisis.According to Deadline, The Office producers Ben Silverman and Paul Lieberstein (who pulled double duty on the show by also playing human resources drag Toby), are now working on a workplace-set comedy that revolves around “a wunderkind boss who, in an effort to ensure his staff’s connectedness and productivity, asks them all to virtually interact and work face-to-face all day.”Can’t you just imagine all of the terrible Zoom backdrops, Poor Jennifers accidentally pointing their laptops at the loo, and Michael Scott-like bosses accidentally turning themselves into potatoes right now? This thing practically writes itself. As Lieberstein told Deadline in a statement, “Start with the office comedy, lose the office and you’re just left with comedy. The math works.”[video_embed id='1930879']RELATED: Steve Carell & John Krasinski reunite and talk ‘The Office’[/video_embed]“So many of us are jumping on daily Zoom meetings — for work and beyond,” Silverman also said. “We are in a new normal and are personally navigating ways to remain connected and productive at work and in our home lives. With the brilliant Paul Lieberstein at the helm, we think we have a series that not only brings humour and comfort during this troubling time but will also be an inventive and enduring workplace comedy for years to come.”Right now this series is still just an idea and there’s no casting or networks attached. Were the show to be picked up it could also be a long time before the series actually goes into production given the number of projects that are currently on hiatus. But wouldn’t it also be kind of cool if these guys figured out a way to film the entire thing on home laptops and smart phones? It would certainly fit in with the show’s premise. Heck, if Stephen Colbert can host his show from the bathtub, what’s to stop two writers with impressive track records from pulling this off? Especially two writers that helped bring the (now popular) idea of a mockumentary to North American audiences.

 

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Felt cute, might delete later. #TheOffice

A post shared by The Office (@theofficenbc) on Mar 3, 2020 at 9:30am PST

Since his time on The Office, Lieberstein has gone on to head up two other workplace comedies: The Newsroom and Ghosted. And Silverman has been busy with a ton of things since his time on the NBC sitcom, including producing Jane the Virgin and Charmed. Getting (some of) The Office gang back together for virtual workplace comedy isn’t just the show fans need right now, after all of this social distancing it’s also the show they deserve.[video_embed id='1932827']BEFORE YOU GO: Jimmy Fallon's interview with Lady Gaga did not go well[/video_embed]