“The Office: Cast & Creators Live at the Paley Center”

The cast and crew of The Office discuss the writing process, improvisation, and the “pantheon of doofuses.” This William S. Paley Television Festival evening honors The Office, an American comedy series in the format of a faux documentary, focusing on the life of Dunder Mifflin paper company middle manager Michael Scott and the people in his office. Pat Mitchell (president and CEO, The Paley Center for Media) welcomes the audience and introduces Cynthia Littleton (editor, The Hollywood Reporter), who moderates the following panelists: executive producer/writer/director Greg Daniels; executive producer Ben Silverman; writer/co-executive producer Michael Schur; director of photography Randall Einhorn; writer Jennifer Celotta; writer/supervising producer B.J. Novak (who also plays the role of Ryan Howard); and writer/co-executive producer Paul Lieberstein (who also plays the role of Toby Flenderson). as well as cast members Steve Carell (Michael Scott), Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly), Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute), Craig Robinson (Darryl Philbin), Creed Bratton (Creed Bratton), Phyllis Smith (Phyllis Lapin), Oscar Nunez (Oscar Martinez), Brian Baumgartner (Kevin Malone), Ed Helms (Andy Bernard), Angela Kinsey (Angela Martin), Melora Hardin (Jan Levenson), David Denman (Roy Anderson), Leslie David Baker (Stanley Hudson), Rashida Jones (Karen Filippelli), Kate Flannery (Meredith Palmer), and Mindy Kaling (Kelly Kapoor).The panelists answer questions about the writing process, how much of the show is improvised, the show’s writers becoming actors, Michael Scott’s place in the “pantheon of doofuses,” how the cast members get along, and whether the show’s “documentary” will ever be shown to the public. The evening ends with executive producer Daniels turning the tables on the audience with some trivia questions from the show.