How to watch The Office

How to watch The Office is as relevant a question today as when the smash-hit comedy first debuted on NBC way back in 2005. Can you believe it’s been that long since we first met Michael Scott and the rest of the Dunder Mifflin crew? 

Even after the show concluded in 2013, it’s still one of the best shows on TV and is consistently drawing huge audiences.

The Office is based upon Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s British sitcom of the same name. If you’ve somehow still not seen it, The Office is a mockumentary, fly-on-the-wall style comedy series which gives us a snapshot into the everyday life of workers at the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. 

The show’s crew follow the employees 24/7, taking us along for the ride at every moment in their life. The Office is particularly famous for its ridiculous cold opens and its signature talking heads moments which reveal the most ridiculous confessions from around the office. Thanks to the absence of a laugh track, The Office also perfected cringe comedy, as it allows each awkward moment to hang in the air just long enough to be funny.

Over the years, we’ve watched Dwight (Rainn Wilson) and Jim’s (Jon Krasinski) prank wars and Michael (Steve Carrell) continue to embarrass himself as a ‘cool’ boss. We saw Jim and Pam (Jenna Fischer) live out their office romance, hardcore parkour and plenty of freak-outs from half The Office's employees.

Despite the first short season getting mixed reviews, The Office went on to receive significant praise. It’s considered by many to be one of the best shows ever, and received no less than 42 Primetime Emmy nominations across its run, winning five overall. The show was also named the best TV series by the American Film Institute in both 2006 and 2008, and landed lead actor Steve Carell a Golden Globe for the Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical category. With such a legacy behind it, more and more people consistently ask how to watch The Office. 

With nine whole seasons available to binge, here’s how to watch The Office.

How to watch The Office

The Office is only available to stream on Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service. All 201 episodes are available on the platform right now, but if you want to watch from start to finish you’ll have to be a paid Peacock subscriber.

That’s because only seasons 1-5 of the show are available on Peacock’s free tier. The remaining seasons are only available to Peacock Premium subscribers. Peacock Premium only costs $4.99 a month if you don’t mind watching ads, but you can pay an extra $5 a month if you’d rather re-watch The Office uninterrupted.

If you do choose to subscribe to Peacock, you aren’t just getting the same old show, though. When NBC got the streaming rights to The Office back from Netflix, Greg Daniels (the show's creator) combed through the archives for never-before-seen The Office content. This extra footage has been used to create alternative, "superfan" versions of many episodes (starting from season three) which include previously cut material that hasn't been seen before. 

What bonus content do you get with Peacock Premium?

There’s a decent chunk of bonus The Office content available for Peacock Premium customers. Alongside every single episode, you’ll also get:

• "Superfan" episodes with never-before-seen footage and deleted scenes. 
• Spanish audio and Spanish captions (coming in February) 
• Behind-the-scenes footage. 
• Curated themed collections —like the best of the holiday parties and guest appearances. 
• Playlists with the best pranks, best office romances, and Michael Scott's words of wisdom. 
• "The Office Zen" — a 24/7 channel of ambient noise from The Office for you to play in the background at home. 
• Dedicated TikTok and GIPHY accounts dedicated to The Office. 

Can I buy The Office?

If you don't want to sign up to Peacock but still want to know how to watch The Office, you can still purchase single episodes or whole seasons on Prime Video, iTunes and the Google Play Store.

If you prefer to own physical media, you can also purchase The Office as a complete box set that contains all nine seasons of the show.