'The Office' Producers Are Creating a Remote Workplace Comedy Inspired by Coronavirus Outbreak

The Office
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The series will unfold over Zoom, which has become the new normal for many working from home.

Now that many Americans are working from home amid the coronavirus outbreak, producers from The Office are taking inspiration from our new normal. Deadline reports that Ben Silverman and Paul Lieberstein, former executive producers on the NBC sitcom, are developing a remote workplace comedy series that will unfold over Zoom and other methods of digital communication.

The series is reportedly set 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.”

“So many of us are jumping on daily Zoom meetings -- for work and beyond,” Silverman said in a statement via Deadline, referring to the remote conferencing services company many people are now using to work from home or connect in the off hours as they self-isolate or shelter in place. “We are in a new normal and are personally navigating ways to remain connected and productive at work and in our home lives.” 

He continued by adding, “With the brilliant Paul Lieberstein at the helm, we think we have a series that not only brings humor and comfort during this troubling time but will also be an inventive and enduring workplace comedy for years to come.”

The show marks the first time Lieberstein, who also played the put-upon H.R. rep Toby on The Office, and Silverman have co-produced a series since their time on Emmy-winning NBC comedy, which ended after nine seasons in 2013, and the 2019 special, Threat Level Midnight: The Movie

ET has reached out for more details. 

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