There’s no question that The Office is one of the most beloved sitcoms of the 21st century. The first episode aired nearly 2 decades ago, on March 24, 2005, and it’s still extremely popular amongst fans. It has its own board game dedicated to the show, has inspired a successful podcast hosted by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey (who played Pam and Angela), and is the subject of various popular meme pages online.

The account we’re featuring today, Realdundamifflin, was created in July 2020 and has amassed over 67K followers since. It has shared over 1,500 posts and doesn’t seem to be running out of content any time soon. And if you’re not a fan of the show already, you just might be by the time you’ve finished scrolling through this list. Because there are plenty of iconic and hilarious references to the show down below!   

As I’m sure you know already, the American version of The Office was actually inspired by a popular British sitcom by the same name. The original starred Ricky Gervais as David Brent, the equivalent of Michael Scott, and follows the employees of the Wernham Hogg paper company in Berkshire. And while this version only ran for 2 seasons, it is still a beloved show, and many diehard fans will argue that it’s even better than the rendition filmed across the pond.

But regardless of which version you prefer, if you’ve seen the one starring Steve Carell, it’s easy to see why it’s such an iconic show. Carell’s comedic timing is impeccable, and the entire ensemble is fantastic. Whether you consider yourself more of a Michael, Dwight, Jim, Pam, Andy, Angela, Kevin, Stanley, Creed, Meredith, Kelly, Ryan or Darryl, there’s someone everyone can relate to in the cast. (And someone that you probably hate too!) 

Even if you weren’t tuning in to The Office as it was airing on NBC between 2005 and 2013, there’s a good chance you’ve seen the show online. In fact, it broke the record for most minutes streamed in 2020 with a whopping 57.1 billion minutes. 2020 was a particularly rough year, so it’s nice to know that the Dunder Mifflin crew was there to provide everyone with plenty of laughs during quarantine!

Aside from just being a beloved sitcom, The Office is one of those shows that many people choose to watch again and again. So why is that? Well, Philip Mutz at PureWow reached out to clinical psychologist Dr. Tricia Wolanin to get to the bottom of it. First, Dr. Wolanin notes that the show can provide comfort and stability. 

“There's a sense of familiarity and connection, which is comforting to us to watch on screen. We immerse ourselves in their world, and there can be stability we can find there while our world may be chaotic,” she shared.

Dr. Wolanin also says a comfort show like this can be nostalgic to rewatch, because the characters are “frozen in time.” The outfits they wear, the websites they use, the pop culture references they make and more are all a bit outdated at this point, but they might remind viewers of a simpler time. “Sometimes we want to be comforted with what we know versus trying to integrate or figure out a new world of characters into our lives,” the psychologist explained.

And when it comes to finding something to watch on Netflix, it’s extremely easy to become overwhelmed by choice and have decision fatigue. Sometimes, it’s safer and easier to just pick a show that you know you’re going to enjoy. You can just sit back, relax and laugh at all of the hilarious “That’s what she said!” moments.  

The Office is also unique in that it’s only grown in popularity since the show ended over a decade ago. Vox published a piece exploring why, where they noted that Netflix has without a doubt played a part in this. But the sitcom has also gained massive popularity amongst younger generations who were too young to watch or understand the show as it was originally airing. Amy Wharton, a professor emeritus of sociology who taught at Washington State University, explains that part of the appeal of the show is that most of the characters simply do their jobs without feeling pressure to be passionate about them.

Today, however, we’re often told that we need to find jobs that we love, are passionate about and that fulfill us, rather than just provide us with paychecks. “There’s a lot of pressure on people to invest in themselves and work at something that expresses their values, but it’s really hard to find that,” Wharton explained. But it can be satisfying to see the cast of The Office and relate to the mundanity of working a job just to pay the bills.

We hope you’re enjoying this list of hilarious memes from Scranton, Pennsylvania, pandas! Keep upvoting the ones you find particularly relatable, and then if you’re interested in checking out another Office-themed article, look no further than right here!