Tejasvani Datta
‘The Office’ is hands down one of the best comedy shows ever made. At least, in my opinion. But if you don’t think so, you probably just haven’t watched it yet. Despite the series airing its last episode back in 2013, it has forever marked its territory in our hearts and is an absolute delight to revisit each time.
The series, made in the form of a mockumentary, centres around the employees of Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, as it captures the bizarre and awkward, but always hilarious, encounters of this group of oddballs. It was received wide acclaim from both viewers and critics alike, winning four Prime-time awards and even a Golden Globe for Steve Carell‘s performance. ‘The Office’ gave us nine glorious and absolutely wacky seasons that we always have the joy to go back to. And lucky for us, it is available on Amazon Prime.
The series has an unparalleled influence on pop culture, understandably so, because of its upteempth meme potential. One of the most iconic parts of ‘The Office’ has to be its Christmas special episodes, that we got seven of, from its nine seasons. Despite their differences, the dysfunctional Dunder Mifflin employees do know how to throw a Christmas party.
This festive season if you are in a mood to curl up in your bed, with some warm cocoa, and watch your favourite Christmas specials, ‘The Office’ should be at the top of your list. If you ever wondered where do all those parties take place in real life, or if you want to where Scranton Business Park is actually located, you’re at the right place. Here’s everything we know.
The Office Filming Locations
Though ‘The Office’ is set in the fictional Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, Pennsylvania, it was mostly filmed in Los Angeles, California, particularly in the Van Nuys district. But it does use of some footage from Scranton, and makes many references to actual places in the area. This includes the Mall at Steamtown, Poor Richard’s Pub, Lake Wallenpaupack, and even Dwight Schrute’s “Froggy 101” bumper sticker which was taken from local country station WGGY.
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton! What?! The Electric city!
Scranton and ‘The Office‘ have a unique relationship, maybe even the kind that lasts a lifetime. Such a connection is rare even for shows that are shot on location, but ‘The Office’ achieves this without having done that. Perhaps because the place is, in many ways, a character in the show than merely a setting. It adds to the absurdity and brilliance of the show. The team did an incredible job in portraying real-life in a small town, and this also led to the team forming close ties with local businesses. In fact, it is believed that ‘The Office’ actually revived the tourism economy of this small relatively unknown town.
‘The Office”s opening credits have several footages used from Scranton, including, of course, the iconic “Scranton Welcomes You” sign board. Apparently, midway through the series’ run, the sign had to be moved to the the Mall at Steamtown, which is also regularly referenced in the show. The sign was moved because of the disruption it was causing on the road as people kept stopping to take their pictures with it.
Other locations used in the opening credit include Pennsylvania Paper & Supply Company Tower, the landmark Scranton building. Perhaps the closest we will get to a real Dunder Mifflin in Scranton. South Washington Avenue and Mulberry Street in downtown Scranton were also filmed and used for the opening credits of the show. On the other hand, several other Scranton landmarks feature over the seasons, especially in Season 3’s iconic “Lazy Scranton” music video that includes Anthracite Heritage Museum, Montage Mountain among other places.
Los Angeles, California
All interior scenes in the Dunder Mifflin office were filmed on a soundstage at Chandler Valley Studios, located in 13927 Saticoy Street, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California. Along with this, building exteriors are filmed in front of the eastern building of the studio. The building is also used for interior scenes of the characters looking through office windows towards the parking lot.
Along with Chandler Valley Studios several other locations in California are used in the filming of ‘The Office’ substituting for the real-life locations in Scranton. One such location is that of Pickwick’s Pub in Woodland Hills, California which is used in several scenes from the show, but is actually the setting for Scranton’s Poor Richard Pub. Similarly, the Westfield Fashion Square Mall’s interiors are used as the Mall in Steamtown in Season. The Chili’s restaurant from the premiere of the second season of ‘The Office’ was actually filmed at the former Black Angus Steakhouse, whose exteriors as well as interiors were recreated for the episode.
Michael Scott’s home in ‘The Office’ is in real life located in 7303 Bonnie Place Reseda. Phyllis’ wedding in the show was filmed in the First Christian Church of North Hollywood. Dwight and Jan’s secret meeting in Season 3, took place at Paty’ Restaurant in Toluca Lake. Lake Scranton in Season 4 was actually filmed at Lake Malibou in Agoura Hills, California. These are just some of the locations used. But it can be noted that nearly all of ‘The Office’ is actually filmed in Los Angeles, California. Though, certain seasons also featured other places like Philadelphia, Stamford in Connecticut and New York.
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