Rainn Wilson Says Dwight Spin-Off Could Have Earned NBC Another Billion

Rainn Wilson is still thinking about what could have been if The Farm, the spin-off of The Office centered on Dwight Schrute, had gone forward.

In a recent interview on The Last Laugh podcast, the actor said NBC’s decision to pass on the project cost the network a big opportunity.

Wilson explained that the show was stopped because NBC had changed direction at the time. “They wanted to do big, bright, flashy, splashy shows that were multi-cams and going back to Friends kind of thing,” he said. “They were just not interested at all in Office spinoffs at the time.”

The Farm was introduced through a backdoor pilot in the ninth and final season of The Office, but NBC chose not to move forward even before the episode aired. Wilson later confirmed the news in a 2012 tweet.

Looking back, he still thinks the network made a mistake. “Had they taken The Farm, they’d probably have another billion dollars in the bank. Even now, all the people that have seen The Office 20 times, they’re going to watch The Farm at least once or twice.”

Wilson admitted the spin-off wouldn’t have matched the level of The Office, but he believes it still would have been worth watching. “Would it have been as good as The Office? No. No way. Not even close. Would it have been good? Would it have been solid? Would it have been a good solid comedy? Yeah, it would have, and we would’ve done some really cool stuff. And I think they really missed out.”

He also spoke about the larger legacy of The Office. According to him, NBC didn’t realize how valuable the show was until years later, when its streaming numbers on Netflix proved its staying power.

Wilson also pointed out that some parts of the series haven’t aged well. He mentioned “Benihana Christmas” as one of the more uncomfortable episodes, saying some of the storylines are “jaw-droppingly kind of horrific.”

Still, he sees the heart of the series as a reflection of American culture at the time. “It’s a show based around clueless, insensitive, racist, sexist people that kind of mirrors the United States in a lot of ways,” Wilson said. He added that if The Office were made today, it would have to be “very, very different.”

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!