Rainn Wilson says NBC missed out on billions by rejecting The Farm spin-off

The Office has been one of the most beloved sitcoms of modern times, and with the buzz around its new spin-off series The Paper, Rainn Wilson renowned for playing Dwight Schrute said NBC lost out on huge money back in the day. A spin‑off called The Farm centered on Dwight was proposed to the network and they rejected it. 

Why did NBC turn down The Office spin-off The Farm?

The American mockumentary sitcom The Office, now a beloved classic, was nearly cancelled after its first season. Fortunately, years later, its arrival on Netflix sparked a massive resurgence in popularity, turning it into a cult favourite. 

In a recent interview, Rainn reflected on a major missed opportunity by the network. Back in 2012, a spin-off titled The Farm was proposed, centered around his character Dwight running his family's beet farm and bed-and-breakfast. Though the concept was introduced through a backdoor pilot in Season 9 of The Office, it held a potential to do good.However, NBC ultimately rejected the spin-off, believing the storyline was too niche and might not appeal to a broad enough audience. 

Rainn's comment on The Farm

Rainn added, “NBC at that time had a new regime that came in and they wanted to do big, bright, flashy, splashy shows that were multi-cams and going back to ‘Friends’ kind of thing. And they were just not interested at all in ‘Office’ spinoffs at the time. Had they taken ‘The Farm,’ they’d probably have another billion dollars in the bank.” 

The Office’s popularity has been growing over time for its realistic humour and interesting storyline. Adding to the potential reach of the spin-off if released, Rainn said, “Even now, all the people that have seen The Office 20 times, they’re going to watch ‘The Farm’ at least once or twice. 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”. 

More on The Paper

Talking about the new spin-off The Paper, it is an American mockumentary sitcom, created by Greg Daniels & Michael Koman, set in the same universe as The Office. The show follows the original documentary crew, now focusing on a struggling historic Midwestern newspaper, The Toledo Truth‑Teller, trying to revive itself with volunteer reporters and staff. The first four episodes of Season 1 premiered on Peacock on September 4, 2025, followed by two new episodes weekly through September 25, 2025.

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