Here’s the big question: Is “The Office” funny without visuals? Slack decided to find out. The collective MSCHF took on the creative challenge — and recreated all 201 episodes of the series on the messaging
platform, reports The Verge.
Users can join a live Slack, where different channels focus on different departments, like accounting or general office room. They are not invited to post; creators prefer they move around the platform. However, given that it’s text-based, it can take a few weeks for an episode to “air.”
The sight gags, like Michael burning his foot on a George Foreman grill, are shown via illustrations or GIFs. And like Zoom, Slack is enjoying a skyrocketing user rate due to the COVID-19 pandemic: it jumped to 12.5 million by the end of March.
“Since ‘The Office’ aired, the nature of work and office culture has changed drastically, a lot of which is centered around the way we use technologies,” Daniel Greenberg, head of strategy at MSCHF, told The Verge. “This is a live experience by real people Mondays through Fridays, nine-to-five.”
“Office” co-producers Ben Silverman and Paul Lieberstein get it. They are working on a new remote
workplace comedy that was kick-started by the pandemic. The series is about a boss who has his staff work virtually face-to-face to keep them connected.
“The Office” currently runs on Netflix through 2020. Starting in 2021, it will air on NBCU’s Peacock.