It’s a general consensus among fans of the sitcom genre, that The Office was nothing short of a masterpiece. First airing on NBC in 2005, the mockumentary series was off to a bit of a rough start. Its pilot season received several poor reviews from critics - many saying that it was just a loose Americanized reimagining of its original inspiration - and even came close to cancellation at one point.
Today, The Office is still a masterpiece in many people’s books and is constantly being quoted and referenced by fans. But even the best TV shows have their share of poorly written, lazily planned out, mediocre, or just plain bad episodes. The Office is no exception to this rule, as the series has definitely had a few bad eggs. Let’s take a look at what IMDb claims are the worst episodes of this classic sitcom.
Updated January 5th, 2021 by Kristen Palamara: The Office continues to be a fan-favorite show even though it’s been off the air for almost two decades. Fans continue to rewatch the show for its hilarious moments, loveable characters, and nostalgic factor. But not every episode of the show is a winner and it really began to go downhill in the later seasons of the series when Michael (Steve Carell) left the show. These are the lowest-rated episodes of the entire series according to IMDb based on their scores and most fans will find an episode that they didn’t care for on this list.
Vandalism (Season 9, Episode 14) - 7.4/10
This episode of The Office centers on some odd storylines as Pam tries to figure out who vandalized her mural in the warehouse and it leads to an aggressive altercation between her and the culprit.
Jim and Darryl have roommate issues as Darryl is upset that Jim can’t clean up after himself while the Senator and Angela throw a birthday party for their child.
Jury Duty (Season 8 Episode 13) - 7.4/10
The main plot of this episode centers on Dwight and Angela as Dwight has suspicions about the early birth of her baby.
Angela claims that the baby is the Senator’s and that the baby was born prematurely, but the baby doesn’t look premature so Dwight, and others in the office, wonder if Dwight might be the father of the child. Dwight focuses on this but also wants to catch Jim in a lie when he claims to have had jury duty for a week.
Todd Packer (Season 7, Episode 17) - 7.4/10
Michael convinces Holly to give Todd Packer his job back and Holly believes him when he says that Todd Packer is a good and respectable employee. The office is furious because Michael is the only one who likes the crass and inappropriate Packer and Holly quickly regrets hiring him back.
Meanwhile, Andy is upset that Pam gets a new computer for reception but not for any of the salespeople, specifically him.
Christening (Season 7, Episode 7) - 7.4/10
Jim and Pam’s christening turns into a disaster when way too many people show up including Michael and several office employees who they hadn’t invited in the first place.
Michael makes the day about himself and is upset that his employees don’t feel a strong family bond with each other. Michael tries to find this feeling so he decides to join a group of close-knit churchgoers who are about to go on a mission trip to Mexico, but he doesn’t last long on the bus.
Andy’s Ancestry (Season 9, Episode 3) - 7.3/10
Nellie plays a prank on Andy when she tells him that she researched his ancestry and he comes from a long line of slave owners in the United States causing Andy to overcompensate in making everyone believe he isn’t like his ancestors.
Dwight tries to teach Erin the Dothraki language from Game of Thrones because she shows interest in learning a new language. And in a smaller subplot, Pam tries to connect with Nellie and attempts to teach her to drive.
Couples Discount (Season 9, Episode 15) - 7.3/10
Couples Discount was just one of those mediocre, and kind of boring, episodes that suffered from the same unrealistic, wacky writing that most of the later season episodes suffered from. After Michael Scott (Steve Carell) left Scranton and Dunder Mifflin behind to start his new life with Holly Flax, the business, his coworkers, and just the overall quality of The Office suffered drastically.
The concept of this episode was having the characters pair off into pretend couples, in order to take advantage of a couples’ discount at a local minimall. Couples Discount was not a memorable episode, and there was nothing special about it that would make it stand out from any other average episode of The Office.
Lotto (Season 8, Episode 3) - 7.2/10
Season 8 was arguably the worst season of The Office, and a large part of IMDb’s lowest-rated episodes are from season 8. Lotto was another one of those episodes that wasn’t really that bad, it was just simply so average and completely forgettable.
In Lotto, the warehouse employees win the lottery and promptly quit their jobs, leading Andy and Darryl on a quest to find new workers. Meanwhile, the other Dunder Mifflin employees fantasize about winning the lottery.
Roy’s Wedding (Season 9, Episode 2) - 7.1/10
Roy’s Wedding holds a sour place in many fans’ hearts, as it is remembered as being the first episode in which the beloved power couple, Jim and Pam’s, marital problems start occurring. The better part of season 9 felt very different than any other season, mainly because Jim and Pam were at odds throughout nearly the entire season.
Roy’s Wedding was an especially upsetting episode for fans of the pairing. The concept of the episode is that Jim and Pam begin to question their entire relationship after attending Pam’s ex-fiancee’s wedding.
Here Comes The Treble (Season 9, Episode 5) 7/10
Here Comes The Treble is an episode that tried and failed to balance out comedy in the midst of Jim and Pam’s drama. The one memorable thing about this episode was Dwight’s Halloween costume - a pumpkin on his head. Otherwise, Here Comes The Treble is fairly bland.
Being a season 9 episode, the Jim and Pam drama had gone up to maximum levels, and the two spend the entire episode arguing about Jim’s new job in Philadelphia.
Fundraiser (Season 8, Episode 22) 7/10
One of the fans’ main complaints following Michael Scott’s departure from Dunder Mifflin, was that The Office almost immediately tried to remedy the sadness that understandably followed, by heavily featuring Andy. Being introduced in the third season, Andy was always portrayed as being too obnoxious for his own good, and this isn’t exactly protagonist material.
Season 9 focused very significantly on Andy and his little misadventures, and the episode Fundraiser was no exception.
Angry Andy (Season 8, Episode 21) 7/10
Another primarily Andy-focused episode, Angry Andy is pretty much exactly what you’d expect from reading the title. Andy gets…angry when he gets in a fight with Nellie over the manager’s chair. This episode actually had some aspects that were reminiscent of the earlier seasons of the show.
But Angry Andy fell short, as so many later-season episodes did. By this time - late in season 8 - The Office creators seemed to have lost their touch, for the most part.
Welcome Party (Season 8, Episode 20) 7/10
This late season 8 episode was the second episode of The Office that was directed by Ed Helms, who portrayed Andy. Seeing as season 8 was not The Office’s best season, directing an episode from that season was of course, not the best way for Helms to begin his career as a director.
Welcome Party utilized the misery of the Dunder Mifflin employees as Robert California forced them to throw a welcome party.
Gettysburg (Season 8, Episode 8) 6.8/10
Gettysburg is another Andy-helmed episode in which the Dunder Mifflin employees are forced to go on a field trip. The goal was, supposedly, to induce some motivation in the workers. This, of course, backfired on Andy.
Meanwhile, Robert California asked the employees who stayed behind from the Gettysburg trip, to come up with Dunder Mifflin’s “next big idea”.
The Banker (Season 6, Episode 14) 6.8/10
The Banker is the only episode on this list that did not take place in season 8 or 9. This particular episode was the fourteenth in season 6, and of course, at this time, Michael Scott was still the main character. Because The Banker is an older episode, its low rating may seem quite surprising.
The plot of this episode revolves around the looming threat of a visit from a high-profile investment banker. The Dunder Mifflin crew tries their hardest to inflate the office’s worth. Everyone - especially Michael - tells some pretty ridiculous lies, and Dwight pretends to be Toby. It’s not a terrible episode, but it did have that tone of wacky writing that several later episodes suffered from.
Get The Girl (Season 8, Episode 19) 6.5/10
The romance between Andy and Erin received mixed reviews from audiences and critics. Their relationship had a major presence in the 8th and 9th seasons and probably would have been a successful, even endearing storyline if it hadn’t been written in such a heavy-handed manner.
Get The Girl featured Andy driving across the country to Tallahassee to track down Erin. He tries to serenade her in an extremely cringy scene and just does quite a few rather absurd things in an attempt to win Erin’s heart. Get The Girl has the lowest rating of any episode of The Office ever on IMDb.
