On May 6, 2024, the Facebook page YODA BBY ABY claimed beloved TV show "The Office" will be back on screens in August 2024 under a new name, "The Office Returns," with everyone's favorite characters reprising their roles.
The Facebook page uploaded a TV poster for the series showing actor John Krasinski as Jim Halpert, who has apparently been promoted to Scranton regional manager. The poster also includes streaming service Peacock's logo.
YODA BBY ABY wrote:
THE OFFICE RETURNS!!! 10 NEW EPISODES!!!
Get ready to dive back into the hilarious world of Scranton Branch with "The Office Returns" on Peacock! Join Jim Halpert, now running the branch, alongside Dwight and the gang for 10 exciting episodes filled with laughs and surprises. With Michael Scott making regular appearances and a fresh premise of a 10-year documentary follow-up, this series promises to reignite your love for Dunder Mifflin like never before.
The post had amassed more than 39,000 shares and 37,000 comments and reactions at the time of this writing.
However, although a new installment of the cherished TV series was reportedly on the way, the TV poster uploaded by YODA BBY ABY was not real.
The Facebook page that shared the rumor has uploaded dozens of fake television and movie posters and describes its output as being satirical in nature, as follows:
I'm just here to eat frogs, lift rocks and be satirical. The page is 100% satire and fake news.
On May 8, 2024, Variety magazine reported (for real) that a new iteration of "The Office" would be returning to screens via Peacock. It said the new series would not be a reboot or a spinoff and would instead focus on a new cast in the same universe, but this time in the Midwest rather than Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Variety wrote:
The documentary crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch is in search of a new subject when they discover a dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters.
For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.