Home > The Office > Season 8 « TV Series Page The Office: Season 8 (2011 - 2012) SEASON: Season 8 Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6 Season 7 Season 8 Season 9 Want to see Episode List Season 8 The Office Critics Consensus The Office spends its eighth season in the midst of an identity crisis as characters leave and reappear, but at least Robert California is gone. 55% TOMATOMETER Critic Ratings: 11 58% Audience Score User Ratings: 410 NEW More Info × Close Want to see Super Reviewer Submit Super Reviewer Edit Review Episodes 1 The List Air date: Sep 22, 2011 In the Season 8 opener, the staffers discover their names on a mysterious list authored by new Sabre CEO Robert California (James Spader). Paranoia sweeps through the office as the employees anxiously speculate what the list means. More 2 The Incentive Air date: Sep 29, 2011 The staffers are motivated to sell when Robert delivers an exhilarating speech challenging them to double their sales and offers them an off-the-charts reward. Meanwhile, Pam bonds with an unlikely person over her pregnancy. More 3 Lotto Air date: Oct 6, 2011 The warehouse employees all win the lottery and quit, causing the desk jockeys to dream about living the luxury life of a lottery winner and spinning into motion the search for a new warehouse staff. More 4 Garden Party Air date: Oct 13, 2011 Andy plants the seeds of trying to impress Robert California by throwing a garden party at Schrute Farms. Andy's parents (Stephen Collins and Dee Wallace) and brother (Josh Groban) also attend the event, only to make him feel awkward. More 5 Spooked Air date: Oct 27, 2011 Halloween is tricky for Erin when she tries to organize the Halloween office bash but can't seem to meet her bosses' party demands. The scare fare continues when Jim and Pam argue about the authenticity of ghosts, and Dwight connects with Robert's son. More 6 Doomsday Air date: Nov 3, 2011 Dwight launches a draconian "doomsday" system to reduce employee mistakes and improve office efficiency. More 7 Pam's Replacement Air date: Nov 10, 2011 Pam prepares for her maternity leave by training her temporary replacement (Lindsey Broad), but she frets that Jim finds the attractive new temp tempting. Meanwhile, Robert California asks to join Andy, Darryl and Kevin's band. More 8 Gettysburg Air date: Nov 17, 2011 Andy hopes to inspire and motivate the group by taking them on a field trip to Gettysburg. Some staffers remain at the office, and Robert California tasks them to hatch the company's next big idea. More 9 Mrs. California Air date: Dec 1, 2011 Robert California ushers his wife (Maura Tierney) into the office in a bid to find her a job. Elsewhere, Dwight pumps up the proceedings by opening a gym in the building. More 10 Christmas Wishes Air date: Dec 8, 2011 Andy jingles all the way by trying to grant everyone's holiday wishes. Meanwhile, drama spills over at the office party when Robert California tries to drown his sorrows. More Show More Episodes The Office: Season 8 Photos View All Photos (74) Tv Season Info Series 8 marks the first series of the post-Michael Scott era. Andy Bernard has assumed the role of regional manager after Deangelo Vickers' quick flame out at the end of the seventh series. James Spader costars as Robert California, the newly appointed CEO of Dunder Mifflin's parent company, Sabre. Much of the early season episodes focus on Andy's attempts to motivate and inspire his new reports. Later in the season, Pam prepares to go on maternity leave when she is expecting her second child, but worries that her temp replacement Cathy Simms may be too pretty, perhaps causing Jim to have a wandering eye. Also: Unhappy, and unfulfilled, office secretary Erin decides not to return to Dunder Mifflin Scranton after a special project takes her to Sabre headquarters in Florida, and Andy must head south on a mission to bring her back. Genre: Comedy Network: NBC Premiere Date: Sep 22, 2011 Exec. Producers: Greg Daniels, Ben Silverman, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Howard Klein, Paul Lieberstein Cast Ed Helms as Andy Bernard John Krasinski as Jim Halpert Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesly James Spader as Robert California Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute B.J. Novak as Ryan Howard Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson Brian Baumgartner as Kevin Malone Kate Flannery as Meredith Palmer Angela Kinsey as Angela Martin Oscar Nunez as Oscar Martinez Phyllis Smith as Phyllis Lapin Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor Creed Bratton as Creed Paul Lieberstein as Toby Flenderson Craig Robinson as Darryl Ellie Kemper as Kelly 'Erin' Hannon Zach Woods as Gabe Lewis Catherine Tate as Nellie Bertram Lindsey Broad Eleanor Seigler as Jessica Jack Coleman David Koechner as Todd Packer Chris Bauer Maura Tierney as Susan California Josh Groban Georgia Engel as Irene Stephen Collins Sendhil Ramamurthy Dee Wallace Brad Morris as Glen Show More Cast Episodes 1 The List Air date: Sep 22, 2011 In the Season 8 opener, the staffers discover their names on a mysterious list authored by new Sabre CEO Robert California (James Spader). Paranoia sweeps through the office as the employees anxiously speculate what the list means. More 2 The Incentive Air date: Sep 29, 2011 The staffers are motivated to sell when Robert delivers an exhilarating speech challenging them to double their sales and offers them an off-the-charts reward. Meanwhile, Pam bonds with an unlikely person over her pregnancy. More 3 Lotto Air date: Oct 6, 2011 The warehouse employees all win the lottery and quit, causing the desk jockeys to dream about living the luxury life of a lottery winner and spinning into motion the search for a new warehouse staff. More 4 Garden Party Air date: Oct 13, 2011 Andy plants the seeds of trying to impress Robert California by throwing a garden party at Schrute Farms. Andy's parents (Stephen Collins and Dee Wallace) and brother (Josh Groban) also attend the event, only to make him feel awkward. More 5 Spooked Air date: Oct 27, 2011 Halloween is tricky for Erin when she tries to organize the Halloween office bash but can't seem to meet her bosses' party demands. The scare fare continues when Jim and Pam argue about the authenticity of ghosts, and Dwight connects with Robert's son. More 6 Doomsday Air date: Nov 3, 2011 Dwight launches a draconian "doomsday" system to reduce employee mistakes and improve office efficiency. More 7 Pam's Replacement Air date: Nov 10, 2011 Pam prepares for her maternity leave by training her temporary replacement (Lindsey Broad), but she frets that Jim finds the attractive new temp tempting. Meanwhile, Robert California asks to join Andy, Darryl and Kevin's band. More 8 Gettysburg Air date: Nov 17, 2011 Andy hopes to inspire and motivate the group by taking them on a field trip to Gettysburg. Some staffers remain at the office, and Robert California tasks them to hatch the company's next big idea. More 9 Mrs. California Air date: Dec 1, 2011 Robert California ushers his wife (Maura Tierney) into the office in a bid to find her a job. Elsewhere, Dwight pumps up the proceedings by opening a gym in the building. More 10 Christmas Wishes Air date: Dec 8, 2011 Andy jingles all the way by trying to grant everyone's holiday wishes. Meanwhile, drama spills over at the office party when Robert California tries to drown his sorrows. More Show More Episodes Critic Reviews for The Office Season 8 All Critics (11) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (6) | Rotten (5) It's a new era, but it's one that still has promise. Aug 30, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review… Dan Forcella TV Fanatic Even without Michael Scott, there's still plenty of laughs to be had with the staff in Scranton and there is still life left in The Office. Aug 30, 2018 | Full Review… Dyanamaria Leifsson TV Equals Not only has The Office returned to its former glory with this past season, but it has also evolved itself in such a way that longtime viewers of the series might actually say that The Office season 8 is the best ever. Aug 30, 2018 | Full Review… Anthony Ocasio ScreenRant At this point, I'm too invested in the characters to give up on the show entirely... [but] it's hard to imagine that the show will recover the ground it's already lost. Aug 30, 2018 | Rating: 7/10 | Full Review… Cindy White IGN Movies This season got better toward its end, leaving behind some of the unwelcome sap between Andy and Erin, who sadly remain no Jim and Pam, and we no longer have to worry about James Spader's out of place creepiness. Jun 11, 2018 | Full Review… Kevin Fitzpatrick ScreenCrush For now, there is value to the familiar. Mar 19, 2018 | Rating: B | Full Review… Myles McNutt AV Club Top Critic Andy's antiheroic return to the bachelorette party could have been classic Office, but his love feels facile, since the object of it is so unarticulated. Mar 19, 2018 | Full Review… Lucy Teitler New York Magazine/Vulture Top Critic This has been an inconsistent season for The Office, with fun episodes and great moments, but a dispiriting sense that it's too much in this late stage to hope for much more than that. Mar 19, 2018 | Full Review… Michael Tedder New York Magazine/Vulture Top Critic No one seems bored or resentful to be figuratively stuck in Scranton, and energy will go a long way toward beating the Curse of the Eighth Season. Mar 19, 2018 | Full Review… Chris Plante New York Magazine/Vulture Top Critic The show officially went from being a shadow of its former self to being actively unwatchable. Sep 12, 2013 | Full Review… Ethan Alter Television Without Pity View All Critic Reviews (11) Audience Reviews for The Office: Season 8 Jul 18, 2019 After Steve Carell exit, The Office seems kinda lost, but Rainn Wilson and Dwight and Brian Baumgartner as Kevin make it worth to watch. Francisco L Apr 19, 2019 Horrible. Some of the worst tv I've ever watched. I keep hanging in there because The Office was so good seasons 1-7 and I want to see how it ends. Season 8 the worst though. I didn't laugh even once. Audra D Apr 15, 2019 Yes, I miss Michael Scott. However, James Spader's performance as Robert California is largely overlooked due to his creepiness, when in reality he brings the show back to the cringe humor that made it so inviting in the first place. Gabriel Susan Lewis is another great example of an overlooked character with an excellent knack for cringe humor. I believe these are necessary characters for this type of show. Jessica N Mar 27, 2019 Although not as witty as itâ??s previous seasons, the show focuses on new relationships and major changes in the lives of the characters. Jan 15, 2019 For this was the best season of all. With Scott out of the TV Show, the focus is on Dwight and he is absolutely fun to watch Domenico L Dec 29, 2018 WORst season but still funny Daniel l Dec 16, 2018 he thing about The Office is ... (and yes I know I'm in the massive minority) I HATE, HAAAATED MICHAEL SCOTT. His quirkiness was amusing on occasion, but his hyper-***ation, hyper-desperation for inclusion, hyper-sensitivity ('Oh no, ppl are laughin' at my movie. So I'm gonna cry like a bitch'); hyper lack of self-awareness is NOT cute & eeeextremely non-stop cringe-worthy (Perfect examples: "Phyliss' Wedding," "WUPHF" ... just a few immed. off the top of my head). Michael was AAAANYTHING but funny 90% of the time -- just a pathetic ball of -s--t). Bottom line: Terrible writing, so S8/9 was welcome. Prob. is, most all characters are still retarded (to say the least) on on a cartoonish level. For ex., Angela is ugly, nasty, ugly on so, so many levels. Even Erin, who is usually lovable pisses one off due to the TURRRIBLE level of writing. Dwight is the only consistently likable dude (Michael's treatment of him is another despicable strike against him). Darryl was also most always likable (and was something that would be COMPLETELY impossible today: His role, like Stanley, wasn't one of non-stop SJW-shove-down-your-throat msngr *GASP* ... individuals/networks would, of course, get sued to death over such today). Another mind-boggling head-scratching thing is the arc of Andy's character. He went from Michael-level idiotic/unlikable & fiiiinally somehow became one to root for, buuut then S9 happened. Further, what was w/ Daryl's desperate breakup storyline w/ Val? It was such a feel-good story that .. literally outta nowhere was just crazy random/stupid & sad. All in all ... again, HORRENDOUS writinThe thing about The Office is ... (and yes I know I'm in the maassive minority) I HATE, HAAAATE MICHAEL SCOTT. His quirkiness can be amusing on occasion, but his hyper-***ation, hyper-desperation for inclusion, hyper-sensitivity; hyper lack of self-awareness is NOT cute & eeeextremely non-stop cringe-worthy (Perfect examples: "Phyliss' Wedding," "Threat Level Midnight,""WUPHF" ... just a few immed. off the top of my head). Michael is AAAANYTHING but funny; he is a pathetic ball of -s--t). Bottom line: It's terrible writing. Yes there are many more eps, but the UK version is yes, inconceivably depressing for the latter half for no reason, but still head & shoulders, 1 million MILES better. ZERO contest. Most all characters are ***ed (to say the least) on on a cartoonish level. For Angela is ugly, nasty, ugly on so, so many levels. Even Erin, who is usually lovable pisses one off due to the TURRRIBLE level of writing. Dwight is the only consistently likable dude (Michael's treatment of him is another despicable strike against him). Daryl was also most always likable (and *GASP* wasn't used as a token black guy pontificating non-stop about SJW poison. In fact, he used terms such as "level of playing field" ... . individuals/networks would get sued to death over in 2018). Another mind-boggling head-scratching thing is the arc of Andy's character. He went from Michael-level idiotic/unlikable & fiiiinally somehow became one to root for, buuut then S9 happened. Further, what was w/ Daryl's desperate breakup storyline w/ Val? It was such a feel-good story that .. literally outta nowhere was just crazy random/stupid & sad. All in all ... again, HORRENDOUS writing where in which an ep where Mike does not piss you off a handful of times is an in INCREDIBLE anomaly (outside S1-2, as first 1.5 seasons were very good). Anthony K Dec 15, 2018 S8 sets the new tone for this acclaimed mockumentary with Steve Carrell's highly evident absence, and while it never achieves the peak of previous seasons, fans who have journeyed this far will still find many of the episodes hilarious as Ed Helms takes over as the lead star. Ryan C Nov 03, 2018 There's something missing this season and it's not hard to figure out whom very quickly. Tim M Sep 24, 2018 I personally like this season as well as the show. This season is one of those that you have to pay attention to. Kaya W See all Audience reviews News & Features 150 Erotic Movies Ranked worst to best! 2019's Most Anticipated 63 movies coming up this year 200 Essential Movies Chosen by RT staff! 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