Posted in: NBC, streaming, TV | Tagged: comedy, elo, mr. blue sky, music, nbc, peacock, the office, theme song

The Office Came This Close To Having A Totally Different Theme Song

NBC's The Office is an iconic series for many reasons, but fans will recognize it when it comes on the screen for one big reason…that theme song. If you're a fan, it's probably already playing in your head. The origin of The Office's theme song came very close to the premiere of the series itself, cutting it close for creators already on edge hoping the series would end up succeeding. A current podcast titled "Office Ladies Podcast", hosted by two former stars of The Office, Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey (whose characters were Pam and Angela), discussed the development of the theme song.

The composer, James Ferguson, worked till the last minute to put everything together according to the two stars. Greg Daniels, The Office showrunner, was excited by the sound of three different songs, "Better Things" by The Kinks, "Float On" by Modest Mouse, and "Mr. Blue Sky" by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO).

The cast got to be a part of the decision, voting on favorites to start with among the three songs Daniels liked. The classic song by ELO almost became the chosen one for The Office theme, until some last-minute changes happened. Mostly things had to change due to another series using the song for their intro, specifically LAX. Ferguson was tasked with working on an original song, one that felt similar in tone to what they originally wanted with "Mr. Blue Sky" (which you can check out below). Recording of The Office theme song ended up happening only one week before the very first episode was set to air on NBC. Although a rush was made to make something work for those opening shots of the characters, and footage of Scranton, PA, it became worth it in the end. I don't think we could imagine The Office with any other theme song besides the one we have now, but it's definitely fun to imagine what could have been.

Bleeding Cool TV on Instagram: For all of the stuff too random and bizarre to make the site, make sure to follow us on Instagram (with an official launch on June 19): Bleeding Cool TV (@bleedingcooltv).

BCTV Daily Dispatch: For a look at what's going on across the television and streaming landscape, sign up for Bleeding Cool's daily email round-up of the news you need to know here.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!