The Office: The Stamford Branch

This summer saw a flurry of movie filming in Stamford. While DeNiro running down Bedford barefoot and Seagle dislocating shoulders in Tigin’s is cool, I’m more impressed when the city is an actual setting in a fiction world, than a cheap production double for a more expensive place to film.

Case in point, in NBC’s The Office, where Stamford played a pivotal role in Season 3. For those of you who disagree with NBC’s assertion that Thursday is “Must See Comedy”, The Office is a faux documentary sitcom about a paper company branch in Scranton PA. It’s based off the BBC show of the same name that ended its run in Britain in fewer episodes than the American versions first season alone. While the American version gives more attention to the peripheral office workers who were largely regulated to the background on the BBC, the NBC version still revolves around the central character types established across the pond, an incompetent boss dieing to be admired, an underachieving wise ass in love with a stifled receptionist, and a socially inept assistant to the regional manager.

Stamford was first mentioned in an episode earlier in series among a list of other (albeit lower tier) cities where Dunder Mifflin had branches. It wasn’t until the third season though that Stamford enjoyed a brief stint in the spotlight when salesman Jim Halpert rejected by Pam, transferred to the Stamford Branch. The first half of the season split action between Stamford and Scranton before the company downsized and rolled the Stamford branch into Scranton. We can take some hometown pride though in that Scranton was corporate’s first choice to close, not Stamford.

The Stamford branch was depicted as more professional than the Scranton branch with nicer surrounding and a more competent staff, although the whole office did take breaks to play multiplayer Gears of War. Jim never totally fit in, but managed to lock down a hot girlfriend from work. We also did get Andy’s immortal victory song that I think should be under consideration as the city anthem. “STAM-FORD CO-NECK-TA-CUT!”

The only filming to actually take place in The City That Works was an exterior shot of the building. It would have been easy for them to pass off any building as one from Stamford, but the show did use an office complex at 333 Ludlow St in the South End as the scene establishing bumper for any Stamford action. I think the shot used in the show was taken from across the harbor in Kosciuszko Park.
As I understand it, the episodes with Jim in Stamford are among the least favorite of Office fans. NBC though is considering a spin-off about a separate branch, so maybe there is a chance Dunder Mifflin will be looking for office space in Stamford again soon.

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