(pictured) and
Stephen Merchant. The episode debuted the series as a
mid-season replacement for the
2004–05 season. The pilot is a direct adaptation of the first episode of the British version. Daniels had decided to go through this route because "completely starting from scratch would be a very risky thing to do" due to the show being an adaptation. Jokes such as Dwight's stapler being put in Jell-O by Jim were transferred verbatim from the original series, while others were only slightly changed. Although later reshot, a scene in which Jim tapes pencils to his desk was originally filmed as a parallel to a scene in the British version, in which
Tim Canterbury stacks up cardboard boxes in front of
Gareth Keenan to restrict Keenan's view of Canterbury. "Pilot" was filmed almost six months prior to beginning of filming on the second episode of the season, "
Diversity Day".
The Office used no
laugh tracks in the "Pilot", wanting its "deadpan" and "absurd" humor to fully come across. Production for this episode took place on February 18, 2004.
Casting NBC programmer
Kevin Reilly originally suggested
Paul Giamatti to producer
Ben Silverman for the role of
Michael Scott, but the actor declined.
Martin Short,
Hank Azaria and
Bob Odenkirk were also reported to be interested. In January 2004,
Variety reported
Steve Carell, of the popular
Comedy Central program
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, was in talks to play the role. At the time, he was already committed to another NBC mid-season replacement comedy,
Come to Papa, but the series was quickly canceled, leaving him fully committed to
The Office. Carell later stated he had only seen about half of the original pilot episode of the British series before he auditioned. He did not continue watching for fear that he would start copying Gervais' characterizations.
Rainn Wilson, who was cast as the power-hungry
sycophant Dwight Schrute, watched every episode of the series before he auditioned. Wilson had originally auditioned for Michael, a performance he described as a "terrible
Ricky Gervais impersonation"; however, the casting directors liked his audition as Dwight much more and hired him for the role.
John Krasinski and
Jenna Fischer were virtual unknowns before being cast in their respective roles as Jim and Pam, the central love interests. Krasinski had attended school with, and was a friend of B. J. Novak. Krasinski recalled accidentally insulting Greg Daniels while waiting to audition for the series, telling him, "I hope [the show's developers] don't screw this up." Daniels then introduced himself and told Krasinski who he was. Fischer prepared for her audition by looking as boring as possible, creating the original Pam hairstyle. In an interview on
NPR's
Fresh Air, Fischer recalled the last stages of the audition process for Pam and Jim, with the producers partnering the different potential Pams and Jims (four of each) together to gauge their chemistry. When Fischer finished her scene with Krasinski, he told her that she was his favorite Pam, to which she reciprocated that he was her favorite Jim. Many actors originally filmed as extras in this episode would go on to become supporting cast members in later episodes, and the two women wearing blue sweaters towards the back of the room at the staff meeting scene were actual accountants that worked on the production staff. ==Reception==