With its nine-season run and whopping 201 episodes, rewatching The Office is no small feat. The workplace comedy had epic highs (like many of the best cold opens, which included Jim’s increasingly ridiculous pranks on Dwight), and epic lows (anyone else still uncomfortable with “Scott’s Tots?”), so knowing which storylines deserve your attention might take some further research. Luckily for you, we’ve curated a list of the funniest episodes of The Office ever made, taking out most of the guesswork.
Admittedly, not all Office seasons are created equal. Season 7, which marked the exit of protagonist and Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch boss Michael Scott (played by Steve Carrell), was seen by critics and fans alike as the beginning of the end for the beloved sitcom, according to the Guardian. The Office also had a shaky start as an American remake of a British comedy. The pilot borrowed many lines and camera angles from the original script, according to Looper, and the show didn’t have its own established sense of humor just yet. But once the Scranton Branch found their footing from Seasons 2 to 5, they were a force to be reckoned with: The show nabbed 42 Emmy nominations during its run, and won five.
This list includes classics like “Safety Training” and “The Injury,” but there’s also a few surprises. So whether you’re looking for the cutest Jim and Pam moments, Angela’s greatest hits, or the best shenanigans of the many, many supporting characters over the years, these are the most hilarious Office episodes of all time, organized by season, that you’ll want to queue up during your next rewatch marathon.
1. Pilot (Season 1, Episode 1)
The pilot was the only episode of the series based on the original British version, according to Cheat Sheet. And while the completely original, completely American episodes that followed made the sitcom memorable to a new audience, this series premiere does have a certain charm that’s worth watching. Most notably, it includes the original Jim prank: putting Dwight’s stapler in Jello.
2. Diversity Day (Season 1, Episode 2)
Most of Michael Scott’s approach to leading an office wouldn’t fly today, especially the way he handled a diversity training session by relying on stereotypes. While this episode is probably quite cringeworthy, it also marked the beginning of the American version’s separation from its British origins with a unique script, setting up the rest of the show to do its own thing rather than copy the original.
3. The Dundies (Season 2, Episode 1)
This episode is all about the annual awards ceremony for the employees of Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch (with such coveted prizes as “Busiest Beaver” and “Whitest Sneakers”). Really, you’re going to want to watch this one because it contains Pam’s ever-quotable line: “I feel God in this Chili’s tonight.”
4. Office Olympics (Season 2, Episode 3)
Jim and Pam, bored by filling out expense reports, decide to host the office’s first Olympic competition, made up of games the staff has created themselves (Flonkerton, anyone?). Of course, the Dunder Mifflin contestants are probably not as impressive as any of the Gen Z Olympic athletes, but someone call me when Chloe Kim can win at Dunderball.
5. E-Mail Surveillance (Season 2, Episode 9)
Jim throws a barbecue, and Michael finds out from a new email surveillance program that he is the only one in the office who wasn’t invited — so naturally, he makes an appearance. He and Jim end up doing karaoke together, which is chaotic in its own right, but the camera crew has meanwhile discovered that Angela and Dwight are totally making out in the backyard. Eek!
6. The Injury (Season 2, Episode 12)
Michael burns his foot on his George Foreman Grill while cooking bacon, because of course he does. Meanwhile, Dwight crashes his car into a pole, and the resulting concussion makes him start acting suspiciously nice to his coworkers.
7. Casino Night (Season 2, Episode 22)
In 2011, this Season 2 finale won a poll run by fan community OfficeTally to earn its place as the all-time fan-favorite episode of the show, and it’s easy to see why: Michael ends up in a love triangle of his own design at an office casino night charity event, and Jim and Pam take their relationship beyond friendly boundaries. The whole half-hour will have you peeking through your fingers at the screen.
8. The Convict (Season 3, Episode 9)
Two words: Prison Mike. “The worst part about prison? The dementors.”
9. The Return (Season 3, Episode 14)
“The return” in question is Oscar’s, after a lengthy vacation. He is welcomed back by the Party Planning Committee, who mean well with their Mexican fiesta-themed celebration, but don’t quite manage to pull off the vibes — Ryan draws a few accent marks on a lemonade bottle label to turn it into “Mexican lemonade,” because why not? Meanwhile, Dwight (who quit Dunder Mifflin in an earlier episode) gets a job at Staples, only for Michael to seek him out and ask him to rejoin the company.
10. Safety Training (Season 3, Episode 20)
Darryl and Michael get into a disagreement about whether or not office work is dangerous, leading Michael to install a trampoline next to the building and announce that he will jump off the roof in demonstration, because he’s nothing if not stubborn. There’s also a trampoline test involving a watermelon that ends up hitting a worker’s car, because few things say “safety” like a broken fruit and a damaged vehicle.
11. Product Recall (Season 3, Episode 21)
“Identity theft is not a joke, Jim!” Even if Jim’s impersonation of Dwight is no laughing matter to Dwight himself, this cold open definitely is for the rest of us — Jim’s got the shirt, glasses, and straight-faced mannerisms down pat.
12. Fun Run (Season 4, Episode 1 and 2)
Jim and Pam are (finally) dating! Jam shippers everywhere, rejoice! While that should be enough to make this season premiere one for the books after Season 3 left us on a cliffhanger with them deciding to go on a first date, that’s not all there is to smile about this episode. After Meredith is exposed to rabies, Michael decides to sponsor a fun run dedicated to the cause, which goes about as well as you’d expect from Michael Scott.
13. Dunder Mifflin Infinity (Season 4, Episode 3)
Michael and Dwight drive around to win back past clients with gift baskets, but Michael’s terrible GPS and his own frustration leads him to drive the car into Lake Scranton. Good thing he has Dwight with him, who as we know, likes to be prepared for any crisis.
14. Money (Season 4, Episode 4)
Jim and Pam spend their first night out together in the mysterious Schrute farms’ questionable bed and breakfast while Michael is having some issues with money.
15. Local Ad (Season 4, Episode 9)
This episode shows a sweeter side to the Scranton branch, as they all come together to help Michael film a Dunder Mifflin commercial. The end result is more heartwarming than you might expect, but the chaotic planning process (including a lot of jokes about commercial jingles) keeps the laughs coming.
16. Dinner Party (Season 4, Episode 13)
Either you hate this episode or you love this episode. Michael finally gets Jim and Pam to come over for dinner, and Andy and Angela join in a wild adventure that reveals what it’s really like in the Scott Condo.
17. Goodbye, Toby (Season 4, Episode 18 and 19)
Michael might have seen Toby as the enemy, but you can’t deny their interactions make for some of the most amusing scenes in the show. In this episode, Toby is leaving for Costa Rica and Michael is overjoyed — he even sings him a parody of “Goodbye, Stranger,” which inspired the title of the episode.
18. Business Trip (Season 5, Episode 8)
Michael, Oscar, and Andy make for a strange and rare trio in this episode, where they go on a business trip to Winnipeg. It’s hard to believe that total opposites Andy and Oscar could get along, but they do have a few bonding moments, while Michael is off wreaking havoc with the concierge. (No, he doesn’t know what a concierge is.)
19. Frame Toby (Season 5, Episode 9)
Michael tries to get Toby fired by framing him for possession of drugs after Toby returns to the office. This episode birthed the infamous “NO, GOD. NO GOD, PLEASE NO. NO! NOOOOOO!” which is now GIF-ed just about everywhere online.
20. The Duel (Season 5, Episode 12)
While Jim and Pam are probably the most-remembered couple from the show, the love triangle between Dwight, Angela, and Andy made for a perhaps funnier counterpart to their sweetness. This episode sees Andy and Dwight attempting to duel for Angela’s love in a final showdown, and nothing could be wilder than the clashing of their two quirky personalities — except for maybe the twist ending.
21. Stress Relief (Season 5, Episode 14 and 15)
After no one listened to Dwight’s fire safety PowerPoint, he decides to put the employees of Dunder Mifflin’s skills to the test with a fire drill. Stanley has a heart attack, and Angela throws her cat Bandit up into the ceiling. (Don’t worry, he’s fine! The show’s crew has since made it clear that no cats were harmed in the making of that scene.)
22. Casual Friday (Season 5, Episode 26)
This episode has an extremely memorable cold open, with Kevin spilling his chili all over the office floor (according to Brian Baumgartner, who was interviewed by his co-stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey on the Office Ladies podcast, the scene only took one take — impressive!). That alone would be enough to make this list, but the episode is made even greater by the wacky power games being played by the Dunder Mifflin employees and Michael, who recently returned to job as regional manager after briefly leaving to start his own paper company with Pam and Ryan.
23. Company Picnic (Season 5, Episode 28)
Any time the various Dunder Mifflin branches are pitted against one another makes for an excellent ensemble episode, and will get you rooting for the Scranton branch, no matter how much they make you cringe otherwise. Michael and Holly are tasked with presenting on the history of Dunder Mifflin and decide to turn it into a Slumdog Millionaire parody for some reason, and the rest of the episode is dedicated to a volleyball tournament, and um, the Scranton branch are not exactly pro athletes, to say the least.
24. Gossip (Season 6, Episode 1)
The parkour cold open — where Michael, Dwight, and Andy try to jump off desks and other objects in the office — is probably pretty dated. (“Internet sensation of 2004,” Jim explains.) But it is hilarious to watch the three of them constantly shout, “Parkour!” as they (clumsily) roll around the office, and honestly, it’s probably not so different from a few strange TikTok trends of today.
25. Niagara (Season 6, Episode 4 and 5)
This two-part episode shows the long-awaited Jam (Jim and Pam) wedding, after seasons of will-they-won’t-they. They go to Niagara Falls for their wedding while Pam is secretly five months pregnant, and… the rest of their coworkers come too (seriously, why would you invite your entire office to your wedding?).
26. Murder (Season 6, Episode 10)
When news breaks out that Dunder Mifflin is facing an economic crisis and people are worried about losing their jobs, Michael uses a quirky dinner party game to distract his employees from the fear of losing their jobs.
27. Threat Level Midnight (Season 7, Episode 17)
Since this episode is near the end of Steve Carrell’s run on The Office, it makes sense that it would be an ode to past storylines and characters before his grand exit, which fundamentally changed the show. A movie-within-a-mockumentary, Threat Level Midnight is Michael’s own film, with an unbelievable action-driven plot (and a plothole or two). Supporting characters Jan, Karen, and Tony, who had all left the show years before, appear in cameo roles that make for fun surprises.
28. Garden Party (Season 8, Episode 4)
This time it’s Andy’s turn to host a party, and he wants to make it a classy affair in order to impress his father. It backfires, of course: Because the party is held at Schrute Farms, Dwight gets involved and follows ridiculous advice (like staging a fire court dance, and yelling each guest’s name) from a fake party planning book written by Jim as a prank.
29. Andy’s Ancestry (Season 9, Episode 3)
This one makes the list mostly because of its cold open. Jim and Pam hire their actor friend, Steve (who is Asian), to pretend to be Jim for a day to mess with Dwight while Jim is at the dentist. The “Asian Jim” prank is one of Jim’s most well-planned, since Steve is equipped with everything from Jim’s voicemail password to a picture of his and Pam’s half-Asian children.
30. Dwight Christmas (Season 9, Episode 9)
The show’s later seasons struggle a bit without Steve Carrell, but this one passes the test. Dwight volunteers to plan the office Christmas party, but with a catch: It’s the traditional German Christmas he grew up with, complete with gluhwein, hasenpfeffer, and Santa’s German companion Belsnickel.