The Office Isn't Just a Show, It's Our Therapy

Why The Office Still Hits in 2025: A Gen Z Love Letter to Dunder Mifflin

It’s 2:13 AM. You told yourself you’d go to bed early tonight, maybe even read a book or do some journaling. But here you are, watching The Office for the 14th time, mouthing along to Dwight’s “false!” like it’s a religious chant.

No shame. Honestly? Same.

Even in 2025, The Office continues to live rent-free in our heads and streaming queues. It's been over ten years since the finale, but Gen Z can’t quit Scranton, PA. And it’s not just background noise. It’s comfort TV, it’s chaotic therapy, it’s the blueprint for the mockumentary humor Gen Z thrives on.

But why? Why does a show set in a paper company, with dated fashion and borderline HR disasters, still slap in an era of AI, cancel culture, and BeReal?

Let’s unpack the magic.

It's Cringe Comedy Done Right

We love chaos, but we worship well-executed awkward silence. The Office is built on it.

Michael Scott isn’t just a bad boss. He’s an Olympic-level cringe machine. Watching him try to give a diversity seminar or accidentally declare bankruptcy by shouting it out loud is pure anxiety. And yet? Comforting.

Gen Z has grown up in a world that’s loud, fake, and filtered. The Office is raw. It lets scenes breathe. It sits in the tension until you’re either howling or crawling out of your skin. No laugh tracks, no overexplaining, just unfiltered weirdness.

We crave that. Maybe because we live it.

It's Literally the Birthplace of the "Main Character" Archetype

Let’s talk about Jim Halpert. The original softboy. The Gen Z-approved king of side-eyes, office pranks, and barely hidden existential dread.

Jim walked so your TikTok faves could run.

He knew the cameras were there and used them like a confessional. Honestly, half of us learned how to deal with BS by doing our own imaginary “Jim to camera” look in real life. In high school. At Starbucks. During family dinners.

Jim wasn’t flashy. He just clocked the absurdity of everything and let us in on the joke. That’s main character energy. Quiet. Dry. Unbothered. Deeply over it, but still kinda in it.

We see you, king.

It's Basically a Time Capsule for Millennial Culture and We're Obsessed With That

Remember when everyone had a corded desk phone? Or used fax machines unironically? Or wore brown suits with full confidence? No? Exactly.

For us, The Office is like watching a sitcom from another planet. It’s corporate America before Zoom fatigue. It’s flirting without DM slides. It’s “that’s what she said” jokes before HR became actual HR.

It’s giving retro. And Gen Z lives for nostalgia, even when we didn’t directly experience it. There’s something oddly comforting about watching a world that’s slower, dumber, and filled with problems you can laugh at instead of stress about.

Honestly, it’s our version of a warm VHS tape.

The Relationships Aren't Perfect and That's the Point

We all love Jim and Pam. But also, they had some serious issues. The emotional cheating during Pam’s art school arc. The way Jim made major life decisions without her input. Kinda yikes.

And that’s why we still watch it.

Gen Z doesn’t need fairy tale love stories. We want the mess. The nuance. The “this could be great but also maybe should be therapy” energy. The Office gives us that. From Jim and Pam’s slow burn to Dwight and Angela’s chaotic dominance-submissive energy.

We don’t watch for perfection. We watch because it mirrors the gray area we live in. Complicated. Sometimes petty. Sometimes beautiful.

The Memes Alone Keep It Alive

Can we talk about the sheer volume of Office memes in 2025? Every reaction image. Every “it’s Britney, bitch” crossover edit with Michael’s face. Every TikTok using Kevin spilling chili as a metaphor for dropping the ball in life.

The Office doesn’t just live on streaming platforms. It lives in our group chats, Instagram comments, and Discord servers.

You don’t even have to watch the show to know the vibe. That’s how embedded it is.

Watching It Feels Like Hanging Out With Your Dysfunctional Work Fam

The biggest reason The Office still hits is because it’s low-key what most of us want.

We want to work somewhere where people prank each other, where your boss is ridiculous in a non-traumatizing way, and where you can lowkey fall in love in the break room.

Reality check. Most Gen Z jobs are remote, unstable, and soul-numbing. Watching The Office is like stepping into a parallel universe where boring jobs are fun and every workday ends with something weird and hilarious.

It’s the work-life we fantasize about, but through a cynical, sarcastic lens. Perfect balance.

We’ve got endless options now. Prestige dramas. AI-generated comedies. Literally 10 million hours of content. And yet, we keep coming back to The Office. Not because it’s flawless. Not because it’s trendy. But because it feels like home.

A weird, awkward, occasionally problematic home filled with chaotic coworkers and too many "World's Best Boss" mugs.

So yeah. We’ll probably still be watching The Office in 2030. Quoting it. Memeing it. Living for the awkwardness. Because it reminds us that life doesn’t have to be perfect to be good. Or at least hilarious.

Stay connected to more pop culture rewatches, breakdowns, and chaotic comfort from Woke Waves Magazine.

#TheOfficeForever #GenZTV #ComfortBinge #DunderMifflin #WokeWaves

‍