On January 1, 2021, the beloved NBC sitcom The Office moved from its longtime streaming home on Netflix to NBC’s streaming platform Peacock. Along with every episode from the series, Peacock also added – and will continue to add – brand new special features, including: superfan episodes with never-before-seen footage, behind the scenes footage such as bloopers, interviews, and more, themed episode collections, and other special clip playlists.
To celebrate The Office’s move, Nerds and Beyond was able to chat with Oscar Nunez, who plays Oscar Martinez (our favorite Dunder Mifflin accountant. Don’t tell Angela or Kevin), about the impact of the show and more! Read on for our interview.
Note: This interview has been edited for clarity.
Nerds and Beyond: Since The Office did move from Netflix to Peacock recently, what are you most excited about with that move?
Oscar Nuñez: For me, I’m excited about the bloopers that I haven’t seen yet, and the deleted scenes. Because I know the episodes, so I like watching us when we do the bloopers and stuff like that. I enjoy that.
Nerds and Beyond: The Office has sort of become this staple within pop culture in recent years. What has been the most rewarding part about seeing the legacy and impact of this show grow to what it has?
Oscar Nuñez: It’s fun when I see young people, the young kids, be turned on to the show – your 11, 12, 13-year-olds that are just crazy about the show. That’s cool.
Nerds and Beyond: What, personally, do you think makes The Office such a timeless and special show?
Oscar Nuñez: I think a couple things. I think it’s a funny show, and I also think people find it comforting. It’s gonna be funny, but they’re not gonna get any surprises or anything too controversial. The controversial stuff is pretty harmless.
Nerds and Beyond: How would you describe the impact being on the show has had on you?
Oscar Nuñez: Oh, it’s been great. It’s been great. I’ve made lifelong friends, the paychecks didn’t bounce, the practice and experience … yeah, it’s all been great.
Nerds and Beyond: What is one trait that you have in common with Oscar, and what is [one] that is different from Oscar but has created a life lesson that you still carry with you?
Oscar Nuñez: I guess I’m a little snobby sometimes. And that’s different from him … Well, he’s gay. I’m not gay, but he – I didn’t become more sensitive towards gay people when I started playing him. I’ve always thought gay people were cool, so…I don’t know. Something different … I’m pretty much like him in many ways. It was a fun character to play. I would’ve liked to have maybe had more zany parts – like what Rainn [Wilson] and Steve [Carell] got to do was crazy. But their characters are insane, and Oscar wasn’t insane. He was on the sane side of it. It was like him, and Pam, and Jim – those were the sane people. And then you had the crazies, like Rainn, and Steve, and a couple of others. But, yeah, Oscar was on the common sense side.
Nerds and Beyond: For our last question, how would you describe The Office in five words or less to somebody who has never seen it before?
Oscar Nuñez: Oh, brother. Five words or less? Uh [laughs] let’s see. Oh, gosh, it’s like Mary Tyler Moore or something. I would reference it to another show, but let me try not referencing it another show. Very funny, comfort food pizza.
Thank you to Oscar for taking the time to chat with us! You can stream all seasons of The Office now on Peacock.
