The Office: Dwight's Missing Manager Shot Explained

In a recent episode of the Office Ladies podcast, hosts Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey addressed a fan's question about why Rainn Wilson's quirky character, Dwight K. Schrute, was excluded from the final shot of the The Office title sequence. Despite Dwight’s rise to manager in the ninth season, he didn’t make the cut, unlike Steve Carell’s character, Michael Scott.

Fischer revealed that they consulted David "Dave" Rogers, the director of the episode titled "A.A.R.M." He explained that while there were discussions about including a shot of Dwight as manager, they ultimately decided against filming anything new. The primary reason was that they wanted Pam and Jim's kiss to serve as the closing image for several episodes. The creators felt that the focus had shifted from Dwight's management role to the personal lives of the characters, particularly Jim and Pam.

Fans of the show will remember the early tension surrounding Jim (played by John Krasinski) and Pam's potential romance, which culminated in their wedding during the sixth season. Their journey as a couple, including family and career developments outside the paper company, became a central theme.

Fischer also noted that they were pressed for time, which made it impossible to shoot new footage of Dwight. Additionally, there was a lot of content to cover in the episode, so the main titles had to be concise.

More than eleven years after the series finale, the characters remain popular, with reruns airing daily across various channels and available for streaming on Peacock.

At the start of the podcast, Fischer took a moment to share her personal health news: she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year but has since completed treatment and is now considered "cancer-free." She expressed her disbelief at this milestone, saying, "It all still feels very surreal."