New year, new streaming service! The Office is moving from Netflix to Peacock starting January 1 — but there's a catch.
Peacock announced its Office streaming plans via a faux Dunder Mifflin memo, which touted that the service would house "all previously released episodes and brand-new, never-before-seen content." But only some of those episodes will be available on Peacock Free; the vast majority will require a Peacock Premium subscription.
- Peacock Free vs Premium: What's the difference?
- How to watch Saved By the Bell reboot on Peacock
- Streaming face-off: Peacock vs Hulu
The Office is a fan favorite that aired on NBC from 2005 until 2013, and the workplace comedy has been a longtime streaming hit for Netflix. Forbes calculated that during the 10 months since Netflix's Top 10 list debuted, The Office has landed on it 177 times (or 61% of the time).
But when NBCUniversal began preparing to launch its own streaming service, the company saw The Office as its crown jewel — much like HBO Max did with Friends. Peacock shelled out $100 million to its sister production studio Universal Television to land the streaming rights to The Office.
And now, that investment is finally coming to fruition and The Office will debut on Peacock on January 1.
Is The Office streaming for free on Peacock?
There's a major caveat to Peacock's streaming plans for The Office, however.
Only the first two seasons of The Office will be available on Peacock Free, the service's free, ad-supported tier.
Seasons 3-9, as well as special "Superfan Episodes," will require a subscription to the also ad-supported Peacock Premium ($4.99/month) or the ad-free Peacock Premium Plus ($9.99/month).
Those "Superfan Episodes" feature never-before-seen footage and deleted scenes in extended cuts of the original series, starting with season 3 (with more coming in March). Peacock released a sample clip from a Superfan Episode:
Peacock will also have themed episode collections, behind-the-scenes content like bloopers and clip playlists. They're also offering something called The Office Zen, a 24/7 channel of ambient, office-like noise for people working at home. And Peacock has partnered with Giphy and TikTok to launch dedicated Office channels.
