Search Committee

Part 2 "Search Committee" is the two-part finale of the seventh season of the American television comedy series The Office.

With Deangelo Vickers still in a coma, Dunder Mifflin–Sabre Scranton is left with Creed Bratton as interim regional manager, who does many poor managerial activities, such as having numerous meetings without actually calling anyone, repeatedly misnaming employees, and creating meaningless acronyms.

Several applicants exhibit odd behavior: one refuses to explain his three-step plan, another is concerned about gas prices and long distance phone calls, another is adamant on having a vacation to the Finger Lakes, and one named Robert California talks in confusing riddles that both baffle and impress the committee.

In response, Jo sends him back to Sabre's Florida headquarters and installs Kelly in Gabe's position on the search committee.

The discussion gets out of control, with Ryan preferring a homeless man, Andy declaring he wants the job, Meredith Palmer wanting a "smart, professional, decisive, well-hung man in his forties," Kevin Malone and Angela Martin speaking solely for attention, and Darryl's daughter Jada asking out loud if Jim is the guy making her father manager.

They eventually decide not to tell Angela for a wide range of reasons—not everyone is sure Robert is gay, Oscar is looking forward to the elegant wedding, and Pam does not think it is anyone's right to blurt out that information.

"Search Committee" was written by showrunner and executive producer Paul Lieberstein, who also plays Toby Flenderson on the show, his 14th writing credit of the series.

The episode features special guest appearances from Ricky Gervais (as his character David Brent from the original British version of The Office), Catherine Tate, Will Arnett, Ray Romano, James Spader, Jim Carrey, Cody Horn and Warren Buffett.

[5] "Search Committee" was one of the first episodes not to feature former Office lead actor Steve Carell; the feeling during filming was "weird" according to Lieberstein.

[6][7] The rumor was started during an interview with executive producer Greg Daniels with Entertainment Weekly in which he stated "A tiny mystery story – which I'm not sure anyone’s going to catch and will come out a few episodes from now – is being set up here".

[8] The episode also marks the third and final appearance of Cody Horn as Jordan Garfield, Deangelo's executive assistant, and the first of three new roles since Carell's departure.

[10] Immediately after "Search Committee" first aired, NBC posted Andy, Dwight and Darryl's resume on their official website and allowed fans to vote for who they believed should be the manager.

The opening episode of the eighth season would refer to Jo stepping down from her position as Sabre CEO and hiring Robert California to replace her.

[1] In its original American broadcast on May 19, 2011, "Search Committee" was viewed by an estimated 7.29 million viewers and received a 3.9 rating/10% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.

[16] The episode became the highest rated scripted program on Thursday and ranked first in its timeslot, beating the season finales for Grey's Anatomy, Bones and The Mentalist.

"[15] IGN reviewer Cindy White commented that "it's more apparent than ever that 'Goodbye, Michael' should have ended the season, if not the series," and that "the show is just spinning its wheels now".

[2] The shark quote was repeated multiple times on other media outlets;[22][23] Gervais eventually commented that "I fucking didn't [diss The Office], that's for sure.

"[21] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix referred to the episode as a "bumpy, awkward, great big mess of a finale" and a "very poorly-executed sweeps stunt".