The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton and Stamford branches of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.

In this episode, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) discovers that an employee named Martin Nash (Wayne Wilderson), who came with the branches' recent merger, was previously in prison.

Meanwhile, Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) plays a prank on Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) by giving incorrect information to Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) on how to impress her.

According to Nielsen Media Research, an estimated 9.07 million viewers watched "The Convict" on its first broadcast, making it up to that point the largest audience of the season.

[6] Gervais first worried that he was too unfamiliar with office protocol in the United States, noting that he "knew everything about this place (in England), the pitfalls, the dos and don'ts.

"[5] Gervais and Merchant spent several days debating phrasing and language, leading them to a point where they felt they had "translated it pretty well" for American viewers.

[9] Actress Kate Flannery found the episode "a lot of fun to shoot," and observed that on the occasions Gervais was present, "it seems to me like he is looking at all of us with a sense of, 'I can't believe that this exists because of me.'

He wrote that "while this wouldn't qualify as one of the very best episodes of the series, the great news is, Gervais and Merchant did an excellent job, working very well within the same-but-different world the US version of the show has created, and delivering some of the biggest and best laughs of the season.

"[4] Mark A. Perigard of the Boston Herald however was more critical of the episode, explaining that "Carell is a fearless actor, but he can't stop a train wreck.

"[16] Give Me My Remote's Kath Skerry believed "the uncomfortable, unbearably awkward moments that the UK version perfected are definitely present throughout the episode.

"[3] Entertainment Weekly columnist Abby West was pleased with the Jim-Karen storyline and called it "a nice, normal progression for two single people who are into each other.

"[17] Referring to "Michael's earnest determination not to assume that Martin was the ex-con whom the Stamford office had hired," West found the episode to be a satire of "white liberal guilt".