The fourth season of the American television comedy The Office premiered in the United States on NBC on September 27, 2007, and concluded on May 15, 2008.
It stars Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and B. J. Novak, with supporting performances from Melora Hardin, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nunez, Craig Robinson, and Phyllis Smith.
Relationships again emerged as the main theme of the season, with Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Pam Beesly's (Jenna Fischer) rising, and Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and Jan Levinson's (Melora Hardin), as well as Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) and Angela Martin's (Angela Kinsey) declining.
Technology was another prevalent theme as the office staff struggled with initiatives introduced by Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak) to modernize the company.
The season was released on DVD by Universal Studios Home Entertainment in a four-disc box set in the Region 1 area on September 2, 2008.
The show is based upon the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, both of whom are executive producers on both the US and UK versions.
All the writers from the previous season returned, with the writing staff consisting of Daniels, Michael Schur, Lester Lewis, Mindy Kaling, B. J. Novak, Paul Lieberstein, Lee Eisenberg, Gene Stupnitsky, Jennifer Celotta, Brent Forrester, and Justin Spitzer.
Greg Daniels, Craig Zisk, Ken Whittingham, Paul Lieberstein, Jason Reitman, Joss Whedon, Paul Feig, Julian Farino, Jeffrey Blitz, Randall Einhorn, and Tucker Gates each directed episodes during the season, with Feig and Whittingham directing multiple episodes.
[14] Notable ongoing subplots that affect the fourth season and beyond include: Many characters portrayed by The Office cast are based on the British version of the show.
When the team put together what is actually a clever little commercial, it includes the well meaning but misguided catchphrase 'Dunder Mifflin, limitless paper in a paper-less world.'
"[29] Aubry D'Arminio praised the season, but she also showed disapproval at what she felt was a lack of use for some of The Office's supporting cast in the episodes directly following the Writers' Strike, saying "I just feel a bit sad that, minus Leslie David Baker's Stanley, these excellent actors/characters haven't been highlighted nearly enough since the series' return in April.
Dean Holland and Dave Rogers both received a nomination for "Outstanding Picture Editing For A Comedy Series (Single Or Multi-camera)" for their work on "Goodbye, Toby", while Ben Patrick, John W. Cook III, and Peter J. Nusbaum were all nominated in the "Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (half-hour) And Animation" category for their work on the episode "Local Ad".