The eighth season of the American television comedy The Office commenced airing on NBC in the United States on September 22, 2011, and concluded on May 10, 2012, consisting of 24 episodes.

The eighth season of The Office aired on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern) in the United States as part of the "Comedy Night Done Right" television block.

It stars Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B. J. Novak, Ed Helms, and James Spader, with supporting performances from Catherine Tate, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nunez, Craig Robinson, Phyllis Smith, and Zach Woods.

This was the first season without Steve Carell as Michael Scott in the lead role and the only one to not feature the character in any onscreen capacity, although he is occasionally mentioned.

The eighth season largely centers on Andy Bernard's (Ed Helms) ascension to regional manager, as well as the antics of Robert California (James Spader), the new CEO of Sabre, a fictional printer company that owns Dunder Mifflin.

Halfway through the season, Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson)—along with Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), Stanley Hudson (Leslie David Baker), Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak), Erin Hannon (Ellie Kemper), and Cathy Simms (Lindsey Broad)—travel to Florida to help set up a Sabre Store, where Nellie Bertram (Catherine Tate) is introduced.

Eventually, former CFO of Dunder Mifflin David Wallace (Andy Buckley) buys back the company, firing California.

[2] Returning writers from the previous season included Lieberstein, Charlie Grandy, Justin Spitzer, Carrie Kemper, Daniel Chun, Robert Padnick, Aaron Shure, Steve Hely, Amelie Gillette, Mindy Kaling, and B. J. Novak; the latter two were both also credited as executive producers.

[16] On October 29, 2012, it was revealed that NBC was not going forward with the proposed spin-off, although the original backdoor pilot, "The Farm" aired later in the ninth season.

Stephen Collins, Dee Wallace and Josh Groban were cast as Andy's father, mother and brother, respectively, and appeared in the episode "Garden Party".

[26] While, it was initially announced that the season would introduce Stanley Hudson's "other daughter and a new male addition to the accounting department",[18] these new characters never appeared.

[27] However, a new deal was negotiated with NBC, and all the main cast members, sans Spader, Novak, and Kaling, would return for the ninth season, although several new characters would be brought on board for a "mini reboot".

[47] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix criticized Ed Helms' comedic performance as manager (calling him "a softer version of Michael Scott"), as well as the toning down of Robert California from his appearance in the show's seventh season's finale, "Search Committee".

[50] Early during the season's airing, Matt Zoller Seitz of Salon wrote a review in which he called the post-Michael Scott era of The Office "warmer and more reflective".

[51] After the season finished airing, however, Seitz penned another review, writing: "Fact is, the show's first post-Steve Carell year has been a mess, at times bordering on a disaster".

[54] However, he called the year "uneven", because episodes would range from putting "Andy into Michael Scott-ish situations" to "seek[ing] out new angles on the well-established web of interpersonal conflicts".

Rainn Wilson said that the season made some mistakes "creatively"; for instance, he argued that the chemistry between Spader and Helms was "a bit dark" and that the show should have gone for a "brighter and more energized" relationship.

[64] Brian Baumgartner felt that the show "stayed status quo [with the previous year], but without a key piece" and "didn't make a firm decision" on the direction it was headed.