“The Office” has released never-before-seen material for longtime fans to celebrate the show’s new home on Peacock.
The previously unaired cold open contains five minutes of another over-the-top prank led by none other than Jim Halpert (played by John Krasinski), who organized dozens of other pranks throughout the series' nine-season run. The segment, which was cut from the series' 2013 finale, follows Dwight’s proposal to Angela (played by Angela Kinsey) in the penultimate episode, “A.A.R.M.”
In the clip, Jim and Pam Beesly (portrayed by Jenna Fischer) have concocted a plan to try to convince Dwight Schrute (depicted by Rainn Wilson) that he is in “The Matrix.” While sitting at his desk, Dwight watches a black cat walk by his office twice before a message appears on his computer screen in neon green lettering. The message reads, "Hello, Dwight. Have you ever felt that something was not right with the world?"
Dwight glances at Jim, who is sitting at his desk on the phone, before replying to the message. “Who is this?” he types back.
Before his computer screen returns to normal, a subsequent message appears, reading, “Not yet. We will make ourselves known.”
The clip cuts to a confessional with Jim and Pam explaining how seeing a black cat twice means there is a glitch in the system and proof that the matrix is real. They reveal they had Glenn from the warehouse and his twin brother, Ben, walk in front of Dwight’s office to drive the point home.
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The remainder of the prank gets underway and leads Dwight to the warehouse where he meets Hank the security guard, played by the late Hugh Dane. Hank tells Dwight that he is actually Dorpheus, the brother of Morpheus (played by Laurence Fishburne in 1999's "The Matrix"). Hank as Dorpheus offers Dwight the choice to take a red pill to "open your eyes and see how deep the rabbit hole goes" or a blue pill to stay in the matrix. Dwight, to Hank’s shock, insists on choosing the blue pill.
Dwight explains his decision, saying, "The timing is terrible right now. They just promoted me to manager, plus I own this building. I run a very substantial farm, and I'm getting married soon to a woman I love ... I don't wanna lose it."
At the end of the cold open, the message “In Loving Memory of Hugh Dane" appears on screen, in honor of the actor who died in 2018.
It was announced in June 2019 that the beloved NBC comedy would be leaving Netflix at the end of 2020 and moving exclusively to Peacock for five years starting in 2021.
Last month, the streaming platform sent out a mock memo from David Wallace, Dunder Mifflin’s CFO turned CEO, reminding Peacock subscribers that the show would start streaming on Jan. 1, 2021, including all 201 episodes of “The Office” as well as more never-before-seen footage and extended cuts from the series, beginning with season three.
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Peacock put together video playlists for Jim’s best pranks on Dwight, office romances and words of wisdom from Michael Scott (portrayed by Steve Carell). They've also created a 24/7 channel that brings the sounds of an office environment for anyone working from home to enjoy.
Peacock is part of our parent company, NBCUniversal.