OPINION: Chris Kelly Opinion: An 'Office' reboot? Not without Scranton

Sep. 27—I get my haircuts at Loyalty Barber Shop on Adams Avenue. Like Scranton, it's an old-school establishment enlivened by young, vibrant creators who wield scissors and clippers with the skill and joy of sculptors and portrait painters.

An hour with the Loyalty barbers gives me a front-row seat to the reboot of our 157-year-old city. And the chance to binge reruns of "The Office" with a new generation of "Dunderheads."

The workplace comedy about the fictional Dunder Mifflin paper company put Scranton in the international spotlight when it opened for business in 2005. The shine hasn't dimmed since the series finale in 2013. "The Office" is the most-watched show in streaming history. Americans streamed more than 57 billion minutes of "The Office" in 2020, according to Nielsen.

Netflix was built on "Office" reruns, which inspired the suits at NBCUniversal to launch Peacock. The streaming service is now the exclusive home of "The Office."

And Scranton is still the home of the American version of the show. For now.

In an interview with Collider.com, "Office" producer Greg Daniels hinted that a "reboot" of "The Office" may be in the works. He said it likely wouldn't have the same characters, but would be an "extension of the ("Office") universe."

I might accept new characters, but if the "extension of the universe" takes Scranton out of the show, count me out. "The Office" is invaluable to the reboot of "The Electric City" and the region it anchors. Ask Curt Camoni.

"Without question, it's the most Googled term referring to Lackawanna County," the executive director of the Lackawanna County Convention and Visitors Bureau told me Tuesday. "We've had 70,000 visits to our 'Office' Walking Tour page."

Thousands of Dunderheads visit the city each year, staying in local hotels, patronizing local bars and restaurants, and experiencing other area attractions, Camoni said.

"It's not just people coming here — and they do, a lot — but when we're out selling Lackawanna County (as a convention or vacation destination), it's the best icebreaker on the planet," he said.

"You ask, 'Are you familiar with Lackawanna County?' The answer is 'No.' Ask, 'Have you heard of Scranton?' The answer is always a resounding 'Yes!'"

Rose Randazzo Pizzuto experienced that strong name recognition on vacation in Italy.

"We told everyone we were from Scranton, and they'd say, 'That's not a real place. That's where 'The Office' is," the chair of Scranton Tomorrow's mural arts program said. "Everyone we met had heard of Scranton, but some thought it was made up for the show."

#ScrantonIsReal, and ready to capitalize on its central role in an international phenomenon with a new mural at 503 Lackawanna Ave. Titled, "The Office: The Story of Us," the 86-foot-long-by-27-foot-tall image will be dedicated Oct. 6 at 5:30 p.m. The dedication will be followed at 6 p.m. by a meet-and-greet with the mural's creators, music by Marko Marcinko and the SJF All Stars, and an "Office"-themed First Friday throughout downtown. All events are free and open to the public.

Created by Philadelphia artist Kala Hagopian and her team at Hagopian Arts, the mural is a masterwork any city would be proud to call its own. It's bound to draw Dunderheads to Scranton for years to come.

Some of them might even have heard of me. In the seventh episode of season five of "The Office," Dwight accuses me of "hiding swear words" in my column. The scene was cut when the episode first aired in 2008, but was restored for the "Superfans" version.

The last time I saw it, I was in my barber's chair at Loyalty, playing my bit part in the reboot of Scranton.

CHRIS KELLY, the Times-Tribune columnist, is proud of Scranton and its place in the world. Read his award-winning blog at timestribuneblogs.com/kelly. Contact the writer: kellysworld@timesshamrock.com; @cjkink on Twitter; Chris Kelly, The Times-Tribune on Facebook.