NBC to Bid THE OFFICE Farewell with Retrospective Special, 5/16

NBC has announced an hour-long primetime special dedicated to the seminal comedy "The Office." It will air Thursday, May 16 (8-9 p.m. ET) as a prelude to the one-hour series finale of "The Office," which will immediately follow.

Produced by NBC News, this special offers an emotional farewell to the characters of "The Office," and includes exclusive and original interviews with writers, producers and actors from the award-winning series. Among those who talk about their experience of being involved with "The Office" for all or part of its nine seasons on the air include executive producers Greg Daniels, Paul Lieberstein and Ben Silverman, as well as actors John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, Mindy Kaling, Ed Helms, Angela Kinsey, Craig Robinson, Oscar Nunez and BJ Novak.

Novak, Kaling and Lieberstein take viewers inside the writers' room and reveal the creative process of "The Office," which aired for nine seasons on NBC.

In addition to interviews, other features include a look at actor auditions back when the show was first being cast, favorite moments and a behind-the-scenes sneak peak of the finale. There will also be a segment on the May 4th fan event being held in the city of Scranton, Penn., which served as the home for "The Office" for its entire run.

Since its premiere on NBC in March 2005, "The Office" has established itself as a genuine hit, earning prestigious television honors such as the 2006 Emmy Award for comedy series, 2006 Peabody Award, 2006 and 2008 AFI Honors, Producers Guild Award, Writers Guild Award, SAG Award for performance by an ensemble in a comedy, Ace Eddie Award for editing and a Television Critics Award for achievement in comedy.

"The Office" presents a hilarious documentary-style look at the humorous, and sometimes poignant, foolishness that plagues the 9-to-5 world. Based on the award-winning BBC hit, "The Office" is a fly-on-the-wall "docu-reality" parody of modern American office life that delves into the lives of the workers at Dunder Mifflin, a paper supply company.

"The Office" is executive-produced by Silverman and Daniels, who developed the series for American audiences, as well Lieberstein, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Howard Klein, Brent Forrester and Dan Sterling.