If you spend enough time scrolling through TV trivia threads or late-night Reddit rabbit holes, you’ll eventually hit a weirdly specific wall: the collective memory that Jason Sudeikis was in The Office. It feels right, doesn't it? He has that mid-2000s NBC energy. He’s got the "nice guy with a secret edge" vibe that defined the Scranton branch. People swear they remember him leaning over a cubicle or cracking a joke at the water cooler.
But here’s the reality check. Jason Sudeikis was never on The Office. Not as a guest star. Not as a temporary manager. Not even as a background extra in a deleted scene from Threat Level Midnight. It’s a classic case of the Mandela Effect, fueled by a perfect storm of comedy lineage, career timing, and a very specific mustache.
The Mystery of Jason Sudeikis and The Office Connection
So, why do we all collectively think he was there? Honestly, it’s mostly because Sudeikis was the "Third King" of NBC’s comedy golden age. While Steve Carell was ruling Thursday nights as Michael Scott, Sudeikis was busy becoming a cornerstone of Saturday Night Live. They shared the same network, the same promos, and often the same target audience.
You’ve probably seen the "Manager & Salesman" episode or the search for Michael Scott’s replacement. The show cycled through every heavy hitter in comedy—Will Ferrell, Jim Carrey, Ray Romano, James Spader. Sudeikis fits that list so perfectly in our minds that we just... slotted him in.
There’s also the 30 Rock factor. Sudeikis played Floyd DeBarber, Liz Lemon’s "one that got away." That show lived in the same universe as The Office. Because he was so iconic as Floyd—a character who, let's be real, could have easily been a regional manager at a mid-sized paper company—the wires in our brains get crossed.
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Why the Mustache Changed Everything
Then came Ted Lasso. When Sudeikis debuted that character, he didn't just bring back the mustache; he brought back a style of sincere, workplace-driven comedy that we hadn't seen since the early days of Dunder Mifflin.
There is a direct line from the awkward, heart-on-sleeve moments in Scranton to the locker room at AFC Richmond. When people search for jason sudeikis the office, they are often looking for that specific brand of "humane" comedy. Ted Lasso is basically what would happen if Michael Scott actually went to therapy and learned how to process his need for validation.
Did He Ever Almost Join the Cast?
The question of "almost" is where things get interesting. When Steve Carell announced he was leaving in Season 7, the casting search was frantic. Every big name at NBC was discussed behind closed doors.
While casting director Allison Jones has talked openly about considering stars like Philip Seymour Hoffman or Paul Giamatti, Sudeikis’s name was always in the periphery of that "type." He was a lead-adjacent actor who could handle the "straight man" role (like John Krasinski) but also the "maniac" role (like Carell).
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- The SNL Conflict: At the time Michael Scott was leaving (2011), Sudeikis was at the absolute peak of his SNL tenure. He was playing Joe Biden and Mitt Romney. He was also starting his film career with Horrible Bosses.
- The Creative Fit: Some fans argue he would have been a better fit than James Spader’s Robert California. Sudeikis has a Midwestern warmth that fits the Pennsylvania setting better than Spader’s intense, lizard-king energy.
Real Connections: The Bill Lawrence Factor
While Sudeikis never stepped foot in the Scranton set, his world collided with The Office through the people behind the scenes.
Bill Lawrence, the co-creator of Ted Lasso, is a huge admirer of the mockumentary format Greg Daniels perfected. In fact, if you look at the DNA of modern sitcoms, the "comfort watch" quality of The Office is exactly what Sudeikis aimed for with Lasso. They are spiritual sequels.
Also, we can't ignore the Greg Daniels connection. Daniels didn't just do The Office; he did Parks and Recreation. Sudeikis appeared on Portlandia and Eastbound & Down, moving in the same elite comedy circles as the Dunder Mifflin alumni. It’s a small world. You're never more than two degrees of separation from a "That's what she said" joke when you're in that league.
The Fan Theories That Won't Die
There’s a persistent (and fake) theory that Sudeikis was supposed to play a character named "Glenn" from the Slough branch in a crossover that never happened. This is usually confused with the fact that the Ted Lasso character Gareth Canterbury is a direct nod to Gareth Keenan and Tim Canterbury from the original UK Office.
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Sudeikis loves the UK Office. He’s a student of it. You can see the influence in his timing. He understands that the funniest things happen in the silence after the joke, a technique Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant pioneered and Greg Daniels polished.
Why This Matters for Comedy Fans
Knowing that Sudeikis wasn't in the show actually highlights something cool about his career. He managed to become a titan of the "workplace comedy" genre without ever relying on the biggest franchise in that space. He built his own.
If you're looking for that Sudeikis/Office itch to be scratched, you've got a few options:
- Watch the 30 Rock "Floyd" episodes: It’s the closest you’ll get to seeing him in a corporate-adjacent sitcom setting.
- Revisit the SNL Digital Shorts: Specifically the ones where he plays the "douchey" office guy—it’s a masterclass in the kind of character Jim Halpert would have hated.
- The Ted Lasso Pilot: Watch it through the lens of a documentary crew following a coach. The parallels are everywhere once you start looking.
Basically, Sudeikis didn't need The Office because he eventually became his own version of a legendary boss. He just trades paper for soccer and "That’s what she said" for "Believe."
If you want to dive deeper into how these comedy worlds overlap, check out the Office Ladies podcast episodes covering the late seasons. They often mention the "type" of actors they were looking for to replace Carell, and it paints a vivid picture of the industry at that time. You might also want to look into the 2026 rumors regarding Greg Daniels’ new project—the "spiritual successor" to The Office—which many hope will finally feature a Sudeikis cameo.
Next Steps:
If you're still craving that Scranton-style humor, your best bet is to watch Sudeikis’s guest arc on 30 Rock (Seasons 1 and 2). It’s the perfect bridge between his SNL roots and the leading-man energy he eventually brought to Ted Lasso.