Mike Schur SNL: Why 'The Japanese Office' Sketch Rankled, Featuring Steve Carell and Ricky Gervais

Mike Schur Reflects on 'SNL's 'The Japanese Office' Parody and his Preference For The Rainn Wilson Monologue

Michael Schur a former writer at Saturday Night Live and later a writer for The Office shared his disapproval for a specific sketch despite previous Emmy wins for both. Schur specifically did not like "The Japanese Office" parody which featured The Office star Steve Carell on the show during a May 17 2008 episode. The popular episode made Schur feel “a little bit rankled” by the parody.

Mike Schur's Disappointment with 'The Japanese Office' Sketch Despite His Previous Work At SNL

Mike Schur had left Saturday Night Live in 2005 to write for The Office and when Saturday Night Live performed sketch "The Japanese Office" he had an unpleasant experience when watching. The sketch featured The Office actor Steve Carell and was introduced by Ricky Gervais from original British series who claimed inspiration for that show was drawn from an earlier fictional Japanese tv program . Schur said the sketch which featured actors using Japanese language with no subtitles felt odd .

Schur admitted Saturday Night Live does play an important role defining popular culture and how it reflects those trends and having The Office spoofed in such a way as "The Japanese Office" did not sit right with him. Mike Schur explained to the The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast that seeing "The Japanese Office" was something of a very big deal specifically because Steve Carell from The Office was hosting which did not impress him during that moment. Rainn Wilson who also acted in The Office hosted in 2007 and when Saturday Night Live did a opening monologue based around the workplace comedy Mike Schur stated his positive feedback as he thoroughly enjoyed seeing this take on the show, feeling it was extremely well done.

"The Japanese Office" Sketch Explained Featuring the Actors and Production Details from Original Show

Mike Schur SNL: Why 'The Japanese Office' Sketch Rankled, Featuring Steve Carell and Ricky Gervais image 3

Ricky Gervais in the sketch describes his British sitcom had influence from a earlier Japanese show that had all characters with western appearance . The "Japanese" episode in fact is portrayed with actors who were cast from original American show of "The Office" acting like they were from the show itself however are all speaking completely in Japanese language while portraying very familiar tropes of the office using ramen and bowing . Gervais ended the sketch with an ironic one liner by saying that it’s "funny 'cause it's racist" highlighting potential cultural issues regarding representation from popular tv and media

Mike Schur Questions Sketch Premise and Identifies Cultural Issues from SNL Parody in Podcast Discussion

Mike Schur SNL: Why 'The Japanese Office' Sketch Rankled, Featuring Steve Carell and Ricky Gervais image 4

Mike Schur stated he does not fully grasp what the point of the sketch was when analyzing "The Japanese Office" during a podcast interview stating it did not resonate with him due to the actors all being white men while presenting the concept as a Japanese tv series. Akiva Schaffer a member of Lonely Island who directed “The Japanese Office” shared concern when shooting with only white cast but decided to support the original vision that Marika Sawyer a Japanese American had as co-writer for that project . John Lutz another co writer of “The Japanese Office” made it clear that they tried hard to keep all dialogue authentically Japanese and mentioned there was even an Easter egg naming a character in tribute to Mike Schur who the main guest for this segment.

The Office's "Lazy Scranton" Spoof And Parody From Other Comedic Performers

The Office previously spoofed other content of its own show with actors Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute with their "Lazy Scranton" rap. Andy Samberg from The Lonely Island stated previously that he at first did not understand how he should perceive the skit stating in one podcast his confused emotions on the parody until later realizing that Schur truly did admire their work at Lonely Island.

Schur's Transition to Multi Emmy-Winning Creator of Multiple Hit Television Shows

Since his departure from Saturday Night Live and The Office Mike Schur went onto produce a list of highly regarded television shows as Parks and Recreation Brooklyn Nine-Nine The Good Place and also a Man on the Inside. Mike Schur currently has been nominated for 20 plus Emmys for his creative contributions which include wins for SNL The Office and also Hacks that he served as executive producer.

Digital Short Earns 17 Million YouTube Views Despite Schur’s Critique of Cultural Insensitivity

Mike Schur made an appearance on The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast where he reexamined the Saturday Night Live digital short "The Japanese Office" from when Steve Carell hosted in May 2008 which presently holds approximately 17 million views on the official Saturday Night Live YouTube channel. Michael Schur told Seth Myers the parody left him a little bit rankled by Saturday Night Live and did not live up to the standard of good parody by show staff that did it justice and properly reflect The Office. Variety Magazine recently made this information well-known for their readers by publishing an overview on that topic.

Ricky Gervais in the sketch states his sitcom of “The Office” was inspired by a fictional Japanese series. The characters like Steve Carell playing "Japanese" versions Michael Dwight played by Bill Hader Jim by Jason Sudeikis and Pam portrayed by Kristen Wiig . In the parody those actors portray their regular tv roles with Japanese mannerisms using ramen noodle bowls and also incorporating bowing gestures with all of the dialogue fully spoken in the Japanese language. Schur mentioned that this particular aspect of the show felt culturally insensitive for him.

Mike Schur during this most recent podcast states "The Japanese Office" skit was something that he did not quite understand noting his disconnect due to the concept of Japanese tv being interpreted entirely by white performers as characters . Director Akiva Schaffer was concerned as he started the skit but went through with it fully since it was Marika Sawyer’s original idea where he served primarily in a support role allowing creative freedom. Schur feels SNL parodied The Office much better when Rainn Wilson was featured which he enjoyed very much because his opening monologue reflected better understanding of what the show was actually about as it is one of the highest critically acclaimed shows ever made.