The Japanese Office SNL Controversy: Mike Schur's Take on the Parody | Steve Carell, Ricky Gervais

Mike Schur Expresses Discomfort with SNL's "The Japanese Office" Parody Despite His Work with both Saturday Night Live and The Office

Michael Schur a former writer for Saturday Night Live and writer for The Office admitted on The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast that he did not like “The Japanese Office” sketch from SNL. The skit involved Steve Carell and Ricky Gervais and occurred during the May 17 2008 episode. Schur stated "The Japanese Office" "didn’t feel right to me in some way" at the time. Michael Schur later went to work on The Good Place and Brooklyn Nine-Nine solidifying his career path.

Schur's Unease With 'SNL's 'The Japanese Office' Sketch Featuring Steve Carell and Ricky Gervais

After Mike Schur left Saturday Night Live he became a writer for the very popular NBC show The Office during the series early phases. He expressed feeling a little upset after the SNL digital skit known as "The Japanese Office" during an appearance with Seth Meyers who also formally worked at Saturday Night Live for many years. The Saturday Night Live sketch featuring Ricky Gervais as an original creator and also a cast member from The Office during his 2008 episode seemed to miss the mark and made Mike feel rankled with its premise.

Ricky Gervais and Steve Carell in 'Japanese Office' Spoof: Schur's Discomfort With Cultural Appropriation Themes

The Japanese Office SNL Controversy: Mike Schur's Take on the Parody | Steve Carell, Ricky Gervais image 3

Ricky Gervais originally created and acted in the BBC show The Office as a source of inspiration for many other projects in following years. Ricky Gervais introduced a fake short from a non existing Japanese show where Carell acted a Japanese version of his popular Michael Scott charecter leading a Japanese version of the popular Office setting but where everyone spoke in Japanese without subtitles. Schur says this sketch seems like 'They stole the show from me but I stole it from a Japanese version but where the actors where white people." that does not make any sense from a creative standpoint of originality.

Mike Schur explained the “Japanese Office” did not feel like a strong reflection of what the show represented to him with characters portrayed mostly by white cast members mimicking a Japanese office setting with the use of ramen noodle props. The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast created a dynamic setting to highlight thoughts from people of various professions about culture with the specific example regarding 'The Japanese Office'. The Lonely Island directed by Akiva Schaffer explored these complex ideas which became very influential to digital short development.

Schur Applauded Rainn Wilson's SNL Hosting In 2007 Contrasting With Reaction To 'The Japanese Office'

The Japanese Office SNL Controversy: Mike Schur's Take on the Parody | Steve Carell, Ricky Gervais image 4

Mike Schur considered SNL important within culture. When Rainn Wilson a key actor in The Office was the guest host in 2007 for a SNL episode Schur was very happy with the program stating “They’re nailing it. Everyone’s nailing it” with its very effective parody of the show. This moment came prior to the airing of The Japanese Office on television networks. When Steve Carell starred in his first hosting gig for Saturday Night Live this prompted the development of The Japanese Office which was met with much less enthusiasm from the show writer Mike Schur after it's release. NBC originally produced both The Office and SNL which made these conversations regarding parody even more interesting as there are shared resources during different eras of production and studio relationships.

'SNL' Writers Address Issues Surrounding Casting in 'The Japanese Office' Digital Short

Akiva Schaffer directed The Japanese Office episode stating during previous Lonely Island podcasts he had some reservations concerning using mostly white actors in that specific context but desired to support Marika Sawyer who is Japanese American and helped conceptualize this sketch. Schaffer also noted the writers and producers looked to Marika Sawyer to help guide its creation process making sure that the sketch maintained appropriate consideration of its sensitive aspects and specific cultural content.

Saturday Night Live writer John Lutz explained Marika Sawyer made the decision to feature only accurate Japanese in the sketches production showing cultural attention and care in the script creation that extended to real people in her daily life being acknowledged during the credits section. The SNL credits section in "The Japanese Office" has featured members of the writers family as well. Mike Schur's name is also mentioned as a Japanese character during the faux production. Entertainment Weekly reported all of this from various different news publications.

Mike Schur Explores Reaction of Lonely Island’s "Lazy Scranton" During Creation Phase

Two years before the creation of "The Japanese Office" digital segment The Office aired its own interpretation of comedy in which Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute performed the very funny rap piece "Lazy Scranton" inspired by Lonely Island's Lazy Sunday. Lonely Island member Andy Samberg stated he initially struggled over parody and if it was making fun of the group’s vision or if they were creating parody from the reaction to the original pieces. Andy Samberg after having further conversations with Schur eventually recognized the genuine support and creative collaboration intended behind that humorous sketch adding another element to this particular cultural exchange.

Mike Schur's Post 'SNL' and 'The Office' Legacy With Successful Television Shows

After his contributions with Saturday Night Live and The Office Mike Schur transitioned into developing and co-creating several celebrated TV comedy series that includes Parks and Recreation Brooklyn Nine-Nine The Good Place and A Man on the Inside establishing a strong position for his career trajectory. Michael Schur also had guest appearances throughout The Office show as Dwight's oddball cousin named Mose. He received more than 20 Emmy nominations and took home three awards because of his exceptional contributions as a writer for both Saturday Night Live The Office and for executive production of Hacks further establishing his legacy and recognition of his many artistic skills and leadership abilities.

Schur's 'Rankled' Feelings For 'The Japanese Office': A Mismatch Of Expectations

“The Good Place” creator Mike Schur expressed concerns over “The Japanese Office” sketch on the “Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast”. Mike also worked previously as a writer on Saturday Night Live and for the Emmy winning NBC sitcom The Office. The Emmy winner noted that the skit "didn't scratch the itch" of how he saw "The Office" being used for parody highlighting a sense of misunderstanding that resulted from the sketch concept itself. This has all contributed to significant discussions online across different forums and entertainment news groups like Variety .

Analyzing Premise of the Sketch And Reactions to 'The Japanese Office' Within Hollywood Industry

The "Japanese Office" short starts with actor Ricky Gervais who introduces a Japanese program that is said to have provided inspiration for the British The Office series and the later versions of The Office in the United States that starred Steve Carell. This skit uses multiple familiar faces with Carell playing his version of Michael alongside Bill Hader Jason Sudeikis and Kristen Wiig. The characters are set in Japan speaking the native language along with props such as ramen that ends when Gervais says "its funny because its racist." The cultural appropriation involved caused discomfort for some individuals connected with the project including the writer Mike Schur who never really did make any clear statement to indicate support over all of the prior conversations surrounding this sketch.

Schur noted during his interview with Seth Meyers he did not completely understand sketch ideas such as characters that looked very different yet used Japanese dialogue or cultural representation in some odd format that caused him some frustration. Akiva Schaffer explained previously during another podcast that that specific Marika Sawyer from the writers room came up with concept where she expressed a personal story she had and desired to present. Schur stated also that Rainn Wilsons take during a monolog from his show felt more genuine to him as a writer as it had all aspects that connected well. The Saturday Night Live program and its history is closely connected with television programming of NBC which prompted a deeper discussion among individuals as different sides shared differing opinions related to the sketches and how it fits in various media landscapes.