‘The Office’ Star Says It Couldn’t Be Made Today
Rainn Wilson became a household name portraying the eccentric Dwight Schrute on The Office, but these days the actor is spending more time discussing something far removed from Dunder Mifflin: America's growing political and cultural divisions.
During a conversation with Fox News Digital, Wilson argued that one of the casualties of modern political polarization has been comedy itself. According to Wilson, the environment that allowed The Office to become one of television's most beloved sitcoms would be difficult to recreate today.
"I do feel like you couldn't make The Office today," Wilson said. "I think that would be too hard to be as politically incorrect as the show was. And I do, I do kind of miss that."
Wilson pointed to the show's willingness to embrace uncomfortable humor through characters like Steve Carell's Michael Scott and his own Dwight Schrute. The comedy often worked because viewers understood the characters were deeply flawed, lacking self-awareness, and frequently making fools of themselves.
"We milked that for a lot of great, really inappropriate stuff," Wilson said. "But even with the fact that painting that character as just an idiot, I don't think you could get away with it today."
His comments reflect a debate that has been ongoing for years within the entertainment industry. Critics of cancel culture argue that fear of backlash has made writers, comedians, and studios more cautious, while supporters contend that audiences simply have different standards than they did two decades ago.
Beyond comedy, Wilson expressed frustration with what he sees as one of the country's most persistent political problems: partisan hypocrisy.
According to Wilson, both Republicans and Democrats are often eager to condemn misconduct, offensive behavior, or controversial statements when they come from political opponents while excusing similar conduct from their own side.
Wilson cited reactions surrounding Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner and controversies connected to his campaign as an example of that phenomenon.
"The political right is all up in arms about that, 'Oh, he's a racist, see,'" Wilson said. "But they won't look at their own side when people show racist tendencies or say racist things. And it's the same on the left."
He continued by arguing that both sides should be held to the same standards.
"It's the hypocrisy that gets me the most. It's the hypocrisy of like, both sides need to have, kind of, equal standards of behavior."
While Wilson was critical of the current political climate, he also suggested there may be overlooked areas where Americans have more in common than many realize. Chief among them, he said, is spirituality.
"There's not any topic that has more commonality and mutuality than spiritual ideas," Wilson explained. "The ideas around spirituality have kind of been weaponized in terms of the national discussion, but actually the two sides have more in common than you would think."
Wilson made the remarks while appearing on Capitol Hill alongside Representatives Brendan Boyle and Gus Bilirakis, as well as religious leaders supporting A Common Endeavor: Realizing the Promise of America, an initiative backed by leaders of the Baha'i faith that seeks to reduce political polarization and encourage dialogue across ideological lines.
For Wilson, the public's frustration with partisan warfare is obvious.
"The partisan divide and toxic partisanship, and corruption in partisanship, is something that the American people are very passionate about," he said. "The people want this fixed. There is an outcry from people. They want it fixed."
Whether discussing comedy, politics, or faith, Wilson's message was consistent: Americans may disagree on plenty, but the constant cycle of outrage and double standards is exhausting a public that increasingly wants something better.