The Office: Deleted scene unveiled as show leaves Netflix US

Cold open features Matrix-themed prank on Dwight

Fans of the US remake of The Office were treated to a previously unseen cold open on New Year’s Day.

The five-minute deleted scene, which was originally cut from the 2013 series finale, sees Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) conspiring to prank Dwight (Rainn Wilson) and convince him that he is living in The Matrix – all with the help of a trained black cat.

The clip was released to celebrate The Office US arriving on streaming service Peacock in America (it is still available to watch on Netflix in the UK).

It also features the late Hugh Dane as Hank the security guard doing his best Laurence Fishburne impression. 

Earlier this week, two of the stars of The Office US kicked off 2020 with a stunt that harked back to one of the series’ most famous moments.

Kate Flannery and Oscar Nunez, who played Meredith and Oscar on the hit NBC sitcom, appeared in the segment, which saw a mug encased in jelly (or, as it is known to Americans, “jello”) be blown apart in an explosion, is a reference to a scene from The Office.

The scene is directly taken from a similar scene in the original UK series, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.