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The Office: Episodes written by Paul Lieberstein

Paul Lieberstein

One of the most underrated characters on The Office was Toby Flenderson, played by Paul Lieberstein, who was also one of the main writers of the show; below we share a list of episodes written by Paul Lieberstein.

The Office still stands as one of NBC’s hit and iconic sitcoms to have aired on the channel and on television. The first season of the sitcom aired in 2005, which was a year after the end of NBC’s other iconic sitcom, Friends, which ran from 1994 until 2004.

While Steve Carell, John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer’s careers might have been propelled by the roles they played on the sitcom, characters like Toby Flenderson, played by Paul Lieberstein, operate under the radar.

More so, when you consider the fact that Lieberstein also doubled as a writer for eight out of the nine seasons of the sitcom.

What was The Office?

Despite the popularity and cult following the American version of The Office has, a fun fact is that the 2005 NBC premiering flagship sitcom is actually a spin-off of an English version of the sitcom with the same name.

The original version of the sitcom was created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. However, the US version was based on characters developed by acclaimed executive producer Greg Daniels.

The premise of the sitcom is, “A mockumentary on a group of typical office workers, where the workday consists of ego clashes, inappropriate behavior, and tedium.” The Office would end its natural run in 2013, after nine seasons.

The Office: Episodes written by Paul Lieberstein

One of the most underrated characters on The Office has to be Toby Flenderson, a character which is played by acclaimed writer, actor, producer and director Paul Lieberstein.

Paul Lieberstein was part of The Office since its inception, as Greg Daniels first hired Lieberstein to come work on the show as one of the main writers for the sitcom before the first season aired. He would be a part of the show’s fabric for nine seasons between 2005 and 2014.

After working on the sitcom as a writer, he was then cast as the human resources (HR) representative at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin.

As a character, Flenderson was mild-mannered and well-liked by the staff, except for characters that assumed the managerial role during the nine seasons.

Moreover, Flenderson was known for his affections towards Pam Beesly. All the while, he was also writing numerous episodes for The Office.

The Office: A list of episodes written by Paul Lieberstein

Name of episode Season aired Year
Health Care Season 1 2005
The Client Season 2 2005
The Carpet Season 2 2006
Dwight’s Speech Season 2 2006
The Coup Season 3 2006
Cocktails Season 3 2007
The Job (co-written with Michael Schur) Season 3 2007
Money Season 4 2007
Goodbye, Toby (co-written with Jennifer Coletta) Season 4 2008
Stress Relief Season 5 2009
Company Picnic (co-written with Jennifer Coletta) Season 5 2009
Gossip Season 6 2009
Sex Ed Season 7 2010
Search Committee Season 7 2011
The Incentive Season 8 2011
The Farm Season 9 2013

What happened to Toby Flenderson on The Office?

During the series finale of The Office, Toby Flenderson is fired by Dwight Schrute. The reasons for his dismissal are unknown, and for the rest of the episode we watch as Flenderson comes to terms with losing his job, not finding love with either Nellie or Pam.

However, he does finally find love through his former colleagues, as he is invited to the warehouse following the wedding of the series finale.

There was also a cut scene where Flenderson reflects on his tenure as a Dunder Mifflin HR representative, and his future as a mystery novel writer.

What is Paul Lieberstein doing now?

As an actor, Paul Lieberstein has continued to work on other series like The Mindy Project, and most recently he has completed filming on an upcoming short film titled Top Shelf Singles, where he will play Evan Caldwell.

As a writer, Lieberstein is still working on more comedic series and most recently returned to writing for The Office in 2019.

In November 2021, Lieberstein was behind writing the 17-episode Audible Original podcast series titled Middlespace: The Rebels Attack, and Then The Other Side Attacks As Well.

With these projects, Lieberstein has continually stayed within the comedic pocket throughout his career.

Final thoughts

The Office was a springboard for many of the actors that were on the sitcom.

The likes of John Krasinski, Steve Carell and Jenna Fischer have turned into household names and stars within Hollywood from their characters on the hit NBC sitcom during its nine-year run, except for Carell, who left during season seven.

However, there are some underrated characters like Toby Flenderson, who was played by Paul Lieberstein, who fell under the radar.

Besides playing the character of Toby, Lieberstein is also credited as one of the main writers of the sitcom, having been part of the writing team since the inception of the US spin-off.