A never-before-seen cold open from The Office finale features Jim's final prank, where he convinces Dwight he's in the Matrix. The popular sitcom, considered one of the best comedy shows of all time, was a staple on Netflix for a number of years, often appearing in the streaming service's top 10 shows every day. However, as of January 1, the show is no longer available on Netflix in the U.S. The Office's rights reverted back to NBC, which has placed the show on its own streaming service, Peacock. The series' departure from Netflix was trending on Twitter on December 31, as fans attempted to binge-watch it one last time before it left.
The Office was famous for the pranks Jim (John Krasinski) pulled on Dwight throughout the seasons. Unfortunately, the show's final prank, set to be aired ahead of the finale, was cut for time. The prank was mentioned in the final episode of An Oral History of The Office, hosted by Brian Baumgartner (Kevin). Baumgartner's guest, David Rogers, who edited The Office finale, described the Matrix scene, and it left many viewers wondering why it had been cut from the show. Now, though, fans are finally able to watch it.
Peacock has released the final prank via Twitter. The five-minute video shows Jim and Pam (Jenna Fischer) team up to convince Dwight he's in the Matrix by training a black cat to walk past his office twice. They also rope in Glenn (Calvin Tenner) from the Warehouse, along with his twin brother, Ben, to further convince Dwight. Then Hank (Hugh Dane) dresses up as Morpheus's brother, Dorpheus, to convince Dwight to take the red pill. In a twist, Dwight refuses, despite believing the ruse, as he says he's finally found happiness and doesn't want to lose it. The video also includes a tribute to Dane, who passed away in 2018. You can watch the hilarious video below:
While one can understand why the prank was cut, given the finale of The Office was already an unusually long episode, it is a pity, as the cold open could have been one of the show's best. Not only does it give fans one final prank between Jim and Dwight, it also shows Dwight is perfectly content with his life at the end of the show. Thankfully, though, the cold open has been restored as part of the extended The Office episodes Peacock promised when the shift to the new streaming service was announced.
Hopefully more special looks will be released on social media, as Peacock attempts to get more sign-ups for its premium service. The Office remains wildly popular, and NBC clearly understands they'll be able to get more subscriptions by teasing other exclusives. For now, though, fans who aren't willing to pay for Peacock's premium offering have at least this one new piece of content to console them following The Office's removal from Netflix.
Source: Peacock/Twitter