There’s one thing about all TV sitcoms that go on for an extended amount of time, which is that eventually the characters will become a parody of themselves. It’s a trope in TV that technically goes by the name of "flanderization," which is taking a generally small character trait and exaggerating it until it totally consumes the character.
The Office is no exception to this act, as the show has seen this happen to several of its characters for the nine years it was on the air. However, there were also characters that somehow managed to avoid flanderization and stayed completely true to themselves, even managing to grow and evolve.
Parody: Creed
Creed is one of the characters who greatly benefits from becoming a complete self-parody of himself. Unlike the rest of the cast, there’s very little we know about Creed, so his mysterious one liners get funnier each time despite getting more outrageous as time goes on. He went from talking his way out of getting fired to becoming an outright murderer and cult leader. He was one of the funniest characters in the early seasons and he just got funnier.
Developed: Michael
It’s almost as if Steve Carell had the foresight of the direction the show was heading in before it got there, as Michael has always been outrageous from the offset, compared to the supporting cast who adopted more of the humdrum characteristics of the original UK version. Either that, or the direction the show headed in was influenced by Carell’s performance. Nevertheless, Michael remained the same socially inept, awkward, and outspoken character he always was.
Parody: Dwight
For better or worse, Dwight changed a lot over the series, and it didn’t even take the full nine seasons for him to get to the dictator-type character that he became. He has always had the will to succeed, but midway through the series he became this vengeful, malicious character who would stop at nothing to get people fired, especially Jim. Not only that, but his lack of common sense became more and more evident with each season.
Developed: Oscar Nunez
Oscar’s traits were set perfectly clear from the beginning and he was one of the most realistic and well rounded characters. Oscar got plenty of laughs because he’s sarcastic and has an obsessive need to be right all the time. And the writers played to his strengths all the way through to season 9. Never once was Oscar’s sexuality or ethnicity exaggerated, unlike many other characters on the show. They even nailed his send off, going in to politics.
Parody: Toby
In the first few seasons, Toby was just another guy working in HR who doesn’t want to work in HR, and he was fairly realistic. Maybe it was because he was a victim of bullying in some of the most hilarious interactions between him and Michael, and that sent him crazy, but in the later seasons he became a strange employee who was often characterized as a creep. It hit rock bottom when he became attracted to Nellie when she dressed up as him for Halloween.
Developed: Stanley
There are a lot of things that fans don’t know about Stanley, but none of them question or go against what the character stands for. He goes to work, moves as little as possible, plays sudoku, and maybe squeezes in a quick nap where possible.
That didn’t change one iota, and we even got to see a few Stanley-centric episodes that showed the character is more than just a two dimensional piece of comic relief, including his marital affair and showing that he is actually more caring than people think in the later episodes.
Parody: Andy Bernard
Andy became a terrible person, and becoming a parody of himself led to his very worst moments. After overcoming his anger management, which was one of the most interesting arcs that Andy had, the character settled into a goofy, out-of-his-element manager that was ultimately Michael-lite.
The character was dumb when the episode called for it, and the character was smart when the episode called for it. He went from cleverly handling his parents’ finances to stupidly sailing away on a boat and abandoning Erin in the very same episode.
Developed: Pam
Pam was always the most level headed female character on The Office, and she showed development as after having children of her own, she was able to empathize with Meredith. And though she has had run-ins with Angela in the past, she was still able to console her when Angela was having relationship problems. She might not be the most outright funny character on the show, but she has grown the most and remained true to the character we saw in the very first episode.
Parody: Kevin
Though Kevin remains one of the most laugh-out-loud funny characters of the show, the writers turned Kevin from an overweight guy who unnecessarily states the obvious to a dastardly character with the brains of a potato. In one of the last seasons, it is revealed that Kevin literally can’t add simple numbers together unless he thinks of them as pies.
It has led to so many things not making sense about Kevin, but the worst thing of all that Kevin did in the final year of the show was threaten and bribe Oscar when he found out about the love affair with the senator, which is something that Kevin simply wouldn’t do.
Developed: Jim
Audiences were introduced to Jim as a prankster who had a crush on a work colleague, and we have since seen those two things blossom in the most perfect ways. Jim never didn't act like Jim, and his career and relationship progression in the show proved that he was maturing right in front of our eyes. But thankfully, his career and private life never distracted him from plotting the funniest devious pranks.