The Office: Ranking Every Main Character Worst To Best
Dwight? Andy? Pam? Who ranks as the best member of Dunder Mifflin?!
American remakes of British shows tend to have a reputation for ruining them. However, a few exceptions prove why the prospect of readapting an established series to an American market can work.
The Office US is the holy grail of such a concept, as not only did it do justice to the original series, but in many ways, it changed it for the better. There is a tonne of debate to be had over which was the superior show, but one thing that cannot be argued is that The US Office was a thunderous success.
Part of what helped to make this sit-com so influential was the litany of fantastic characters who made up the staff of Dunder Mifflin. Who would have thought that the Scranton branch of a paper company could have such a host of colourful characters?
Each role in the series played an important part, from the highest position down to the lowest, and that makes ranking them in a hierarchy incredibly difficult. However, to explore what made this show so successful, it must be done.
This list has been formed through the general reception of these characters, their importance to the show, and the writer's personal views.
There will be some spoilers ahead.
17. Meredith Palmer
Unfortunately, it is relatively easy to rank Meredith at the bottom of this list. In the collection of side characters that work inside Scranton's branch of Dunder Mifflin, Meredith is perhaps the most underdeveloped and unimportant. While Kate Flannery is a dependable comedic performer, she wasn't given enough with this character to be memorable, and her one-note sexually promiscuous characteristics grew old very fast.
There is a little bit of merit to the character, in that she has some great interactions with the other cast members, in most cases, by making them uncomfortable. Additionally, the narrative in which she was hit by Michael Scott's car was an excellent basis for an episode.
Ultimately this character was put through the wringer. She suffered many mishaps, including breaking her pelvis, having her hair set ablaze, contracting herpes, and being attacked by a racoon on multiple occasions. But she never did anything, and things just happen to her, which made her incredibly unimportant to the show's forward momentum. If Meredith were to be cut, it wouldn't have made an impact.