10 Of The Most Hilarious 'The Office' Pranks
It’s been 7 years since the season finale of The Office, and we’re still laughing.
youtube I remember the first time I watched The Office in 2013. And though I hated it at first (sorry!), it's since become a staple in my rotation. One thing I've always loved is The Office pranks and ridiculous humor.
Whenever I need a pick me up, or if I’ve had a bad day, I can count on Michael Scott, Dwight Schrute, Jim, and the rest of The Office to make my day a little brighter.
Best pranks on The Office
1. The Boat (Episode 6, Season 9)
The first prank on this list comes courtesy of Season 9 of The Office — one of the most underrated seasons.
In the sixth episode of season nine, Dunder Mifflin is asked to interview for a local talk radio show. Dwight immediately decides he's going to be the interviewee. When the radio show calls back to cancel, Nellie, Jim, and Pam decide it's better not to tell Dwight.
The prank goes off without a hitch. Jim, Pam, Nellie, and Darryl increasingly push Dwight's limits. They had him shed his clothes to prevent interference. They pretended to be corporate employees and experts, making Dwight believe that Dunder Mifflin's paper is toxic and that stock shares are plummeting.
The gag ends when Dwight makes a phone call to David Wallace, making the group think they've been found out, but David Wallace, used to Dwight's odd behavior, merely hangs up.
What a prank.
2. Dwight's Speech (Episode 17, Season 2)
Second up is my favorite prank: Dwight’s speech.
In the seventeenth episode of season two, Dwight, the Dunder Mifflin salesman of the year, has to give a speech at a ceremony honoring his achievements.
Jim, annoyed by Dwight as usual, decides he'll give Dwight some suggestions. The best part? The suggestions and speech notes are from famous dictators.
Jim really doesn't know salesmen. The prank backfires, and Dwight is a smashing success.
3. Branch Wars (Episode 10, Season 4)
In season four of The Office, Jim gets roped into pranking his ex, Karen, with Dwight and Michael.
Karen, the new Regional Manager at Dunder-Mifflin Utica, offers Stanely a higher paying position, angering Michael. In retaliation, Michael and Dwight invite Jim on a “sales call,” forcing him to Utica.
Jim tries to prevent the more dangerous ideas, but Michael and Dwight decide to steal Karen's industrial copier.
Spoiler alert: they get caught, and an awkward meeting with Karen ensues.
4. Branch Closing (Episode 7, Season 3)
Though most pranks occur at Dunder-Mifflin Scranton, one of the funnier jokes happen when Jim, from the Stamford Branch, faxes Dwight messages from "Future Dwight" on a stationary he stole before leaving Scranton.
Dwight is convinced it's actually himself from the future and ends up tackling Stanley. Oof.
5. Company Picnic (Episode 28, Season 5)
This next prank involves the entire office.
After Michael eats an entire family-sized chicken pot pie and then falls asleep, the office bands together to reset all of the clocks to convince Michael it's five o'clock to all leave early for the day.
In a surprising move, Dwight helps by resetting the clock in Michael’s car.
With their prank a success, the entire office waves goodbye to Michael eagerly in the car lot.
6. Garden Party (Episode 4, Season 8)
In the fourth episode of season eight, Andy throws a garden party at Shrute Farms. Dwight eagerly takes the reins, working to make the garden party the classiest affair in Pennsylvania.
Jim can’t let this happen without a little interference.
In the most elaborate prank on The Office, Jim actually writes and publishes a fake book on throwing the garden party. The best part? Dwight buys the book and actually listens to the advice.
James Trickington, indeed.
7. Turf War (Episode 23, Season 8)
Who’s the strongest? Dwight or Gabe?
Jim settles the debate by pranking them both. Suggesting they have a thigh curling contest, he props them up on pillows and takes a photo. The result?
Some creative editing and voila. Instead of looking strong, Gabe and Dwight look like teenagers at a sleepover.
Brilliant and petty.
8. Tallahassee (Episode 13, Season 8)
I’m going to level with you here. I don’t really dig the Sabre store episodes of the office. I prefer Scranton. However, there is one prank that I thought was so funny.
Upon arriving in Tallahassee, Dwight decides everyone needs an early wake-up call. He scares Cathy, wakes up Erin, suffocates Stanley, and seduces Ryan before moving on to Jim's hotel room.
They don't find Jim. Instead, they find a destroyed hotel room and a note on the wall that says, "IT WAS DWIGHT."
This prank is easily one of the funniest in the season. Who isn't a fan of murder mysteries?
9. Launch Party (Episode 3, Season 4)
I love this prank so much. In the Launch Party episode, Jim is irritated with Dwight and comes up with a stunt involving Pam. It starts out as a way to taunt Dwight but ends on a lovely note.
Pam notices how sad Dwight is, and messages him as the Computer, acknowledging him as a superior being, cheering up Dwight. It's a great prank, and it's an adorable moment between Pam and Dwight.
10. Women's Appreciation (Episode 22, Season 3)
In the season 3 episode Women’s Appreciation, Phyllis is accosted by a flasher prompting Dwight to take charge and investigate the incident.
Dwight orders Pam to make a sketch of “the pervert,” and unbeknownst to him, Pam creates a flyer featuring Dwight’s face.
The reveal when Dwight realizes what Pam drew is hysterical. Pam tricked Dwight in the best way she knew how — with her art. And it was perfect.
This list was super hard to keep at ten. I have so many favorite practical jokes from The Office, I could write a book about it.
I hope you enjoyed the ten that made the cut!
Rachel Reed is a writer and editorial intern interested in news, culture, self, and relationships.