The Office would be nothing without its unforgettable ensemble of characters. Every person in the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch has something unique and hilarious to offer, and each person on the show stands out significantly. Heck, even Toby makes an impression on us!
While some characters throughout the series only seemed to get better and more interesting/lovable, there were also a handful of characters on The Office who got a bit too obnoxious for our taste. Which characters showed improvement? Which got worse as time went on? Keep reading to find out!
GOT BETTER: MICHAEL SCOTT
Michael Scott is a character who has made us cringe like no other. Steve Carell has perfected his role as the Scranton manager of Dunder Mifflin who lacks all forms of self-awareness and desperately wants to fit in. While in the first few seasons he was so naive that it bordered on being offensive, as the series progressed, he became more lovable and vulnerable.
He started to feel less cartoonish and sitcom-y, growing instead into a fully fleshed-out character with brilliant arcs and beautiful resolutions. He most certainly evolved into one of the most adored TV characters of all time.
GOT WORSE: JIM HALPERT
It's hard not to fall in love with Jim Halpert. Good looks aside, he is charismatic, warm, and has an excellent sense of humor. What more could you want in a person? Yet as the series went on, his constant pranks and lack of ambition stopped being charming and started to come across as just lazy.
After nine seasons of Jim bumming around aimlessly at the Scranton branch, we realized how much his careless attitude interfered with the rest of the company. Plus, in season 9, his character became a bit of a jerk. how unfairly he treated Pam? We still love Jim, but he definitely lost his appeal as time went on.
GOT BETTER: CREED BRATTON
Creed started out on the beloved series as a character on the sidelines. A replaceable "extra" type of role, who every-so-often got a chuckle out of us here and there, but otherwise remained forgettable while in comparison to the rest of the characters.
Yet as The Office evolved, so did Creed's role as we got to see him branch out into being one of the most hilarious oddballs on the entire show with his quirky/outlandish humor. Now, we can't help but regard him as the most underrated characters on the entire show.
GOT WORSE: RYAN HOWARD
We have to it, Ryan Howard definitely made us laugh harder as the seasons went on, but it goes without saying that with each ing episode he became more and more of a jerk. At the beginning of the series, he was a shy and simple young man who started accidental office fires and tried with his best efforts to endure his boss's man-crush on him.
Yet his reserved nature dissolved with time, and he instead became the most conceited and judgmental character of all.
GOT BETTER: KELLY KAPOOR
At the beginning of the series, Kelly practically didn't exist as a character. Although Mindy Kaling was a writer for The Office and played a big role behind the scenes, when it came to her screen time, she was practically an extra!
She was one of many who had to endure Scott's endless stream of offensive jokes and observations, some of which would never fly in 2020. But as The Office evolved, so did Kelly. Her character got more and more lines and she easily became one of the most hilarious characters on The Office. We only wish we had a chance to see more of her!
GOT WORSE: JAN LEVINSON
It's almost hard to believe that Jan Levinson was so normal and put-together at the beginning of the series! She seemed like one of the most stable characters on the show at first, yet that all changed for the worst when she started to date Michael Scott.
Maybe dating Michael *literally* drove her crazy? It seemed as though Ms. Levinson was having a straight-up midlife crisis. This was especially evident during the famous "Dinner Party" episode when Jan lost it and got a little too invested into her assistant Hunter's original tracks. Her character most certainly exemplified one of the best displays of cringe-humor we've ever seen, so props to Melora Hardin for totally nailing her role!
GOT BETTER: ROY ANDERSON
Roy started out on The Office as one of the clear antagonists of the series. Nobody in their right minds was rooting for Pam to pursue her engagement with Roy, (especially considering the fact that if Pam married him, her name would be "Pamela Anderson", something Pam would probably not be all too comfortable with). He was an inconsiderate boyfriend to Pam, and he always ended up letting her down.
Later on in the series, we were shocked to discover that Roy had evolved into a much better man as evident by his wedding which was incredibly sweet as well as classy. He even learned to play the piano and wrote a song for his bride. Wow! Now that's some serious character development if we've ever seen it.
GOT WORSE: ANDY BERNARD
Andy Bernard was always meant to be an unbearable character, yet he seemed to go from harmlessly annoying to just plain mean. At first, he was a man who just desperately wanted to be well-liked and respected.
Sure, his means of receiving that sense of praise and approval from his fellow co-workers was difficult to watch, but at least he was nice at the beginning. Yet during the final seasons of the show, there was a significant switch in his character and he got so insecure with himself that he took it out on other people.
GOT BETTER: PAM BEASLEY
Many fans of The Office argue that Pam's character declined significantly as the series went on, but we are going to have to kindly disagree with this opinion. At the beginning of the show's run, Pam was unable to allow herself any form of happiness. Her insecurities ran deep, and because of this, she let people walk all over her.
As time went on, we got to see a version of Pam who was much more inclined to self-respect and she refused to let other people treat her the way they used to. She suddenly had a voice and we were proud of Pam for finally pursuing her dreams.
GOT WORSE: ERIN HANNON
Erin Hannon started out as an awesome character who replaced Pam as the Dunder Mifflin receptionist. She was quirky, kind, and lovable, and she got along with pretty much everyone in the office. As we got to see more of her character though, her role was dumbed down significantly to the point where she came across as utterly oblivious. Her character became less endearing and a bit more cartoonish for our taste.