‘The Office’ Cast Opens Up About ‘Prison Mike’ And Jokes About Race
Image via IMDb
In the The Convict episode of The Office, viewers meet Martin Nash, a Black staff member who recently transferred to the company. Nash, played by actor Wayne Wilderson, is revealed to be a reformed convict, who confesses that his experience in prison was better than working at Dunder Mifflin.
Upon hearing this, Michael turns himself into ‘Prison Mike’ to make sure everyone knows that prison is not a good place to be in. The episode highlighted racism in the country, and it is still relevant especially in the thick of anti-racism protests in the US.
In a recent episode of the Office Ladies podcast, former co-stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey discusses the The Convict episode and even reached out to Wilderson to learn more about how it was playing his character.
“Wow. I just watched [the episode] again. I watch it maybe every year or so. It’s such a good episode with everything that’s going on in the world now, you know?” Wilderson said in a voice memo.
“It feels a little even edgier at some points, but it’s super poignant for all the issues that we’re dealing with now, with race and how we deal with it, and what’s funny, and what’s not funny, and who can say what, [and] when.”
The episode was written by The Office UK creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and was aired in 2006. Wilderson said that the jokes and commentary in the episode seemed to hold up very well after 15 years later.
Fischer also pointed out how in the episode Michael would tell them about racism in the country. “Yes, this is when Michael says to us, ‘A Black man can be arrested for just about anything in this country.’” Fischer said.
In a 2018 interview with Esquire, Steve Carell said that he was against a reboot of The Office due to its inappropriate behavior and jokes. Carell shared that the jokes would not be accepted in society today.
The Convict would have been a controversial episode in 2020. However, it also illustrated harmful biases that are still relevant.
Rewatch the Prison Mike scene and listen to the full podcast episode below.
[via Mashable, cover image via IMDb]
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