Nepotism (The Office)
| "Nepotism" | |
|---|---|
| The Office episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 7 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Jeffrey Blitz |
| Written by | Daniel Chun |
| Production code | 7001 |
| Original air date | September 23, 2010 |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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"Nepotism" is the seventh season premiere of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 127th episode overall. Written by Daniel Chun and directed by Jeffrey Blitz, the episode aired on NBC in the United States on September 23, 2010. The episode guest stars Kathy Bates as Jo Bennett, Evan Peters as Luke Cooper, and Hugh Dane as Hank.
The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In the episode, the office turns against Michael Scott when he refuses to fire the new office assistant, Luke (Peters), who has a terrible attitude and happens to be Michael's nephew. Meanwhile, after accidentally ruining one of Jim Halpert's (John Krasinski) pranks, Pam Halpert (Jenna Fischer) tries to prank Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) in return.
"Nepotism" received generally positive reviews from television critics; many commented upon the episode's opening lip dub, although some noted it did not advance any story arcs. According to Nielsen ratings, the episode was watched by 8.40 million viewers, a slight increase from the sixth season premiere, "Gossip", and it finished second in its timeslot.
The office returns from summer with a new office assistant, Luke (Evan Peters). However, it soon becomes clear that he only goofs off, deliberately messes up food and coffee runs, and has a poor attitude that leads everyone to openly despise him. When Michael (Steve Carell) steps up to defend him, it is revealed that Luke is Michael's nephew, whom Michael hired in hope that it will end the estrangement between him and his half sister, Luke's mother. The office demands Michael get rid of Luke, but he refuses. Later on in the day, the office employees discover the trunk of Luke's car is filled with packages from the office that he neglected to send (along with Michael's rejected pants from Talbot's). Since Luke is now costing the office customers, Gabe (Zach Woods) sends a heads-up on the situation to CEO Jo Bennett (Kathy Bates), who sternly tells Michael to deal with the situation. During a meeting Luke continues to rebel and act out, so Michael spanks him in front of the entire office, leaving Luke to quit and run away crying and the rest of them satisfied. Gabe assigns Michael six hours of counseling with Toby (Paul Lieberstein) after his 'physical assault' of a fellow employee; Michael is aghast at having to sit down with his archenemy, but under company policies the only alternative is termination.
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