A closer look
Producers of the American version of The Office originally wanted to use the upbeat track Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra as the theme song, but changed it at the absolute last minute when another show claimed it first. They were forced to hastily pivot to the now-iconic accordion and piano instrumental that you have Pavlovianly learned to associate with the impending awkwardness of a Michael Scott diversity seminar. If a short-lived drama called LAX hadn't stolen their first choice, millions of people would currently be falling asleep on their couches every night to the sounds of seventies British rock instead of a jaunty little melodica riff. The defining auditory signature of millennial comfort viewing was essentially the result of a panicked scramble by television executives who just desperately needed something catchy to play over footage of Steve Carell aggressively adjusting a desktop paperweight
