Review: LEGO 21336 The Office

It’s been a huge year for LEGO, and as we close off the year, I’m proud to bring to you an early review of 21336 The Office, the latest set from the LEGO Ideas theme featuring the beloved sitcom starring Steve Carell as the bumbling yet endearingly effective Michael Scott.

The Office is one of the biggest shows on TV, and has defined the 2000s. It’s so big that NBC paid half a billion dollars for the exclusive streaming rights, and is still one of the most watched, most memed, and most quoted modern American sitcoms.

When LEGO Ideas greenlit the project, they essentially entered a cheat code to print money, as anticipation, and hype for this set from the legions of Office fans, and soon-to-be LEGO converts will reach fever pitch when the LEGO The Office sets launches globally on 1 October 2022.

I’m a massive fan of The Office, and have spent countless hours watching, and rewatching the series, and was a huge part of my formative years in my early 20s, so I’ve been super excited about this set.

See below for regional pricing and product links – 21336 The Office will be available from LEGO.com, or your local LEGO store from 1 October onwards.

Without wasting any time, let’s jump into my review of the LEGO Ideas The Office set!

Oh, if you want to, you can also watch a video review of this set on my Youtube channel!

Special thanks to LEGO for sending this set for this review!

21336 The Office Set Details

Name: The Office
Set Number: 21336
Pieces: 1164
Price: AU$179.99 | US$119.99 | £104.99 – Buy from LEGO.com [AUS] [USA] [UK]
Exclusive to: LEGO.com / LEGO Stores
Theme: Ideas
LEGO Designers: Laura Perron (@perronnah), Chris Perron (@ctperron), Diego Sancho (Graphics) (@diegoisadesigner)
Release Date: 1 October 2022

The Office is the 6th LEGO set based on a pop culture/TV series, following the F.R.I.E.N.D.S Central Perk set, Big Bang Theory F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Apartments, 21328 Seinfeld and 10291 Queer Eye The Fab 5 Loft.

Here’s a look at the manual, which features the set, and some great Dunder Mifflin stationery as decorative elements.

Also love the back, with a pack of Dunder Mifflin multi-purpose copy paper, and their tagline and motto.

As usual, the manual features an introduction to The Office, and the essence of the show, a profile on fan designer JaiJai Lewis, as well as the design team, made up of Chris and Laura Perron, as well as Senior Graphic Designer Diego Sancho, who did all the heavy lifting with the minifigure and sticker design, cramming in an ungodly amount of The Office references and Easter Eggs into the set.

Here’s a look at the sticker sheet, which is huge. Under normal circumstances, I’d be livid with having to place so many stickers, but I’m not mad in this case, as LEGO were able to go absolutely ham with The Office references, ensuring that many of the sitcom’s timeless gags, and Easter Eggs were captured.

Stickers are a necessary evil here, as it would’ve been unfeasible to print so many elements, so I’ll let it slide.

But wow, taking a look at the sticker sheet, you instantly know that the set is in great hands and that this is a LEGO love letter to The Office.

The Building Experience

The build was fairly straight forward. The set design is very beginner-friendly, which is great as this will likely be many adults’ first LEGO sets in a while, so there isn’t anything too gnarly or complex here.

There’s plenty of fun furniture building, plenty of paper/bookshelves, but if you’re looking for a fun, challenging and innovative build, this isn’t the set for you.

LEGO The Office Minifigures

It’s absolutely bonkers that LEGO managed to include a whopping FIFTEEN minifigures in the set, with nearly all of The Office’s main, and recurring characters accounted for, with a few omissions like Andy Bernard and Erin Hannon who joined in later seasons.

That said, the entire core is here: Michael Scott, Dwight Schrute, Jim Halpert, Pam Beesly, Ryan Howard, Angela Martin, Oscar Martinez, Kevin Malone, Stanley Hudson, Kelly Kapoor, Phyllis Lapin Vance, Meredith Palmer, Creed Bratton, Toby Flenderson and Darryl Philbin.

The minifigures are the absolute star of the set, and Office fans will not be disappointed at all. With so many, LEGO have really nailed the brief here in terms of what fans really want in an Office set.

Here’s a look at the Creed, Dwight, Michael, Jim and Pam minifigures. Creed and Michael share the same torso which is slightly disappointing, but apart from that all the other characters are brand new and exclusive to the set.

Creed, Dwight and Jim are amazingly captured – Michael Scott looks a little young, and a bit too happy for me, but is passable. Pam’s pink cardigan is done really nicely, and props to Diego for capturing their facial expressions and features so well.

Creed’s holding some mung beans – very nutritious, but they smell like death.

Here’s a look at their back prints, and alternate faces. Jim has a slightly quizzical look – I do wish that we had a deadpan glare at the camera that he’s known for.

Next we have Meredith, Toby, Darryl, Kelly and Ryan, the office intern. Again, these 5 minifigures are done so well – I love Meredith’s jumper, Toby’s tan jacket, Darryl’s warehouse uniform, and Kelly’s brightly coloured outfits.

Here’s a look at their back prints, and dual-sided heads. The designers really got Ryan’s stubble-look bang on! Out of these 5, I think the only one that isn’t immediately recognisable is Toby – he really should have a more droopy, bored face.

And last but not least, we have Kevin, Angela, Oscar, Phyllis, and Stanley. LEGO have done a great job with this 5, although I do wish that they gave Angela medium legs as she’s really quite short.

Kevin’s balding head, Oscar’s purple shirt, and Stanley’s grumpy face are captured so well here.

Here’s a look at their back printing, and dual-sided face. I absolutely love how they captured the very essence of Stanley with both his expressions!

15 minifigures in a set that costs US$119.99 is tremendous value, especially since they’re licensed, and are all unique and exclusive to the set.

This could be a 16-character Collectible Minifigure Series, and these minifigures are the true heart and soul of the set, it really feels like the Office building is a nice little bonus, because these 15 minifigures of beloved Office characters are the set’s main drawcards.

Here’s a look at the completed build, which I must admit, was much larger than I expected. Chris and Laura have made great use of the space here, and we have the main areas such as the reception, Michael’s office, conference room, and sales team desks captured.

The footprint is much larger than the Queer 5 Loft, which is almost the same in terms of price, so you’re really getting quite a sizable set, which is great for display.

In terms of ingenious features, Michael’s office can slide in and out, allowing you to display and appreciate it on its own, which is quite a clever feature.

Here’s how the set looks when its populated with all the minifigures. In spite of there being a eye-wattering 15 minifigures, there’s plenty of space to place the characters, and once filled, they really do bring the set to life.

LEGO The Office Easter Eggs and References

The genius of this set, and why I think it’ll be a massive commercial success for LEGO is the sheer number of references and Easter Eggs they managed to cram into the set.

As I was building the set, it was so joyful discovering where all the Easter Eggs were hidden, and for big The Office fans like myself, it was a joy reliving these gags and scenes. In fact, I got distracted for most of the build, re-watching some of these references on Youtube, which I guarantee you will do as well.

Let’s take a look at some of the Easter Eggs and references!

Here’s a look at the Dunder Mifflin sign on the outside.

There’s the reception area, where Jim is constantly flirting with Pam, and the grey couch and armchair, as well as nifty little details like the clothes rack.

Here’s a bird’s eye view of Pam’s reception desk.

Over on the wall are some stickered elements such as the Teamwork motivational poster. I believe the JL is a nod to the initials of the fan designer, although I’m not sure what NMU and CG mean.

In the corner near the fax machine, is a nod to one of Jim’s classic pranks where he faxes Dwight notes from Future Dwight.

And of course, you can re-create Kevin spilling his famous chili all over the floor – one of the most iconic Office cold opens.

Over on the back are filing cabinets for the Accounting department, which is where Angela hides her kitten Garbage.

Speaking of Angela, she also comes with the Jazz Babies poster. It’s too cute that they used actual LEGO Babies in this illustration.

Next we take a look at Michael’s Office, which as you can imagine is also teeming with fun references.

There’s the World’s Best Boss, which is printed on a white coffee mug, as well as a Dundie Award statuette proudly displayed on his desk.

Here’s the furniture on the side.

And of course, there’s Michael’s certificate of authenticity, proving that he’s the owner of a quality Seyko timepiece. I’m not too sure where the American Eagle flag is from, so if you know which episode, let me know in the comments!

Over on the other side is the Golden Ticket, and some posters.

Over on Michael’s desk are my favourite references – you have a nod to Jan (his ex-girlfriend and boss), calling him, the Hiya Buddy post-it note from Pam.

Over on his desk is a nod to Michael trying to download an N3P (that’s not it) on his computer!

And in his drawer… a sketch of Threat Level Midnight, an action movie written by Michael Scott! I LOVE that they included this in the set.

And yes, Michael’s Carpet Surprise is also hidden underneath his desk.

Oh and Michael also comes with a giant cheque made out to science, which he hands to the Stripper who is dressed as a nurse.

Outside Michael’s office hangs the painting that Pam did, and Michael purchased – a drawing of their office building in Scranton.

Here’s a look at the Conference Room, which has 6 chairs (none on the side where Jim and Pam usually sit), but it’s still roomy enough.

In the conference room are some interchangeable stickered tiles, with nods to Diversity Day, and the birthday sign is a nod to when Jim and Dwight take over party planning committee duties when Kelly’s birthday is forgotten.

But those aren’t the only interchangeable stickers!

On the whiteboard is a nod to Michael falling for and joining a pyramid scheme, as well as the DVD logo hitting the corner, two classic gags.

You can also swap out the whiteboard for the Don’t Bother Luke diagram!

And on the TV, you can put on Lazy Scranton – I absolutely LOVE this illustration.

I can’t for the life of me remember what this is a reference to, and have completely blank – if you know, let me know in the comments!

Update: Thanks everyone for pointing it out! It’s the scene from when Ryan does a webcast on the TV to launch the new website, and Kelly smears pizza all over the screen!

The interchangeable stickers here are insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but demonstrates that LEGO went above and beyond, giving us additional options and to squeeze in even more Easter Eggs from beloved scenes from the show.

Here’s a look at Jim and Dwight’s desks. The desks are fairly dense with office equipment like a computer monitor, keyboards (in black for the first time, I believe), mousepads, phones and lamps.

Dwight’s desk is full of classic Dwight Shcrute accessories – for example, there are nunchuks in his drawer.

There’s also some Schrute-bucks (Stanley has a 5 cent Stanley nickel in his own drawer) – don’t ask me what the conversion rate between Schrute bucks and Stanley nickels are.

And there’s a sword hidden between the desks.

On Dwight’s desk is a bobblehead, and I love this – on his computer screen is a Schrute Farms B&B reference!

Jim’s references are fairly low-key – he has a ring in his drawer, a nod to him buying an engagement ring for Pam a week after they started dating.

That said, Jim has Dwight’s stapler in a jello – this is a printed piece, and is an awesome accessory that encapsulates one of Jim’s best-known pranks that isn’t Asian Jim.

Over on the other island, you can see a reference to Bob Vance from Vance Refrigerations, on Phyllis’ screen.

There’s an empty desk, presumably for Andy Bernard!

Speaking of Andy Bernard, there’s a really good reason behind his absence – he’s probably off to Anger Management after raging and punching a hole in the wall between Michael’s office and the conference room!

It’s so random, and confused me when I was building it until it clicked, but you are given the option to build the wall with or without the hole in it.

Oh and the Homer Simpson stuffed toy is also present, hanging out on the shelves, and cleverly made using recognisable colours, and a blank baby head!

Oh and there’s a bat included, a nod to the scene where Dwight accidentally traps a bat which then bites Meredith!

You can probably already tell, this set is really aimed at fans of The Office, with the sheer density of easter eggs and references squeezed in.

If you don’t watch The Office, this set is likely not for you, but if you do, or know someone that does, this set is just packed with so much nostalgia, and Office jokes that you can relive in LEGO form.

What I liked:

15 minifigures!
Absolutely stacked with Easter Eggs and references
Accessible and beginner-friendly
Much larger than expected
Incredible value for what you get

What I didn’t like:

A lot of stickers means a lot of crooked stickers
No Andy Bernard minifigure
No Prison Mike reference

FINAL THOUGHTS:

21336 The Office is a LEGO love letter to Dunder Mifflin fans, and if you have never watched the series, many of the set’s best qualities like the minifigures, and incredibly amount of Easter Eggs will likely fly over your head.

As a set, the value packed into The LEGO Office set is so surreal. 15 highly-detailed minifigures, and a set with a sizable footprint was such a surprise, all for US$119.99/AU$179.99, which considering what’s contained in the set, is an absolute steal.

LEGO making a set based on The Office was an inevitability, and one must question where a LEGO Ideas slot was necessary to be expended here, but with such a massive and loyal fanbase that has kept interest in this show alive (immortalised through memes and GIFs), this set is all but certain to be a monster commercial hit for LEGO.

As a huge The Office fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the set for what it is, and all the minifigure included. While the build was nothing to write home about (plenty of fun furniture builds, though!), the experience of reliving my university and early working life, when I used to watch episodes to finish off my day was delightful.

The Office absolutely still holds up today, and this set really filled me with nostalgic joy, and now that I’ve built and reviewed it, I just know that I’m going to sink hours back to rewatch my favourite episodes.

LEGO have done a phenomenal job with this set – 15 minifigures, and such a large build at this price range is great value, and they’re clearly betting that this will convert many The Office fans into AFOLs, and I can see this set being extremely popular as we head into Christmas.

21336 The Office is fan service and reference density done to absolute perfection, even if you have to contend with 50+ stickers.

Rating and score: 4/5 ★★★★✰

Build [3] – Very simple, but beginner-friendly, so it works great for those new to LEGO
Real Value [5] – Incredible value, with 15 minifigures, and a large-ish set that looks great on display
Innovation [3] – Not a lot of innovation here, but I really liked how well they’ve distilled the essence of the show
Coolness [4] – I love The Office, and this is hands down the best TV-sitcom set yet
Keepability [5] – I’m a big Office fan, and with so many great minifigures, this one’s a keeper

Thanks so much for reading my review of 21336 The Office! It will be available from LEGO.com, or your local LEGO store from 1 October 2022 onwards.

If you want to see more from this set, check out my Youtube channel for a video review!

Special thanks to LEGO for sending this set over for an early review!

What do you think of The Office LEGO set? Were there any references that you think LEGO missed?

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