All The Office References You Might Have Missed In Space Force Season 1
Since its 2020 debut, Netflix's "Space Force" has been a show that's continued to help Michael Scott fans across the globe fill "The Office"-less void they've been suffering through for nearly a decade now. Actor Steve Carell and "Office" showrunner Greg Daniels ultimately teamed up to bring the Scranton-loving masses a new, galactic twist on their popular workplace comedy formula. "Space Force" now sees Carell as an Air Force general who becomes the head of the United States Space Force (USSF). He stars alongside John Malkovich, Lisa Kudrow, Jane Lynch, Ben Schwartz, Tawny Newsome, and several others.
In Season 1, Carell's Mark Naird character is tasked with leading the president's newly established space agency while also trying to balance family life at home. A second season, which is set to premiere on February 18, will follow up on General Naird's personal struggles and also see what happens to his USSF team following their encounter with the Chinese astronauts on the moon. As we prepare for Season 2, let's look back at all the times when "Space Force" made us think about the wild and crazy gang from "The Office."
We're Moving to Colorado
In "Space Force," Steve Carell's Mark Naird gets appointed as USSF Chief of Operations, which requires him and his family to move to Wild Horse, Colorado. For fans of "The Office," the mention of the Centennial State serves as a very sensitive subject for them, seeing how Carell's Michael Scott wound up leaving the show after moving to Colorado.
"One career ends by moving to Colorado while another begins by moving to Colorado," pointed out Redditor u/MightyDishSoap back when "Space Force" first dropped on Netflix. "I didnt even notice this," replied another user.
Michael Scott's move out west came during Season 7 of "The Office" after he became engaged to Holly Flax (Amy Ryan). It wound up being the catalyst for the character's departure and one of the biggest moments in the sitcom's eight-year history. While the Colorado connection is not obvious at first, it's actually one of the more glaring instances of an "Office" callback. Others require having a keen eye.
Satellite Dunder M
It's an "Office" reference that many viewers missed on '"Space Force" the first time around, but Redditor u/peridotdiamonds was able to capture the moment with a screengrab. It comes during a scene showing a shot of satellites in orbit, one of which is dubbed "Dunder M" — an obvious reference to Greg Daniels' phony paper company in "The Office."
"Oh my god! I didn't notice that! That is BRILLIANT!" wrote Redditor u/ArnaudL. "The little details crack me up," gushed u/Kakopuffs. "I wonder how many of these were added/suggested by Carell himself," added u/peridotdiamonds.
Carell, along with Daniels, is a co-creator and producer for "Space Force," so it makes perfect sense that they'd want to do a few hat tips here and there to the sitcom that helped launch their careers into the stratosphere. It's part of what makes "Space Force' so enjoyable to watch, as pointed out by many viewers.
Big Tuna
Now, this is one that may not stand out as much, but that's also why it's on this list. There's a scene on "Space Force" where Gen. Naird is out to eat with a group of people and recommends ordering the tuna. "As soon as I saw this scene, I was like 'BIG TUNA!!'" wrote Redditor u/Amber0819 in a 2020 discussion thread.
During Season 3 of "The Office," John Krasinski's character Jim Halpert earns the nickname "Big Tuna" following his move to Stamford and subsequent promotion to Assistant Regional Manager. Jim hated the moniker — which had been given to him by Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) after he spotted Jim eating a tuna sandwich. However, it stuck and Andy continued to call Jim "Big Tuna" for quite some time. The reason Jim hated it, according to fans and Redditors, was because the name served as a reminder of his attempt to erase his life in Scranton, more specifically Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer). Before moving away, Jim used to eat a ham and cheese sandwich every day. But when he took the job in Stamford, he tried to change things up by eating tuna, instead.
"Every time Andy calls him Big Tuna (at least in the earlier seasons...maybe not towards the end of the series), Jim is not so much rolling his eyes at Andy as he is being reminded of this horrible time when he tried to scrub Pam from his life," explained Redditor u/god_in_this_chilis.
Dwight's friend Trevor
Described as "the weird squinty guy" from "Space Force" (per Inverse), comedian Chris Gethard is yet another easy-to-miss example of the show's strong connection to "The Office."
While he now plays an astronaut named Eddie, Gethard was previously recognized for playing Trevor, Dwight Schrute's (Rainn Wilson) friend and hired gun in the Season 9 episode, "The Target." He told Inverse back in December 2020 that series creator Greg Daniels had asked for him "personally."
"I got the job with one-days notice," Gethard said. "Because I didn't have time to prepare, it became, 'Let's just start bouncing stuff off each other.' I'm used to playing these nerd characters in Broad City and The Office, but for this role, they wanted to make it seem like I had just wandered out of the woods from the movie Deliverance." As Redditors point out, Gethard was someone that many people recognized during Season 1 of "Space Force" but didn't immediately know where from. "Omg I knew I knew him from somewhere but this totally connects the dots," wrote u/GlampingNotCamping. "I'm glad I'm not the only one that saw it," added u/bahdass.
Season 2 of "Space Force" will be dropping on Netflix on February 18.