The Office US episode intended as a backdoor pilot for a spin-off was “The Farm.”
The season 9 episode was designed to introduce a possible series centered on Dwight Schrute, played by Rainn Wilson. The proposed spin-off would have followed Dwight and his family as they ran a beet farm and bed-and-breakfast, expanding the show’s world beyond the Scranton office.
Paul Lieberstein wrote and directed the episode. He had stepped down as The Office’s showrunner at the start of season 9 partly to devote more attention to developing the potential spin-off. NBC ultimately decided not to order the series, so the episode was revised with additional material to fit the parent show’s continuing story.
“The Farm” was the fifth episode produced for season 9 but the seventeenth to air. It is sometimes mistaken for a conventional Dwight-focused episode, but its unusual structure and family introduction reflect its original pilot purpose.