| "Casual Friday" | |
|---|---|
| The Office episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 26 |
| Directed by | Brent Forrester |
| Written by | Anthony Q. Farrell |
| Cinematography by | Matt Sohn |
| Editing by | Claire Scanlon |
| Production code | 526 |
| Original air date | April 30, 2009 |
| Guest appearance | |
"Casual Friday" is the twenty-sixth episode of the fifth season of the television series The Office and the 98th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 30, 2009. In this episode, Michael, Pam and Ryan return to Dunder Mifflin as salespeople, and other members of the sales staff become upset when they do not get their old clients back that the Michael Scott Paper Company stole from them. Meanwhile, Jim tries to remain neutral about the situation and plays board games with Creed, and Casual Friday is reinstated in the office, with mixed results.
The episode was written by Anthony Q. Farrell and directed by Brent Forrester. The episode received generally positive reviews, with several commentators expressing relief that the series appeared to remain fresh following the six-episode "Michael Scott Paper Company" story arc, which had ended in the previous episode, "Broke". According to Nielsen ratings, "Casual Friday" was watched by 7.3 million viewers during its original broadcast, marking the lowest original episode rating of the fifth season until the May 14 season finale, "Company Picnic".