Garden Party (The Office)

"Garden Party" is the fourth episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 156th episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on October 13, 2011. It was written by co-executive producer Justin Spitzer and was directed by David Rogers and marks Mindy Kaling's first credit as executive producer. "Garden Party" features guest appearances from Josh Groban, Dee Wallace, and Stephen Collins.

The series—presented as if it were a real documentary—depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In the episode, Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) throws a garden party at Schrute Farms to impress Robert California (James Spader), with Bernard's parents and brother in attendance. Meanwhile, Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) works to make it a classy event.

"Garden Party" features a substantial appearance by Josh Groban; Kaling had asked Groban if he could guest star in the series, through Twitter. The episode received mixed reviews from critics, with criticism towards its repetition of plot ideas. According to Nielsen Media Research, "Garden Party" drew more than 6 million viewers and received a 3.2 rating/8% share in the 18–49 demographic, staying even with the previous episode, "Lotto". It ranked third in its timeslot, and ranked as the highest-rated NBC series on Thursday.