| "New Guys" | |
|---|---|
| The Office episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 9 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Greg Daniels |
| Written by | Greg Daniels |
| Featured music | "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles |
| Cinematography by | Matt Sohn |
| Editing by |
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| Production code | 9001[1] |
| Original air date | September 20, 2012 |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
"New Guys" is the first episode of the ninth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 177th episode overall. It originally aired on NBC on September 20, 2012. The episode was written and directed by series creator Greg Daniels; this is his first writing credit for the series since the seventh season episode "Goodbye, Michael", and his first directing credit since "PDA".
The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, two new employees (Clark Duke and Jake Lacy) are hired by the Scranton branch and cause trouble for Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) and Jim Halpert (John Krasinski). Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) returns from manager training, hoping for revenge on Nellie Bertram (Catherine Tate). Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez) considers adopting Angela Lipton's (Angela Kinsey) cat. Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgartner) tries to save a turtle.
"New Guys" was the inception of several story arcs and saw the departures of Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor and B. J. Novak as Ryan Howard, due to their involvement in the former's own sitcom The Mindy Project. "New Guys" received largely positive pre-release reviews from television critics. Post-release reviews were mixed; while many felt that the episode was a distinct step in the right direction for the show, others took issues with some of the comedic aspects of the episode. "New Guys" was viewed by 4.28 million viewers and received a 2.1 rating among adults between the age of 18 and 49, making it the show's lowest-rated season premiere. The episode ranked second in its timeslot and was also the highest-rated NBC series of the night.