What Would Dwight Schrute Watch?
Other than Michael Scott's every move...
Hello watchers and feelers! (still workshopping that one…)
What have you been watching — and feeling? What TV series or movies have made you feel something lately? Comment below to share!
I’m back today with another “What would _____ watch?” post.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved the fictional characters from my favourite films and TV shows. Although I won’t claim to know everything about all of them, I’ve often wondered what some of them might watch, eat, drink, etc. if they were real. Perhaps you’ve wondered the same, or maybe you’re just happy to receive more film and TV recommendations in your inbox. Either way, I hope you find this fun!
If you’re on Instagram, give me a follow @watchthisfeelthat and/or on my main account @heatherheagney - I’ll be polling my followers each time I write another post for this series, so you can vote on which characters are chosen. If you don’t have Instagram, feel free to send me a message to tell me who you’d like to see featured.
Recently, the people — a.k.a. my Instagram followers — were polled, and the chosen character was Dwight Schrute from The (American) Office.
WHO IS DWIGHT SCHRUTE?
Dwight Kurt Schrute III or “Dwight from The Office” is a TV character so iconic, that the actor who played him (Rainn Wilson) will spend the rest of his life being referred to as him, whether he likes it or not (spoiler: he doesn’t love it). Last month on his podcast SoulBoom, Rainn joked that the character of Dwight is so associated with his public identity, that the name Dwight will likely be carved on his tombstone.
Dwight is the Assistant to the Regional Manager at the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He’s also a beet farmer and owner of Schrute Farms Bed & Breakfast. He’s tall, nerdy, weird, delusional, and socially cringeworthy, and there’s nothing he wants more than the approval and friendship of his boss, Michael Scott (Steve Carell).
It should be mentioned, especially for the die-hard Office fans, that Dwight is based on Gareth Keenan, a character from the original (British) version of The Office created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Also for the diehard Dwight fans — the film and TV recommendations below do not include Battlestar Galactica, The Crow, Star Wars, or Harry Potter — I wanted to imagine a world outside of those films he was known to love.
So I suppose the question is, “What else would Dwight Schrute watch?”
When he wants to form an alliance:
SURVIVOR
“Do you want to form…an alliance?”
In Season 1, Episode 4 of The Office, Dwight asks Jim (John Krasinski) the above question, in an attempt to avoid getting laid off amid corporate downsizing rumours at Dunder Mifflin. Jim agrees, mostly to humour him for his own enjoyment, saying, “Absolutely I do.” We’ve all seen the meme. Jim even references Survivor when telling Pam about it as they laugh at Dwight’s expense.
This alone tells me that Dwight would love watching Survivor — he would be a superfan and would likely submit audition tapes annually. When I imagine Dwight watching Survivor, I see him analyzing the other contestants, practicing puzzles and challenges at home, and telling himself and anyone within earshot that he’d be a better contestant than any of the other players due to his excellent survival skills and the training he received in the art of surveillance. His favourite past contestant would be Coach.
Given Dwight’s aggressive leadership style, his fate on Survivor would likely end with Jeff Probst snuffing out his torch early in the season, but I’m sure we’d at least get a few episodes to watch him make a homemade crossbow or show off his in-depth knowledge of piranhas and frogs.
IN CASE YOU’RE MORE OF A GREY’S FAN:
When he wants to save the day:
BACKDRAFT
In season 2, episode 4, Dwight sang with glee, “Ryan started the fire!” This was after he ran with abandon back into the burning Dunder Mifflin office building because Michael thought he left his cell phone inside. When Dwight returned to the parking lot, he had a burnt hand and smoke in his lungs, but he was overjoyed to have discovered the source of the fire: Ryan had put a cheese pita in the toaster oven set to “oven” instead of “toaster”.
Although Michael eventually found his cell phone in his pocket after asking Ryan to call it, this was a happy day for Dwight, as he exposed his bitter rival who was attracting all of Michael’s attention: Ryan the intern (BJ Novak).
Given Dwight’s former status as a volunteer sheriff and his instinct to save Michael’s cell phone, I think he would have enjoyed watching Backdraft. Not only is it a film about firefighters who work in the arson unit, but it’s also about two characters who are bitter rivals (brothers Stephen and Brian, played by Kurt Russell and William Baldwin). It’s also a movie into which Dwight would be able to escape, imagining himself as the hero who saves the day.
When he’s preparing for an epic karate battle:
COBRA KAI
Karate is one of Dwight’s many passions. In season 2, episode 6, we find out that he takes Goju-Ryu karate classes — in which he’s the only adult. This causes Jim to suggest that Michael and Dwight match up and fight to see who’s tougher, resulting in a hilariously silly battle at Dwight’s dojo. Although Michael “wins” the fight, Dwight is clearly stronger and the one who’s actually trained in karate.
So, it only seems natural that Dwight would love Cobra Kai — a dramedy TV series about middle-aged men who are longtime karate rivals.
MORE RECOMMENDATIONS:
When he needs to feel seen:
SUCCESSION
Dwight and Succession? Hear me out on this one.
Just as Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) on Succession has a blind, toxic love for his father, Dwight’s relationship with Michael Scott isn’t entirely dissimilar.
Both Kendall and Dwight oscillate between trying to earn the approval and love of their father figures and betraying them. Although there are moments in The Office when Michael shows that he cares for Dwight, for a large part of the series, Dwight is Michael’s whipping boy, just as Kendall is for Logan Roy (Brian Cox). Also, despite the ridicule and abuse they each receive, both Dwight and Kendall continually vie for the role in the company that they feel they deserve.
If Michael is Logan in this scenario, then Jim and Pam (Jenna Fischer) are Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook) — Dwight’s “siblings” who delight in mocking him as he blindly pursues his goal of succeeding Dunder Mifflin’s “throne” as the Regional Manager.
Whether he would recognize it or not, something tells me that Dwight would feel deeply seen while watching Succession.
When he needs a second life from his second life:
SEVERANCE
Although Dwight isn’t necessarily a tech whiz, he loves to play the role-playing computer game, Second Life. In season 4, episode 9, Jim shows Pam that he has discovered Dwight’s love of this game, shows her Dwight’s avatar, and tells her that Dwight has played the game so much, that he’s created a second life within his second life.
I can’t decide whether or not Dwight would love Severance or if it would give him nightmares. A brilliant series about office workers who undergo brain surgery to sever their non-work memories from their work memories, Severance is more like Black Mirror than The Office. However, after choosing this show for this post, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that its link to The Office was intentional. As told to the Hollywood Reporter in August 2022, Ben Stiller, the creator of Severance, shared how The Office inspired Severance:
The rest of the characters were all these interesting archetypes, in terms of the office and workplace culture. I love the show The Office, and it was hard not to think, “Oh, [Dylan] relates a little bit to Dwight in a way.”
My only question is — if Dwight were a character on Severance, which version of him would I prefer — his “innie” or his “outie”?
Happy watching, everyone!
Let me know in the comments what you think of these suggestions:
And if you’re enjoying watch this: feel that, please follow me on Instagram and watch for the next poll so you can vote on the next character in this series.
Heather
he would totally watch survivor 🤣
He would 100% idolize Johnny Lawrence!