Dwight and Angela. Kelly and Ryan. Erin and Andy. “The Office” certainly saw its fair share of couplings throughout its nine-year run. While audiences most loved to ship co-workers-turned-sweethearts Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer), no relationship was more fascinating to watch unfold than that of Dunder Mifflin’s Vice President of Northeast Sales Jan Levinson-Gould (Melora Hardin) and Scranton Branch Regional Manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell). The duo was sheer dysfunction at its most captivating. And nowhere is their destructive dynamic more wildly apparent than in the season four episode “Dinner Party,” in which they invite several of Michael’s fellow coupled-up employees for a meal at their supposed Scranton, Pennsylvania condo.
In an unusual move, filming of the episode (as well as all other episodes involving Michael’s condo) did not take place on a set but at an actual dwelling located deep in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. Said to be at 126 Kellum Ct. inside the Kellum Court complex, Michael’s condo is actually a two-story townhome at 7303 Bonnie Pl. in Reseda, just eight miles west of Chandler Valley Center Studios, where the series was lensed from seasons two through nine. (Season one was shot at the now-shuttered Century Studio Corporation at 3322 La Cienega Pl. in Culver City.)
In real life, the property is part of Hartford Homes, a gated community of 36 residences designed in 1987 by the Kaufman & Meeks architecture firm. Per a 1990 newspaper ad, the unit featured on “The Office” initially served as one of the complex’s model homes and therefore boasts “many upgrades.”
As purported on the show, Michael’s residence does indeed consist of three bedrooms – an owners’ suite, as well as two additional rooms which can easily be transformed into an office and a workspace, should you ever find yourself with a Jan in your life who is in need of both.
With 1,458 square feet spread across two floors, the townhouse also features three baths (two full, plus a powder room), a living room with a fireplace, a dining area and a large kitchen. Outside, on the 0.06-acre lot is a quaint patio.
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Image Credit: Lindsay Blake The location first shows up in the season two episode of “The Office” titled “Office Olympics,” when Michael initially buys the place. Fun fact – his real estate agent, Carol Stills, is played by none other than Carell’s real-life wife, Nancy.
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Image Credit: Realtor.com The townhouse last changed hands in October 2005, so MLS photos of the interior are not available online. But a neighboring unit at 7312 Bonnie Pl. (above), which bears the exact same layout, was sold in 2009 and the imagery from that sale provides some great comparison shots to what was shown on “The Office.”
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Image Credit: Realtor.com Director Paul Feig was interviewed by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey (who played surly accountant Angela Martin) for a recap of the “Office Olympics” episode for their podcast “Office Ladies” and explained how the townhouse landed its role on the show. He said, “You wanted something that had enough flow to it and openness that you weren’t gonna be stuck in little rooms, you know, with just basically walls as your background. So what I really liked about it is it had that kitchen that went through to the back patio.” The layout was especially useful for the scene in which Michael, upon learning that his mortgage will not be paid off until he is in his mid-70s, has a minor meltdown and storms from the kitchen straight into the backyard, burner grate in hand.
The townhouse went on to portray Michael’s condo throughout the remainder of Carell’s time on the series, including in the episodes “Fun Run,” “Dream Team,” “Threat Level Midnight” and, of course, 2008’s “Dinner Party,” which was also directed by Feig.
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Image Credit: Realtor.com “Dinner Party,” virtually all of which takes place inside the condo, went on to become one of the most beloved and critically-acclaimed episodes of the entire series. It is so seminal (That’s what she said!) that Andy Greene dedicated an entire chapter of his 2020 book, “The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s,” as well as a Rolling Stone article to breaking it down.
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Image Credit: Realtor.com Feig told “Office Ladies” that when Michael first purchased the condo, it was “stark, normal, cookie-cutter.” By the time of “Dinner Party,” though, that has all changed thanks to Jan, who has since moved in with him and completely revamped the place. A lot of attention to detail went into the redecoration. Not only were all of the homeowner’s actual furnishings removed and replaced with more Jan-centric décor, but many of the walls were repainted in dark grey tones, as well as Jan’s beloved eggshell white. Set decorators also brought in an Andy Warhol-inspired print of Jan, a Kimono wall hanging and a myriad photos of Jan by herself and with men other than Michael. The production team decked the space out with a lot of red elements, as well, to represent that Jan has turned the condo into a sort of hell for Michael.
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Image Credit: Realtor.com Incredibly, the bit concerning Michael sleeping on a bench at the end of the bed came straight from Feig’s time working as an intern. He told Greene, “I became friends with one of the women in the office and I would go kind of hang out with her occasionally. One day she took me to her house. She was living with a guy, and she was showing me around the house, and we look in the bedroom and there’s a little cot next to this king-size bed. I was like, ‘What’s that?’ and she was like, ‘Look, you’re a single man. You should learn from this. This man I’m with has issues with someone being in his bed.’ And so basically, after they had sex, she had to roll off onto this cot. I was like, ‘That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.’” Sad, yes – but it sure made for some great TV!
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Image Credit: Realtor.com The townhouse’s somewhat cramped layout played directly into the tension of “Dinner Party.” Kinsey shared with Rolling Stone, “It was a very small condo, which I thought was great. It was a very small living room, and we were all sort of wedged in on the sofa together and more people kept arriving. It was definitely a great foundation for this awkward comedy setting. You know? This very awkward dinner party in this very small space.”
The intimate spacing certainly served to create a sort of powder keg of explosive comedy. The result is 22 minutes of television perfection – so raw, so right, all night, alright, indeed!
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: Michael’s condo from “The Office” is located at 7303 Bonnie Pl. in Reseda. Please be aware the unit is in a gated community that is not open to the public. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.