Grief Counseling (The Office)

Grief Counseling (The Office)

"Grief Counseling" is the fourth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 32nd overall. The episode was written by co-executive producer Jennifer Celotta and directed by Roger Nygard, making it Nygard's only series credit. It first aired on NBC in the United States on October 12, 2006.

The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In the episode, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) is overcome with grief when he learns about the death of his former boss Ed Truck. Michael spends the rest of the day attempting grief counseling for the mostly grief-lacking office. Meanwhile, in Stamford Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Karen Filippelli (Rashida Jones) embark on a quest for a particular brand of potato chips.

The outdoor scenes were filmed during the summer, although the cast had to pretend like it was in the middle of winter; this included wearing coats. "Grief Counseling" earned a Nielsen rating of 4.1 with a 11 percent share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic and was watched by 8.83 million viewers. The episode was viewed favorably by most television critics; Pam's pranks and the bird funeral were a particular source of praise, as was Michael's monologue on the five stages of grief.