Nepotism ( the Office ) - wikipedia Nepotism ( the Office ) `` Nepotism '' The Office episode Episode no. Season 7 Episode 1 Directed by Jeffrey Blitz Written by Daniel Chun Production code 7001 Original air date September 23, 2010 Running time 22 minutes Guest appearance ( s ) Kathy Bates as Jo Bennett Evan Peters as Luke Cooper Hugh Dane as Hank Episode chronology ← Previous `` Whistleblower '' Next → `` Counseling '' The Office ( U.S. season 7 ) List of The Office ( U.S. TV series ) episodes `` Nepotism '' is the seventh season premiere of the American comedy television series The Office and the show 's 127th episode overall. Written by Daniel Chun and directed by Jeffrey Blitz, the episode aired on NBC in the United States on September 23, 2010. The episode guest stars Kathy Bates as Jo Bennett, Evan Peters as Luke Cooper, and Hugh Dane as Hank. The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In the episode, the office turns against Michael Scott when he refuses to fire the new office assistant, Luke ( Peters ), who has a terrible attitude and happens to be Michael 's nephew. Meanwhile, after accidentally ruining one of Jim Halpert 's ( John Krasinski ) pranks, Pam Halpert ( Jenna Fischer ) tries to prank Dwight Schrute ( Rainn Wilson ) in return. `` Nepotism '' received generally positive reviews from television critics ; many commented upon the episode 's opening lip dub, although some noted it did not advance any story arcs. According to Nielsen ratings, the episode was watched by 8.4 million viewers, a slight increase from the sixth season premiere, `` Gossip '', and it finished second in its timeslot. Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Production 3 Cultural references 4 Reception 5 References 6 External links Synopsis The office returns from summer with a new office assistant, Luke ( Evan Peters ). However, it soon becomes clear that he only goofs off, deliberately messes up food and coffee runs, and has a poor attitude that leads everyone to openly despise him. When Michael ( Steve Carell ) steps up to defend him, it is revealed that Luke is Michael 's nephew, whom Michael hired in hope that it will end the estrangement between him and his half sister, Luke 's mother. The office demands Michael get rid of Luke, but he refuses. Later on in the day, the office employees discover the trunk of Luke 's car is filled with packages from the office that he neglected to send ( along with Michael 's rejected pants from Talbot 's ). Since Luke is now costing the office customers, Gabe ( Zach Woods ) sends a heads - up on the situation to CEO Jo Bennett ( Kathy Bates ), who sternly tells Michael to deal with the situation. During a meeting Luke continues to rebel and act out, so Michael spanks him in front of the entire office, leaving Luke to quit and run away crying and the rest of them satisfied. Gabe assigns Michael six hours of counseling with Toby ( Paul Lieberstein ) after his ' physical assault ' of a fellow employee ; Michael is aghast at having to sit down with his archenemy, but under company policies the only alternative is termination. Meanwhile, the rest of the office tells the camera crew what they 've been doing over the summer. Erin ( Ellie Kemper ) started dating Gabe, and Andy ( Ed Helms ) tries to play it cool by using his anger management techniques. Kelly attended a corporate training class as part of the `` Print in All Colors '' initiative for Sabre, and is trying to impress everyone by dressing up and ' sounding smarter '. Dwight ( Rainn Wilson ) bought the industrial park building, and Jim ( John Krasinski ) begins a lengthy prank to overload Dwight 's key ring with fake keys. Seeing Jim adding on keys, Pam ( Jenna Fischer ) involuntarily laughs, alerting Dwight to Jim 's prank. Though Jim tries to take it gracefully, Pam senses that he is mad at her for spoiling the prank, so she tries to make it up to him by devising a prank of her own. She enlists Kevin to rewire the elevator so the buttons all do different things. To her dismay, Kevin 's alterations to the elevator 's ' circus board ' result in Pam and Dwight getting trapped in the elevator together. In the end the backfired prank does impress Jim. Production Jeffrey Blitz directed `` Nepotism ''. `` Nepotism '' was written by Daniel Chun and directed by Jeffrey Blitz, both of whom had worked on several previous episodes of The Office as writer and director, respectively. It was the seventh season premiere, and the first new episode to be broadcast since Steve Carell publicly announced he would depart from The Office by the end of the seventh season. At the time that `` Nepotism '' was filmed, the writers and producers had not yet determined who would replace Michael Scott as the office 's manager, nor whether that character would be the primary protagonist of the show. `` Nepotism '' features Kathy Bates, Hugh Dane and Evan Peters in guest appearances as Jo Bennet, Hank Tate and Luke Cooper, respectively. It was also the first episode to feature Zach Woods as a regular cast member, although he had previously guest starred as Gabe Lewis in several sixth season episodes. `` Nepotism '' featured an updated opening credits sequence which more strongly highlighted the entire supporting cast, rather than just the main characters. Carell and Peters had previously appeared together in Sleepover ( 2004 ). The official website for The Office included three cut scenes from `` Nepotism '' within a week of its original release. In the first clip, Toby reveals that he self - published his murder mystery novel and sold four copies, but is now being sued for plagiarism, while Kevin interviews that he 's decided to deliberately lie all the time about everything. In the second clip, which is one minute and 17 seconds, Michael attempts to instruct Luke on how to use the photocopier. In the final clip, Dwight inquires about buying a robot. Cultural references During the cold open, the cast performs a lip dub to `` Nobody but Me '', performed by The Human Beinz, with the intention of placing the video on the Internet. This refers to an Internet meme trend that started with a 2009 YouTube video released by students of the Université du Québec à Montréal, in which hundreds of students lip - synched The Black Eyed Peas song `` I Gotta Feeling '' in one continuous take. Michael claims that during his summer he caught the West Nile virus, an illness commonly transported by mosquito bite. He also claims to have watched Inception, a Christopher Nolan - directed science fiction film that was critically and commercial successful in the summer of 2010. Michael alludes, however, that he may have only dreamed about watching the film, a reference to the ambiguity surrounding the movie 's plot about extracting information from dreams. In one scene, Darryl explains he blew out his knee playing softball over the summer and watched a great deal of the cable news network CNN, which led him to develop grave concerns about the ongoing War in Afghanistan. Throughout the episode, Dwight wears a CamelBak, a hydration backpack from which the wearer drinks water through a hose. When Jim comments on the outrageous number of keys on Dwight 's keyring, Dwight responds by saying, `` The bigger the keychain, the more powerful the man '', which Jim recognizes as a quote by the janitor from the show Scrubs. After pranking Dwight, Pam declares herself the `` Bart Simpson of Scranton '', a reference to the mischievous protagonist from the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Luke declares himself a lover of cinema and says his favorite films are Citizen Kane, a classic 1941 film by Orson Welles, and The Boondock Saints, a 1999 crime thriller film. Creed indicates he follows Luke on the social - networking website Twitter specifically because Luke does not write about the actress Betty White, who was particularly popular at the time the episode aired. The same day `` Nepotism '' was broadcast, White appeared in the second - season premiere of Community, another comedy series on NBC. While trying to recall the last time he saw Luke, Michael remembers it was the release year of Ace Ventura : When Nature Calls ( 1995 ), a comedy film starring Jim Carrey. Michael has Luke pick up pants for him from Talbots, a retail store that specializes in women 's clothing and accessories ; this also serves as a callback to the Season 3 episode `` The Negotiation '', where Michael accidentally bought and then wore a women 's pantsuit produced by a clothing brand called MISSterious. While reflecting on how difficult it is to work with family, he wonders aloud how the Ringling brothers have managed the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for so many years. He also claims that mixing family and business is a beautiful thing by illustrating what a bad idea it would have been to have open auditions for the band Hanson. Reception `` Nepotism '' first aired on September 23, 2010. In its original American broadcast, it was viewed by an estimated 8.40 million viewers with a 4.4 rating / 11 % share in the 18 -- 49 demographic coming second in its time slot and improving its rating by 1.80 million viewers from last season 's finale. `` Nepotism '' does n't change the game or reinvent the wheel for the aging mockumentary, but rather offers a slightly more energetic variation on the usual formula. If anything, only the outside knowledge that the seventh season represents Steve Carell 's final turn as career nincompoop Michael Scott affects the way we perceive this solid, if unremarkable entry into the series. `` '' Kevin Fitzpatrick, UGO Networks The Atlantic writer Suzanne Merkelson praised the episode, and felt the opening lip - syncing scene highlighted the talents of the entire cast. However, she said the subplots were not as strong as the main story involving Michael, which underscored the challenge writers would have in maintaining The Office after Steve Carell 's departure. The A.V. Club writer Myles McNutt, who said he was critical of the sixth season, said `` Nepotism '' was effective both in its main storyline involving Michael and Luke, and its B story involving Pam pulling a prank on Dwight. Although slightly disappointed that the episode did not allude to Michael 's eventual replacement, McNutt said `` Nepotism '' demonstrated The Office would continue to be the same show even without Carell. Aishini Thiyagarajan of The Cornell Daily Sun highly praised the episode, claiming it highlighted the best traits of all the characters. She especially praised the cold open and the ending scene with Michael spanking Luke. Phoebe Reilly of New York magazine said the episode lacked any poor points, and said it established the season as one of `` a mix of high jinks and heart ''. Rick Porter of Zap2it described `` Nepotism '' as `` an old - school episode '' with a strong main story and subplot, and praised Kelly 's new attitude following her executive training. His only criticism was that Dwight seemed too over-the - top, particularly while wielding a knife during the cold open lip dub. Kevin Fitzpatrick of UGO Networks said that this was a good episode, but not an especially important one which failed to advance any ongoing story lines. Although he called scenes like Michael spanking Luke and his defense of Luke during the meeting as `` classic Scott '', Fitzpatrick also said the episode does little to start establishing a proper send - off for the character 's final season. Time magazine television critic James Poniewozik called it `` a fine but unremarkable, meat - and - potatoes Office about a Michael screw - up '', which made him question whether the show could continue after Carell left. Although he complimented individual moments, Poniewozik called the cold open a `` self - congratulatory, awkward ( and ) unearned curtain call ''. Joel Keller of TV Squad praised the cold open, but felt the rest of the episode was extremely disappointing. Keller said few of the characters ' stories about how they spent their summers stood out, and said Michael 's spanking of Luke was awkward and unfunny. Brooklynne Kelly Peters of Blast magazine said the episode started strong with the lip synching cold open, but that the rest of the episode was not as funny as the series often is, describing it as `` mundane hilarity ''. References ^ Jump up to : `` Shows A-Z -- office, the on nbc ''. The Futon Critic. Retrieved July 21, 2010. Jump up ^ Gorman, Bill ( September 3, 2010 ). `` NBC `` Premiere Week '' Episode Descriptions ( Spoilers ! ) ``. TV by the Numbers. Retrieved September 4, 2010. Jump up ^ Hester, Jere ( September 23, 2010 ). `` Michael Scott 's Long Last Hurrah ''. WRC - TV. Retrieved September 26, 2010. Jump up ^ Stanhope, Kate ( September 23, 2010 ). `` The Office : The Pressure 's ( Not ) On for Steve Carell 's Last Year ''. TV Guide. Retrieved September 26, 2010. Jump up ^ Hibberd, James ( September 9, 2010 ). `` ' Office ' plan : How NBC will tackle replacing Carell ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 26, 2010. ^ Jump up to : Thiyagarajan, Aishini ( September 24, 2010 ). `` The Office Recap : Nepotism ''. The Cornell Daily Sun. Archived from the original on December 2, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2010. Jump up ^ Ausiello, Michael ; Patrick, Patrick ( June 16, 2010 ). `` Exclusive : ' The Office ' promotes ' Gabe ' to series regular ''. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 18, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2010. ^ Jump up to : McNutt, Myles ( September 23, 2010 ). `` The Office : `` Nepotism '' ``. The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 26, 2010. Jump up ^ `` The Office - Nepotism -- Clip One -- Video ''. NBC.com. Archived from the original on 2010 - 09 - 26. Retrieved 2010 - 09 - 24. Jump up ^ `` The Office - Nepotism -- Clip Two -- Video ''. NBC.com. Archived from the original on 2010 - 09 - 26. Retrieved 2010 - 09 - 27. Jump up ^ `` The Office - Nepotism -- Clip Three -- Video ''. NBC.com. Archived from the original on 2010 - 09 - 29. Retrieved 2010 - 09 - 28. ^ Jump up to : Merkelson, Suzanne ( September 4, 2010 ). `` ' The Office ' : The Beginning of the End for Michael Scott ''. The Atlantic. Retrieved September 26, 2010. ^ Jump up to : Reilly, Phoebe ( September 24, 2010 ). `` The Office Premiere Recap : Establishing a Pee Corner ''. New York. Retrieved September 26, 2010. ^ Jump up to : Fitzpatrick, Kevin ( September 23, 2010 ). `` The Office Does n't Play Favorites with `` Nepotism '' ``. UGO Networks. Archived from the original on September 26, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2010. ^ Jump up to : Porter, Rick ( September 24, 2010 ). `` ' The Office ' premiere : The Good, the bad and the Wuphf ''. Zap2it. Retrieved September 26, 2010. ^ Jump up to : Keller, Joel ( September 24, 2010 ). `` ' The Office ' Season 7, Episode 1 ( Premiere ) Recap ( VIDEO ) ''. TV Squad. Retrieved September 26, 2010. Jump up ^ Seidman, Robert ( September 24, 2010 ). `` TV Ratings Thursday : The Big Bang Theory Scores at 8pm ; Grey 's Anatomy Tops Night With Young Adults ; My Generation Premiere Stalls ''. TV by the Numbers. Retrieved September 24, 2010. Jump up ^ Seidman, Robert ( September 24, 2010 ). `` Thursday Finals : ' Big Bang Theory, ' ' $ # * ! My Dad Says, ' ' Grey 's Anatomy, ' ' The Office, ' ' The Mentalist, ' and ' Outsourced ' All Rise ; Private Practice Falls ''. TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 26, 2010. Retrieved 2010 - 09 - 24. Jump up ^ Poniewozik, James ( September 24, 2010 ). `` Office Watch : Spank You Very Much ''. Time. Retrieved September 26, 2010. Jump up ^ Peters, Brooklynne Kelly ( September 24, 2010 ). `` The Office and Outsourced recaps ''. Blast. Retrieved September 26, 2010. External links `` Nepotism '' at NBC.com `` Nepotism '' on IMDb `` Nepotism '' at TV.com The Office ( U.S. ) episodes Season 1 `` Pilot '' `` Diversity Day '' `` Health Care '' `` The Alliance '' `` Basketball '' `` Hot Girl '' Season 2 `` The Dundies '' `` Sexual Harassment '' `` Office Olympics '' `` The Fire '' `` Halloween '' `` The Fight '' `` The Client '' `` Performance Review '' `` Email Surveillance '' `` Christmas Party '' `` Booze Cruise '' `` The Injury '' `` The Secret '' `` The Carpet '' `` Boys and Girls '' `` Valentine 's Day '' `` Dwight 's Speech '' `` Take Your Daughter to Work Day '' `` Michael 's Birthday '' `` Drug Testing '' `` Conflict Resolution '' `` Casino Night '' Season 3 `` Gay Witch Hunt '' `` The Convention '' `` The Coup '' `` Grief Counseling '' `` Initiation '' `` Diwali '' `` Branch Closing '' `` The Merger '' `` The Convict '' `` A Benihana Christmas '' `` Back from Vacation '' `` Traveling Salesmen '' `` The Return '' `` Ben Franklin '' `` Phyllis ' Wedding '' `` Business School '' `` Cocktails '' `` The Negotiation '' `` Safety Training '' `` Product Recall '' `` Women 's Appreciation '' `` Beach Games '' `` The Job '' Season 4 `` Fun Run '' `` Dunder Mifflin Infinity '' `` Launch Party '' `` Money '' `` Local Ad '' `` Branch Wars '' `` Survivor Man '' `` The Deposition '' `` Dinner Party '' `` Chair Model '' `` Night Out '' `` Did I Stutter ? '' `` Job Fair '' `` Goodbye, Toby '' Season 5 `` Weight Loss '' `` Business Ethics '' `` Baby Shower '' `` Crime Aid '' `` Employee Transfer '' `` Customer Survey '' `` Business Trip '' `` Frame Toby '' `` The Surplus '' `` Moroccan Christmas '' `` The Duel '' `` Prince Family Paper '' `` Stress Relief '' `` Lecture Circuit '' `` Blood Drive '' `` Golden Ticket '' `` New Boss '' `` Two Weeks '' `` Dream Team '' `` Michael Scott Paper Company '' `` Heavy Competition '' `` Broke '' `` Casual Friday '' `` Cafe Disco '' `` Company Picnic '' Season 6 `` Gossip '' `` The Meeting '' `` The Promotion '' `` Niagara '' `` Mafia '' `` The Lover '' `` Koi Pond '' `` Double Date '' `` Murder '' `` Shareholder Meeting '' `` Scott 's Tots '' `` Secret Santa '' `` The Banker '' `` Sabre '' `` The Manager and the Salesman '' `` The Delivery '' `` St. Patrick 's Day '' `` New Leads '' `` Happy Hour '' `` Secretary 's Day '' `` Body Language '' `` The Cover - Up '' `` The Chump '' `` Whistleblower '' Season 7 `` Nepotism '' `` Counseling '' `` Andy 's Play '' `` Sex Ed '' `` The Sting `` Costume Contest '' `` Christening '' `` Viewing Party '' `` WUPHF.com '' `` China '' `` Classy Christmas '' `` Ultimatum '' `` The Seminar '' `` The Search '' `` PDA '' `` Threat Level Midnight '' `` Todd Packer '' `` Garage Sale '' `` Training Day '' `` Michael 's Last Dundies '' `` Goodbye, Michael '' `` The Inner Circle '' `` Dwight K. Schrute, ( Acting ) Manager '' `` Search Committee '' Season 8 `` The List '' `` The Incentive '' `` Lotto '' `` Garden Party '' `` Spooked '' `` Doomsday '' `` Pam 's Replacement '' `` Gettysburg '' `` Mrs. California '' `` Christmas Wishes '' `` Trivia '' `` Pool Party '' `` Jury Duty '' `` Special Project '' `` Tallahassee '' `` After Hours '' `` Test the Store '' `` Last Day in Florida '' `` Get the Girl '' `` Welcome Party '' `` Angry Andy '' `` Fundraiser '' `` Turf War '' `` Free Family Portrait Studio '' Season 9 `` New Guys '' `` Roy 's Wedding '' `` Andy 's Ancestry '' `` Work Bus '' `` Here Comes Treble '' `` The Boat '' `` The Whale '' `` The Target '' `` Dwight Christmas '' `` Lice '' `` Suit Warehouse '' `` Customer Loyalty '' `` Junior Salesman '' `` Vandalism '' `` Couples Discount '' `` Moving On '' `` The Farm '' `` Promos '' `` Stairmageddon '' `` Paper Airplane '' `` Livin ' the Dream '' `` A.A.R.M. '' `` Finale '' Webisodes The Accountants Kevin 's Loan The Outburst Blackmail Subtle Sexuality The Mentor The 3rd Floor The Podcast The Girl Next Door Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nepotism_(The_Office)&oldid=804356203 '' Categories : 2010 American television episodes The Office ( U.S. season 7 ) episodes Hidden categories : Good articles Tv.com template using numeric id Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 8 October 2017, at 13 : 14. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who plays michael's nephew on the office
Answer: Evan Peters