 The episode was the first original episode of The Office to be broadcast since the episode "The Deposition" on November 15, 2007, due to the effects of the 2007 – 2008 Writers Guild of America strike. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike at 12: 01AM Eastern Standard Time on November 5, 2007. Filming of The Office immediately halted on that date, as Steve Carell, who is a member of the WGA, refused to cross WGA picket lines. Members of Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West voted to end the 100-day strike on February 12, 2008. Writers were allowed to return to work on the same day. The WGA allowed for show runners to return to work on February 11, in preparation for the conclusion of the strike. The show runner for The Office, executive producer Greg Daniels, returned on the February 11, while the show's writers returned to work on February 13. If not for the writers' strike, this episode would have completed filming successfully during the week of November 5, 2007. Also, a Christmas episode would have been produced and aired, but that script was discarded as the strike lasted past the 2007 holiday season, the time of year when the potential episode would have aired.
