page_title: Trivia (The Office)
section_title: Production
hierarchical_section_title: Trivia (The Office) / Production
caption_attribution_description: English: A photo of the actor B.J. Novak
context_page_description: "Trivia" is the eleventh episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 163rd episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 12, 2012. It was written by Steve Hely and was directed by executive producer B. J. Novak.
  In this episode, Oscar Martinez reveals that he is partaking in a trivia contest in Philadelphia and Andy Bernard tries to get the entire office involved. Meanwhile, Dwight Schrute journeys to Florida and meets with his boss, Robert California, in order to explore other job opportunities.
  After airing, the episode sparked a debate among fans, as well as critics, as to whether former leading actor Steve Carell had made an uncredited cameo as a member of an opposing trivia team. NBC later denied that Carell had made an appearance and stated that the situation was just a coincidence. "Trivia" received mostly positive reviews from critics, with many noting that the episode marked an improvement from the first part of the season. Despite this, several reviews were critical of the Dwight sub-plot.
context_section_description: The episode was written by supervising producer Steve Hely, at the time, his second writing credit for the series. It was directed by executive producer and cast member B. J. Novak, who portrays Ryan Howard on the show. The episode also marks the fifth appearance of Lindsey Broad, who plays Cathy, Pam's replacement during her maternity leave. She appeared in a recurring role for the season and she initially appeared in "Pam's Replacement." Due to Jenna Fischer's actual pregnancy, Pam did not appear in the episode. After airing, the episode sparked a debate among fans, as well as critics, as to whether former leading actor Steve Carell had made an uncredited cameo as a member of an opposing trivia team, The Queerstein Bears. NBC later denied that Carell had made an appearance and stated that the situation was just a coincidence. The Season Eight DVD contains a number of deleted scenes from this episode. Notable cut scenes include Andy attempting to get the office to sell $800 worth of paper in a day, and Andy trying to switch team members in order to boost Dunder Mifflin A-Team's chance of winning.
caption: "Trivia" was directed by series star B. J. Novak.
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