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The Office Fan Ratings, Season 7

After each episode of The Office airs, fans rate it on a scale of 1 to 10.
Here are the ratings for Season 7.

  1. 7.19 Garage Sale (Avg Rating: 9.32/10)
  2. 7.22 Goodbye, Michael (Avg Rating: 9.01/10)
  3. 7.11-7.12 Classy Christmas (Avg Rating: 8.93/10)
  4. 7.24 Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager (Avg Rating: 8.81/10)
  5. 7.16 PDA (Avg Rating: 8.72/10)
  6. 7.06 Costume Contest (Avg Rating: 8.66/10)
  7. 7.21 Michael’s Last Dundies (Avg Rating: 8.56/10)
  8. 7.10 China (Avg Rating: 8.559/10)
  9. 7.17 Threat Level Midnight (Avg Rating: 8.53/10)
  10. 7.03 Andy’s Play (Avg Rating: 8.15/10)
  11. 7.13 Ultimatum (Avg Rating: 7.82/10)
  12. 7.15 The Search (Avg Rating: 7.81/10)
  13. 7.01 Nepotism (Avg Rating: 7.79/10)
  14. 7.09 WUPHF.COM (Avg Rating: 7.66/10)
  15. 7.05 The Sting (Avg Rating: 7.64/10)
  16. 7.02 Counseling (Avg Rating: 7.62/10)
  17. 7.04 Sex Ed (Avg Rating: 7.52/10)
  18. 7.08 Viewing Party (Avg Rating: 7.37/10)
  19. 7.18 Todd Packer (Avg Rating: 7.21/10)
  20. 7.14 The Seminar (Avg Rating: 7.05/10)
  21. 7.25-26 Search Committee (Avg Rating: 6.93/10)
  22. 7.23 The Inner Circle (Avg Rating: 6.86/10)
  23. 7.20 Training Day (Avg Rating: 6.68/10)
  24. 7.07 Christening (Avg Rating: 5.58/10)

See past ratings in the Fan Ratings Archive.

107 comments

  1. Sex Ed at the worst so far!!!!!! Very surprised by this,,,, I thought it was the best by a looooooonnnng way!

  2. The season so far has been strong, very funny and I love how the new characters have really come along well this year. It’s been great!

    I’ve heard people saying that the show had dipped in quality recently, but I never felt that. I can understand why however, I think the fact that Pam and Jim finally getting together was one of the reasons, people like the uncertainty.

    But anyway, it’s shaping up to be one of the best seasons of The Office.

  3. Still appointment TV, but I’m frustrated this season. It seems each episode has so much promise, and the stories are just falling flat. There’s a few scenes per episode that are great, but overall, the tone is just off. Last great episode for me start to finish was Broke.

  4. Don’t hate on me…I’m a huge office fan but…the beginning of this season has been dreadful. And they really haven’t used Steve Carell to his top potential, like they said they would.

    ‘Sex Ed’, in my opinion, is the first decent ep of the season. But maybe that’s because it reminded me of older office by means of Michael’s ex-girlfriends.

  5. Jan and Carol and Dwight made the ep for me, otherwise– meh. I don’t like Michael in sad, moony mode over Holly, and that kept me from giving it high marks. It just brought the whole tone down. Could have been fun but for that.

  7. They have definitely used Steve VERY well. Did you hear his call to Holly last episode? I thought 3 were great, 1 was ok.

  8. I like this season so far with the highlight being “Andy’s Play” and the next few episodes sound great but “Counseling” is one of my least favorite episodes of all time, so I feel mixed about this season so far.

  9. Lol it’s only been 4 episodes…

    This season already seems to be better than the last one, and I really liked [the second half of] Season 6.

    People think about the past too much.

  10. I think the writing so far has sacrificed the quality of several simultaneous sub-plots for one general plot that incorporates all the characters. I favor episodes that don’t have all the characters joined together.

  11. I would put ‘Sex Ed’ second. ‘Andy’s Play’ was so epic, I don’t think anything could beat it, at least for me. So far, this season has been great.

  13. gotta agree with most. What a start to the season, and the synopsis for the upcoming episodes have the potential to be even greater! Sex Ed to me was the funniest so far. Just can’t wait for the Halloween episode!

  16. Costume Contest worked because the focus shifted back to all the original characters especially Michael, Dwight, Jim and Pam.

  18. Costume Contest was so great! Loved how the main idea was centered on the original castmates! The OFfice is really heading back to its roots when Michael was still naive and Jim and Pam were cute as ever.
    I know this is really off topic: but I heard Ricky Gervais was coming to guest star sometime in the near future. I was thinking that he should play Michael’s father (since no audience member knows who he is). He should come back to reconnect with his son, Michael rant about how much he hates Jeff, but then something happens and Ricky just leaves abruptly. I’d love to see that!

  20. The pattern has always been the shows that highlight a nice dose of JAM will win every time. I hope we get a lot more of that in the coming shows.

  21. This season so far has been pretty good but is a bit more predictable than others. But I do love costume contest.

  22. I might rank “The Sting” above “Nepotism”, but apart from that, I’m pretty average, since I agree with the ratings of the episodes so far :-)

  23. Pretty solid ratings for the season so far, save for the Christening, which makes sense. Hopefully they can rebound next week with another strong episode!

  25. Wow. Lower than “Scott’s Tots” and “Mafia”. That’s saying something. Let’s hope this episode is a blip on the radar.

  26. This episode was hilarious…it reminded me of Phyllis’ Wedding until the short Andy & Michael stuff. 7 years in, I think they don’t have to stay so realistic on every episode. Kthx

  28. Kind of strange Viewing Party was so low. I pretty much agreed with the order until now. I would’ve thought it would place between Andy’s Play and Nepotism.

  29. I’m shocked that ‘Viewing Party’ is so low, it was a great episode. It’s second for me, after ‘Andy’s Play’.

  30. Very surprising since everybody seems to love Viewing Party. I know i do. It comes in 2nd for me after a 1st place tie of The Sting and Costume Contest.

  31. I’m surprised too – VIEWING PARTY was so much better than the all-over-the-place SEX ED. Interesting to see how the episodes have been ranked thus far this season.

  32. Count me in the confused camp. I had it third behind Costume Contest and Andy’s Play. They’re all real closely bunch behind the top two.

  33. While I enjoyed the first 6 episodes of this season, “Christening” and “Viewing Party” really didn’t do it for me. So far I’m not feeling that great about this season so far although I did love “The Sting” and “WUPHF.com.”

  34. Hooray for China!!! So glad people loved it. It’s my favorite so far! Awesome season!

  35. I’m really happy to see my top three episodes in the top three slots. Also, I have a feeling that “Classy Christmas” is going to top the charts.

  37. Enjoy one more day at the top Costume Contest! Everyone moves down a spot tomorrow I’m thinking. Only question is if Classy Christmas breaks the rare 9 barrier.

  38. Congrats to Rainn for directing such a wonderful episode. He obviously knows how to bring out the best in Steve. It was a tear dropping performance, and one of his all time best. The return of Amy Ryan is a wish come true, and kudos to Mindy for writting it. And I am also eager to see how Erin’s tender relationship with Michael continues to develop.

  39. I liked Classy Christmas a bit better on re-watch, but I prefer China and Costume Contest. I didn’t find terrorized, bleeding Jim particulary funny. I went into it, though, figuring that he would look like a fool somehow :-\

  40. Well it just missed being the third nine rated episode. Fourth behind Broke, Niagara and The Delivery. Keeping in mind ratings only date to season four. Not quite sure how Broke is #1. In this timeframe it’s certainly top 10, probably top 5. I think I’d go Niagara, Weight Loss, Classy Christmas, Broke, The Delivery. But honestly we’re splitting hairs here. You could proably convince me to flip the whole list.

    God help us all if there were ratings in season two and three and some of those (The Client, Casino Night, Beach Games, The Job I’m looking at you) didn’t break through the nine barrier too.

    [from tanster: yeah i wish i had ratings for past seasons (i actually do, but they’re using a different polling system, can’t be counted). i’m sure that casino night would have outranked pretty much everything. well maybe except niagara. :) ]

  41. It’s too bad ratings only go back to season 4. It would be interesting to see how ratings would differ from at the time of the original airing as opposed to looking back on it.

    It’s nearly impossible to get a 10/10 in an open poll but i’d say there’s a good handful that deserve that mark. This season alone China and Classy Christmas should be in the 9 bracket.

  42. What I don’t see is why Steve Carell hasn’t written any more episodes! I mean, he wrote Casino Night and that was the highest ranked episode of the series by fans. He co-wrote the 40-year Old Virgin and that was a huge hit! If he goes back to writing another episode, it could possibly be the best of the season, or series for that matter! He’s a HILARIOUS writer! I want him to do at least one more! That’s What She Said.

  43. After re-watching Counseling last night, I would definitely put it higher up in the order – it’s one of my favourites of this season (and that’s saying something since I think this is one of the best seasons ever so far).

  44. I re-watched Counseling last night too and it really is great. The Day Care cold opening was one of the funniest and i think best in the whole series.

  45. So far, my top 3 for this season has been:

    1. The Sting
    2. Classy Christmas
    3. Costume Contest

    Honorable mentions:
    Nepotism
    WUPHF.Com

  46. It’s funny…I tend to agree with the ratings in a general sense, but The Christening was one of my favorite episodes this season, which I think has been a strong one.

  48. Surprised The Seminar scored so low. I thought it was definitely better than Viewing Party. The Christening got the rating it deserved.

  50. i think they should bring back more Dwight, Jim and Pam storylines, especially with Michael Scott leaving, the relationship of Jim and Pam played a huge part in the popularity of the show in the early seasons, and so did the character of Dwight in general, PDA was a fantastic episode, Jim and Pam were just top class!

  51. I didn’t care for it at all. I much prefer the older episodes. I really liked The Casino Night Episode.

  55. Considering the fact that reviews I’ve read over the past few years referred to holiday episodes of The Office (that I happened to enjoy) as “lame,” I’m happy to see that the top three episodes of this season (for this week, at least) are the Christmas, Valentine’s, and Halloween episodes!

  56. I’m kind of surprised PDA wasn’t number one. I really enjoyed Classy Christmas however was a bit put off by the Dwight/Jim snowball fight. A little too cruel for me. Really didn’t like Christening or Viewing Party. Pam was mean in those episodes (I found). I agree with some of the statements here. If the writers would go back to the original Jim/Dwight relationship and keep giving us some heartwarming moments between Jim and Pam, the show could continue to thrive even without Steve.

  57. I really thought PDA would surpass Classy Christmas. CC is great, but i too like PDA better. China is also still an all time favorite. Any episode that relies on Jim/Dwight and Jim/Pam, and although rare, Pam/Dwight can do no wrong. Hopefully they remember that come season 8.

  58. I really thought Threat Level Midnight would be before China. I mean, it was instantly so funny!
    And I wasn’t really for PDA, I’m not sure why so many people loved it. Classy Christmas was the best.

  59. As weak as this season started out, I can’t believe ‘Todd Packer’ would be rated below the majority of those episodes. A quick glance at the comments about ‘Todd Packer’ suggested people liked the episode – or at least liked it better than the rating suggests. Thought it would at least be in the lower Top 10.

    Also, people are showing A LOT of love for PDA. I’ve watched PDA a couple of times now and I just don’t get it. I thought it was good-not-great. A borderline top 10 for me this season. Am I missing something?

  61. Why is “Todd Packer” so low? All of the comments seemed so positive. I thought it should be top 10 for sure.

  62. Todd Packer is a top 5 episode for sure. It was excellent and i definitely don’t agree with this rating. Also very surprising, as most people seemed to like it.

  63. So surprised to see an episode that had such a great “old school” vibe to it score so low. I don’t always agree with the ratings but i’ve never disagreed this much before.

  64. Man I really need to start voting weekly because I’m shocked that two of the funniest episodes of the year, “Viewing Party” and “Todd Packer,” are so low, while the vastly unfunny “China” is rated so high. In fact, “WUPHF.com” should be a tad higher in my opinion as well. “PDA” (at second) and “Christening” (dead last) are really the only two on that list that I think are in the correct spot.

    I LOVE OfficeTally, but I really wish we were able to vote on these episodes for the entire season, not just the 7 days following the airing. It seems like based on some of the comments, that ranking isn’t exactly accurate.

  66. For the most part, these episodes are pretty tightly bunched. There’s only about a 1 point difference between the 6th episode and the 16th episode.

  67. Part of the seeming discrepancy between the ratings and the comments could be the fact that there are many people voting who don’t post comments, and therefore, their opinions wouldn’t show up there. Certainly, for fans who are discouraged with the direction of the show, and who largely dislike new episodes, voting is a much safer way to have your say without drawing criticism from fans who don’t think the show has declined in quality.

  69. Isn’t 9.32 the highest score an episode has gotten on these fan ratings polls?
    Congratulations, Garage Sale!

    [from tanster: the polls i ran for seasons 2-3 (officetally started in the middle of season 2) used a different polling system, but if i had to make an educated guess, season 2’s ‘casino night’ is still the highest rated episode of the series. ‘garage sale’ would then be number 2.]

  70. Tanster,

    You really should go back (maybe over the summer) and have fan polls for all the episodes from seasons 1-3 using the current polling system. It would be a fun way to kill time during the break, and give people a chance to revisit a bunch of classic episodes.

    Then you’d have rating information for the entire series.

  71. Tanster,
    Have you ever done a “Greatest Office episode ever” poll? It seems like you have, but I can’t remember when. After Season 7 might be a good time to (re-)run one. Garage Sale was good, but I don’t really think it’s the best they’ve ever done. Sort of grading on a curve.

  72. Tanster: It makes me happy that my two favorite episodes and arguably the best written and most emotional of the entire series (Casino Night and Garage Sale) are the top two fan rated episodes!!!

  73. WOW. GS definitely deserved to break the 9.0 mark. That’s really great. The episodes that mix laughs with genuine heart will always be the best. I adored it but i still can’t say it’s my all time favorite. (I still say season 4 as a whole is extremely underrated)

    Another all-time favorite fan poll at the end of the season would be nice. Or what #70Greg said. There was one last year, i believe. Casino Night and Niagara took 1st and 2nd place.

  74. 9.32? I think people are letting their emotions get the best of them. Definitely one of the best episodes of the season. But one of the best of all time? No.

  75. @Dan I mostly agree. It is ONE of the best of all time, not THE best of all time. I’d put it in the top 10, not the top 5.

  76. I wouldn’t put Garage Sale in my top ten list, top 20 yea. Agree with those who say it’s good, but certainly not the best they’ve ever done.

  77. Ouch. I guess “Training Day” ranked low because it didn’t flow well with this season.

  78. I don’t suppose anyone on the show will put together that episodes where you make Jim and Pam look foolish get very low ratings here?

  79. I can’t believe “Training Day” got such a low rating. Second to last? Really? I still thought it was a great episode and I really liked it!

  80. It’s no surprise to me that “Training Day” is so low. Even without the Will Ferrell element that seemed to sway a lot of people, the episode just wasn’t that strong.

    “Garage Sale” isn’t one of my favourites of the season, although I do understand why it’s up there. I’m predicting that Michael’s final two episodes will beat it by a long shot.

  81. I think if we’re looking at all time favs, mine would have to be Casino Night, Cafe Disco and The Secret. Not sure who wrote those, but I know Steve wrote Casino Night. Hopefully he’ll write some more even when he is off the show. For this season, it’s definitely PDA. For me, that ranked head and shoulders above the rest this year. Anyone else notice that a poor storyline for jim and Pam equals poor ranking?

  82. I was really hoping “Goodbye, Michael” would overtake the overrated “Garage Sale”. “Goodbye” is the only episode I have ever given a 10 to. It deserves to be not only the highest rated of the season, but in the discussion for greatest of the entire series.

  84. I am SHOCKED that Goodbye Michael didn’t beat Garage Sale. I gave Goodbye Michael a 10!

  85. I’m kind of surprised that Goodbye, Michael didn’t win it – not just because it was a historically-significant moment in the series, but also because it featured everyone in The Office having their moment.

    P.S. I think you’ll find that generally the stories at the start of a multi-episode arc (Training Day, New Boss) are rated lower than those at the end of the arc (Broke, Goodbye Michael). Because the arc starts off with something unpleasant and ends with something redeeming.

  86. For me, a “10” is a perfect episode. And a perfect episode does not have Will Ferrell in it.

  87. The episode “Todd Packer” rated better than “The Inner Circle”, maybe they should bring him back.

  88. I know people miss Steve, but come on. “The Inner Circle” was a funny episode.

  90. It’s too bad The Inner Circle rated so low. I believe people were still hurting that Steve was no longer a part of the show. I myself thought it was one of the better episodes of the season.

  91. I am satisfied so far with every episode’s ratings. *coughespeciallytheinnercircle’scough*

  92. These Office Fan Ratings reveal the secret attraction of The Office:

    Group cast interactions-goofy, good-natured, inclusive-with a nice topping of Jim-Pam, ALWAYS win the highest ratings.

    Mean-spirited, stunt plots that don’t involve the entire cast, stunt casting like Will Ferrell, ALWAYS score the lowest ratings.

    We know what makes The Office work as a sitcom, and so do a few of the producers.

    BJ Novak has mentioned several times-DVD commentaries, TV shows, interviews- that his FAVORITE Office scenes are GROUP interactions about LITTLE things, and NOT big stunt plots.

    Tallyheads know the score, thanks to Tanster.

    GOOD-NATURED GROUP INTERACTIONS, WITH A PLEASANT JIM-PAM MOMENT, RULE.

    BAD-NATURED INTERACTIONS, WITH JIM-PAM ABSENT OR NOT THEMSELVES, FAIL.

  93. The Inner Circle was one of the funniest episodes of the season, probably the second funniest behind Michael’s Last Dundies. For some reason, it seems like we all forget this is a comedy, and these ratings don’t reflect how funny each episode was. I am glad the Michael leaving story arc is finally over, and next season we can finally get back to laugh out-loud, meaningless comedy we loved in season 2. Also, Garage Sale #1? This episode was sub-par until the final 5-minutes, and it wasn’t funny at all.

  94. Inner Circle was pretty much a classic Office episode, with Will Ferrell taking over Michael’s role as buffoonish boss. I’ve been against Ferrell from the beginning, but he really worked in this episode.

  95. “laugh out-loud, meaningless comedy we loved in season 2.”

    That is not how I remember Season 2. Especially since this is the five year anniversary of Casino Night.

  96. I miss Steve, too, but The Inner Circle was a solid episode and shouldn’t be ranked this low.

  97. Frankly, I’m amazed that Michael’s Last Dundies isn’t higher. I don’t get what was so great about PDA.

    For me, TD and TIC were weaker episodes, period. It had less to do with Michael leaving than the writing (of Vickers and in general) and the overall flat atmosphere. They both felt like stumbling blocks, not “classic Office”.

  98. I’m amazed Garage Sale scored so high. Other than the very end, i don’t quite get what was so amazing. Not better than episodes that were overall great from start to finish like Goodbye Michael, PDA, and Dwight K. Schrute.

    DKS was such a well balanced episode. I think it’ll be remembered as one of the best post-Michael era eps. Michael’s absence was not noticed or felt at all, fantastic for an episode so soon after his departure.

  99. I’m disappointed that Search Committee finished so low (I think Training Day should be higher as well). I can understand people wanting to know who the new boss is; I want to know as well! However, the episode was nicely done on its own, and, in my mind, that is what the rankings should represent. I am taking in a second viewing of the episode tonight, to see if my opinion changes at all.

  100. I’m shocked that the last episode didn’t finish higher. I loved it!

    Also, it’s criminal that Andy’s Play is only 10th. It’s my favorite episode of the entire series.

  101. I’m pretty happy overall with this year’s poll. I wasn’t in love with the finale so am happy it ended up towards the bottom.
    Thank you Tanster for all your hard work. It’s very much appreciated.

    [from tanster: you’re welcome! :) ]

  102. the top ten are the top ten that i’d pick. The order… i thought DKS, acting manager was brilliant. garage sale was solid. BTW agree that a strong j/p story is a necessity. So much depth in their relationship and it is so very real and beautiful and funny. We know what they are thinking and feeling without a single word.

  103. While I think Garage Sale is a great episode, Goodbye Michael is one of my all time favorite episodes and should be #1! But overall great poll (although I think Todd Packer should be higher) and pretty good season. To Tanster, when is the survivor poll coming?

    [from tanster: soon!]

  105. Garage Sale wasn’t bad, but it definitely wasn’t the best of the season, nor was it really anything special on its own besides the ending. There are plenty of better episodes.

    And PDA was downright horrible in my eyes. To see it ranked higher than Andy’s Play, Costume Contest, and China (all fantastic episodes) makes me depressed.

  106. I’m happy to hear the survivor poll is coming. Thanks Tanster!

    Overall this was a decent season, and as a whole better than season 6. And Search Committee was not that bad. It was hilarious and a great group piece. Miles better than Whistleblower.

    But it’s such a crime that Goodbye Michael isn’t at the top. It’s one of the best of the entire series, yet alone best of the season. Other favorites remain China, Dwight K Schrute, PDA, and Costume Contest.

  107. Months later, I’m still shocked that Viewing Party isn’t much higher. It makes me nostalgic for Jim’s BBQ in E-Mail Surveillance. Or the bar get-together from Cocktails. These outside of the office parties with these small moments from everyone are among my favorite episodes.

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