When the hit sitcom “The Office” left Netflix for Comcast’s new streaming service Peacock early this year, long-time fans found that they’d have to shell out at least $5 a month to binge all nine seasons of the show.
But starting next week, Comcast is giving fans a small treat in honor of the show’s birthday.
From March 18 to March 24, all episodes of “The Office” will be free to stream with ads on Peacock, meaning anyone with a basic Peacock subscription will be able to instantly unlock all nine seasons of the show and binge as much as they want within that one-week period.
“The Office,” which aired on NBC from 2005 to 2013, became the most-streamed show in the United States last year after another hit NBC series, “Friends,” left Netflix for AT&T’s startup streaming service HBO Max.
Comcast allowed Netflix’s rights to the show to expire at the start of the year, moving all nine seasons of “The Office” to Peacock while also offering fans extended cuts of certain shows for the first time.
Peacock offers three subscription tiers: A free, ad-supported subscription with a limited amount of content (typically, only the first two seasons of “The Office” are available on this tier), an ad-supported tier with thousands of movies and TV shows for $5 a month and an ultra-premium, ad-free tier for $10 a month.
Comcast’s video customers with X1 set-top boxes and Internet-only customers with Flex boxes are eligible to receive Peacock’s middle tier for free as part of their service. They can also upgrade to the ad-free version of Peacock for $5 a month.