 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 . 
