‘The Office’: Revisit the Halloween Cold Open NBC Pulled After It Aired [Video]

Michael Scott really had no boundaries.

A clip circulating on social media revisits an infamous Halloween cold open from The Office, and if you don’t remember this particular trip through Dunder Mifflin’s haunted warehouse, there’s a reason. NBC removed it after its original broadcast.

The sequence opened the sixth season episode “Koi Pond,” which aired on October 29, 2009. The staff puts together a haunted attraction for children, with Rainn Wilson (House of 1000 Corpses) dressing Dwight as Billy the Puppet from Saw. Michael, played by Steve Carell, takes a very different approach.

Yes, his costume is a reference to “Dick in a Box,” the Saturday Night Live music video featuring Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg. An incredibly inappropriate choice for entertaining children, even before Michael stages a fake hanging in front of them.

The infamous banned Halloween cold open from The Office that you won’t find on @peacock or @netflix. Michael Scott really had no boundaries. https://t.co/vppKA1PWbv

— Dunder Mifflin (@DunderMifflinAS) October 21, 2026

While the footage often gets passed around as “banned,” its removal is more than an internet rumor. On Office Ladies, Jenna Fischer confirmed that the scene was filmed and broadcast before NBC intervened.

“After it aired, NBC decided to pull it from all future episodes,” Fischer explained. Angela Kinsey added that it wasn’t included among the DVD’s deleted scenes, either.

So this wasn’t a recent edit made for streaming or a joke suddenly deemed inappropriate by today’s standards. NBC pulled it back during the show’s original run.

Maybe you remember watching it that first night. Maybe this is your first encounter with Michael’s idea of a children’s Halloween event. Either way, Dwight’s Billy costume is worth a look.