Did ‘The Office’ Just Confirm Toby Was the Scranton Strangler?
The Office has been closed down for years, but not all was resolved. A persistent theory claims the Scranton Strangler is none other than Toby Flenderson, and NBC has even put out a new Making a Murderer-style video hinting as much.
For those understandably in need of a refresher, it was Season 6 of The Office that introduced a recurring gag about the “Scranton Strangler,” a serial killer that drove newspaper coverage and was eventually apprehended. Paul Lieberstein’s downtrodden Toby Flenderson even served as juror on his trial in Season 7, but came to believe they’d convicted an innocent man. Toby attempted to visit the man in prison, but himself was nearly strangled, seemingly settling the matter.
That said, persistent internet sleuths have crafted extensive theories that Toby himself was the killer, having been driven to violence over Jim and Pam (his crush)’s marriage, and his general lot in life. One such compilation of the various clues even went viral on Twitter this week:
Seemingly emboldened by the attention (and perhaps signaling an Office revival to come), NBC got in on the gag with the above Making a Murderer-style video. For the most part, it’s merely a compilation of scenes related to the Scranton Strangler and Toby’s occasionally suspicious behavior, but clearly meant to suggest fans are investigating the right suspect.
If and when NBC gets around to that Office revival, we may finally get answers. Stay tuned in the meantime.
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