Out of curiosity, why? There are a ton of shows on TV, and other outlets competing for time (film, video games...). It has never occurred to me for a minute to watch it.
...but in all honesty and candor, do you ever hear buzz about something and want to just sample it to see what's the what? That was a pretty big show for a while and when Steve Carrell sort of hit the big time it elevated it even more. Then add to it the "will he or won't he?" to the last season/finale, it wasn't a blip on the radar.
I admittedly am living under a culture rock, but I never heard any 'buzz.' I knew it was first a show in the UK, then here. I knew it had Steve Carell and the dude with the glasses in the picture a while back, but that was it. I have a good sense of what I will enjoy, and TV comedies over the past 10 years or so are low on the list.
I heard some "buzz," but not a lot (nothing approaching what I heard about Game of Thrones, for example). I knew Steve Carrell was on it but couldn't have told you the name of a single other person on the show (until Jenna Fisher got a bunch of pub during last year's Stanley Cup playoffs). I recall no "buzz" about the finale and didn't know there was a "will he or won't he" plot line (or who "he" is and what "he" did or didn't do). I'm always on the lookout for a good comedy, but what I did see didn't incline me to watch more. The only thing I can recall was an episode in which Steve Carrell's character and another character were going to visit a client (or going somewhere). Carrell was driving and using his new GPS unit, which directed him to drive into a lake. He pulled up to the lake and the other person was saying that they should turn around because the GPS was wrong. Carrell, however, insisted that they should proceed because the GPS must know something they don't. I believe they actually did drive into the lake, and that pretty much soured me from seeking out anything more.
I want to be clear; I'm not pulling that card. That "everyone watches that!" card. It's really more that it's a common reference HERE, as much as anything. Plus we're all sort of the same age, we're sort of the same in terms of popular things, and the other players - Rainn Wilson, Mindy Kaling, John what's-his-name - have all been in other things that have been mentioned... I meant no offense or disrespect, I just thought it interesting.
But is it really "common" if the show never drew more than 10 million viewers (barely more than 3% of the U.S. population in 2010) and never ranked in the top 40 most watched shows?
Carrell...I know him.
Gervais...I know him from other things but didn't know he was on the Office.
Wilson...literally never heard of her.
Kaling...I recall she had her own show a few years ago. I seem to recall seeing a few minutes of it and didn't think it was funny.
A lot of this sort of discussion happened with Game of Thrones also, but it doesn't surprise me to run into someone who never saw it. There are simply too many viewing options these days. I can appreciate what T-Ski was doing, though.
It he had done this I'd have gotten it instantaneously: I'm in advertising after doing statistical factoring and data reconfiguration for about 8 years. I live in Westchester, NY with my wife and adopted twins.