The Office–Outer Banks Crossover You Missed Makes For A Hilarious Backstory

If there’s one thing you should know from watching teen dramas like Gossip Girl, The O.C., and Veronica Mars, it’s that you should never trust a rich dad, especially if they just so happen to employ one of the main characters. Rich dads always have an agenda! On Outer Banks, the shady wealthy father is Charles Esten’s Ward Cameron, who starts out relatively chill to Pogue ringleader John B. (Chase Stokes) before going batshit insane on him with a fish hook. Esten really delivers an unhinged performance, but fans may recognize him from outside the sandy shores of the OBX. Outer Banks’ Esten is Josh Porter from The Office. 

On The Office, Josh is the head of the Stamford branch of Dunder Mifflin. He appears in eight episodes of the show, during the second season — the first of which being “Valentine’s Day.” This is the episode in which Michael, played by Steve Carell, goes to New York and gets a slice of his favorite NYC pizza...at Sbarros. (It is my favorite bit.) Josh initially appears in a meeting scene with the other managers, during which Michael attempts to figure out what’s really going on between him and his boss/maybe girlfriend Jan (Melora Hardin). 

Though Josh isn’t a major Office character, some Outer Banks fans noticed him immediately — maybe because we’re spending a lot of time rewatching The Office on Netflix, which is also the home of Outer Banks. 

In addition to his time on The Office, Esten is known for his work as musician Deacon on Nashville, which ended in 2018. Deacon has his problems, but like, he’s not chasing after teenagers on yachts, or punching drug dealers to defend his awful son Rafe (Drew Starkey), or gaslighting his daughter Sarah (Madelyn Cline) so he can get away with a plane full of gold. He’s also recently appeared on shows like Tell Me a Story, Tell Me Your Secrets, (different shows, I know), and Disney Channel sitcom Jessie. 

Still, it’s Josh Porter that made a big splash with Outer Banks fans. As a palate cleanser between all the treasure hunting drama on Outer Banks, hop over to a season 2 episode of The Office. There’s at least one familiar face.