New murel highlights iconic Scranton-based TV show

SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Work on the new mural in Scranton has begun and the new art not only highlights the fictional characters of The Office, one of the most iconic shows based in Scranton it also represents the growing community in the Electric City.

Many people are keeping an eager eye on a new mural taking shape in Downtown Scranton.

The mural centers around the sitcom The Office, the home of the fictional Dunder Mifflin located in Scranton. It depicts the main characters from the beloved show.

The artist behind this mural is Kala Hagopian, a fine arts muralist and the founder of Hagopian Arts in Philadelphia.

One of the mural’s installers, who is a fan of the show, says he’s excited to be a part of this project.

“I think this is a really cool project I watched The Office show as a kid and like rewatched it as an adult. I’m almost tempted to watch it every night as I’m doing this installation, but this is really cool I think this is an interesting project to be a part of. I feel like this as you were saying means a lot to the community,” said mural installer Malachi Floyd.

The project is part of an ongoing series of public artworks developed by Scranton Tomorrow.

This mural behind me has been two years in the making, and with so much space to cover you may be wondering how much paint it all takes.

“It takes a good amount of gallons more than like 20 gallons of paint. You have to prime all the sheets which would normally take about like, two to three to like five gallons to prime about 90 sheets,” said Floyd.

The project manager at Scranton Tomorrow, Steve Ward, says this mural is important on a different level that people may not realize.

“The characters that are actually portrayed in the mural really are diverse and had some strong women in there, very successful people, and communities of color that are represented. And over the years the face of Scranton’s changed, so the mural is really going to reflect our community,” Ward explained.

The Office is a big part of Scranton’s history and this mural is seen as a full-circle monument to some.

“I was here 10 years ago when they had their Office Wrap Party on Courthouse Square, so it’s nice to see 10 years later that the show still has vibrancy and a connection to the community and actually able to bring it back to the town,” Ward continued.

Scranton Tomorrow showed 28/22 News what the complete mural will look like and the work is expected to be completed by Oct. 6.

On Saturday, Aug. 12, PA live! Host Rachel Malak will also emcee The Office Olympics during the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders Baseball Game at PNC field. Kate Flannery also known as “Meredith Palmer” will be there throughout the game.

Before the game, PA live! Co-host Chris Bohinski will kick things off by singing the star-spangled banner.