Jake Lacy in The Office and Early Career
Jake Lacy played Pete Miller, a customer service representative at Dunder Mifflin, in seasons 9 of The Office, the final season of the NBC sitcom that aired from 2005 to 2013. His character was part of the new generation of sales reps introduced after the Scranton branch merger, and he appeared in 22 episodes according to NBC and IMDb data. The Office, produced by Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Television, remains one of the most-streamed NBC sitcoms on Peacock and other platforms.
Before The Office, Lacy graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a BFA in acting and built credits in regional theater and short films. He moved to New York to pursue television work, booking guest roles on shows such as The Good Wife and Nurse Jackie, which helped him land the recurring part on The Office. His casting as Pete Miller aligned with NBC's strategy to refresh the ensemble for its final season while keeping the core cast intact.
Jake Lacy Movies and TV Shows After The Office
Film Roles and Lead Projects
After The Office, Lacy starred in the 2014 comedy film Obvious Child, a romantic drama about a woman navigating an unplanned pregnancy, where he played the love interest Max. He also appeared in the 2016 sports comedy Angry Birds Movie as the voice of the character Ross, a flightless bird, and in the 2018 film The Long Dumb Road as a supporting character on a cross-country road trip. Lacy took on the lead role of Shane in the 2020 HBO Max series Hacks, a comedy about a veteran comedian and her young writer, appearing in multiple episodes across seasons.
On television, Lacy played the lead role of Ben in the 2019 CBS sitcom Carol's Second Act, which ran for one season of 13 episodes before cancellation. He also had recurring roles in the Showtime series I'm Dying Up Here, a comedy about stand-up comeders in 1970s Los Angeles, and in the Hulu series The Girlfriend Experience, an anthology adaptation of the Steven Soderbergh film. Lacy has continued to work in both film and television, with credits that include the 2022 comedy film Bros, in which he played a supporting role as a love interest.
Jake Lacy Career Timeline and Industry Context
Streaming Era and Career Growth
Lacy's post-Office career reflects the shift in the television industry toward streaming platforms, with roles on HBO Max, Hulu, and Peacock aligning with the trend of actors moving between network and streaming projects. The streaming market in the United States grew from roughly 60% of households subscribing to at least one service in 2019 to over 80% by 2023, according to data from the Leichtman Research Group, creating more opportunities for actors in niche and ensemble projects.
Lacy's work in projects like Hacks and The Girlfriend Experience places him within a cohort of actors who gained visibility through single-camera comedy series, a format that has dominated awards and critical attention in the 2010s and 2020s. Industry data from the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists shows that actors in streaming series have seen increased visibility and award nominations compared to traditional network sitcoms, a trend that benefits actors with roles in both legacy and new platforms.
For broader context on the entertainment industry's shift toward streaming and its economic impact, the latest market analysis from Forbes provides data on how streaming revenues have reshaped studio strategies and actor compensation structures, available at