Second Drink: Dinner Party

Summary

Office Ladies Podcast: "Second Drink: Dinner Party"

Release Date: January 26, 2026
Hosts: Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey
Episode Focus: An in-depth, behind-the-scenes breakdown of "Dinner Party" (The Office, Season 4, Ep. 13), including cast & crew audio clips, fan dinner party horror stories, and production insights.

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Overview:

In this “Second Drink” episode, Jenna and Angela revisit The Office’s infamous “Dinner Party” episode—widely considered one of the show’s most awkward, hilarious, and cringey entries. They’re joined via audio by cast members Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, Ed Helms, Melora Hardin, Beth Grant, director Paul Feig, and writers Gene Stupnitsky & Lee Eisenberg. The episode weaves together fan story submissions, deep-dive trivia, and bloopers, providing the ultimate oral history for the legendary episode.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Fan-Favorite "Dinner Party" & Its Legacy

• Iconic Status: Universally cited as one of the most memorable episodes (“Arguably maybe the best episode of The Office.” – Jenna, 09:27)
• Initial Reception: Not immediately beloved; some viewers initially found it “too cringey and uncomfortable” but it’s grown into a classic over time.
  • “The loyal Office audiences hated it. It was really a very divisive episode… But once you watch it a second, a third and fourth, then it becomes fun. You can just enjoy the cringiness.” — Paul Feig (18:05–20:03)
• Network Doubts: NBC execs considered the episode “very dark,” but Greg Daniels stood firm (“Yep. And they were like, okay.” – Paul Feig, 15:48–16:08)

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2. Origins and Writing Inspiration

• Inspired by the play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: “It’s about a crazy older married couple who invites a younger couple over for dinner… and it's just this insane evening.” — Jenna (11:09–11:42)
• Working title: Who’s Afraid of Jan Levinson-Gould?
• The script received almost no rewrites, unique in series history. (“No rewrites. That is amazing.” – Jenna, 16:39–16:53)
• Writers Gene and Lee poured three weeks into the script during summer hiatus. (“They couldn't put it down, just kept adding details.” – Jenna, 12:16–12:50)
• Highest praise: Greg Daniels called the script “perfect” at the table read (13:48–14:16)
• Writers' strike delayed filming for four months, leaving the cast anxious about returning (17:04–17:08)

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3. Directorial and Production Insights

Paul Feig as Director

• Was not originally slated to direct, but got the episode due to the writers' strike shifting production schedules (18:05–20:03)
• Won a DGA directing award: “The only time I’ll ever get an award for anything.”
• Early doubts: “Another director was assigned, but they’d never done single-camera comedy.”
• Visual Details: Worked with writers on condo details (Jan’s Andy Warhol–style self-portrait, kimono on wall, cold color palette)

Filming Location & Set Design

• Condo was a real unit in Woodland Hills, CA. All the owner’s stuff was moved out and replaced with Office props.
• “All the items in Michael Scott's garage were things he bought from infomercials.” — Ed Helms (72:46–73:52)

Hiding Angela’s Pregnancy

• Series of physical gags and prop placements were devised to hide Angela's late-stage pregnancy (21:22–23:19)
• Example: Giant bouquet of flowers, oversized coat, standing behind surfaces (54:18–54:29)
• “There were meetings about how to hide my belly...” – Angela (22:09–22:36)

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4. Inside The Episode: Scene-by-Scene Highlights

The Awkwardness Unfolds

• Michael cons the entire office to stay late as a ruse to invite Jim and Pam (27:02–27:25)
• Fan-favorite deleted “ideal dinner party” talking head from Michael (28:57–29:36)

Condo Tour

• Jan’s “passive-aggressive” remarks begin with Pam’s wine: “This will be great to cook with.” (30:35–30:47)
• Condo is decorated largely with photos of Jan and other men—or just Jan alone (36:29–36:55)
• Jan has two separate workspaces; the desk chair’s plastic is still on, a deliberate set gag (37:26–37:32)
• Candle Room: Real candles, “insane” smell, actors told to act like entering a foul restroom (38:22–39:33)

Master Bedroom: The Bench

• Michael sleeps on a bench—true to director Paul Feig’s real-life inspiration: “The saddest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” (40:44–42:48)
• Scene is John McCain’s favorite from all of The Office (44:10–46:12)

Living Room: The Tiny Plasma TV

• Steve’s show-and-tell of his “plasma” TV became an on-set laughter apocalypse: “It probably took 19 or 20 takes before I was even able to stand up.” — John Krasinski (47:12–49:00)
  • Bloopers played on podcast. (49:47–50:23)
• Michael’s sad homemade end table, a recurring visual punchline

Dinner Guests Arrive

• Angela Martin’s immediate distaste for Michael’s hug; Andy’s layered prep look, including sweater-tied-around-neck (53:46–53:59)

The Osso Buco Delay & The Infamous "Oaky Afterbirth"

• Osso buco will “take three hours” more; Pam’s incredulous: “Do you mean three hours from now or…?" (55:42–55:56)
• Michael’s toast: “Oaky afterbirth”—an improv by Steve Carell (56:28)
• Multiple layers of quietly escalating cringes, coded barbs, and awkward power plays

Jan Dances to Hunter’s Song

• Melora Hardin (Jan) improvised the dance pulling Jim onto the floor, surprising both John & cast ("I watched yours and mine, because it was a surprise to all three of us.” – Angela, 57:46–57:49)
• The Hunter song: Not sung by actor Nicholas D’Agosto (Hunter), but by Todd Fancy (The New Pornographers). An extended version (not heard on the show) makes the song plainly about a Jan/Hunter affair (59:53–61:04)
• Andy’s “Ah, yeah, that gets me every time!” was improvised by Ed Helms (61:20)

Board Games, Escapes, and the Mental Chess of Jim & Pam

• Painfully revealing game of Celebrity; Jim tries (and spectacularly fails) to engineer an escape, drawing sharp viewer criticism: “People could not get past the fact that for a moment, Jim was willing to leave her there.” – Jenna (66:09–67:02)

Dinner Table: Culinary Curses and Domestic Hell

• Table reveals passive aggression at max: Jan, in red, ringed by candles, with Michael “in the flames of hell.” (69:14–70:13)
• Michael dips beef in wine due to “soft teeth;” Jan’s disgusted (95:09–95:29)
• Angela Martin covers her food with a napkin in disgust/good taste (98:01–98:34)

Dwight Arrives—With Babysitter and Lawn Chairs

• Dwight brings Melvina (his babysitter) and own food, folding chairs, and wine glasses. (“The wine glasses are the biggest ones you’ll ever see.” – Angela, 78:47)
• Beth Grant (Melvina) details struggling not to break during her entrance (81:57–83:03)

The Legendary "Snip, Snap, Snip, Snap"

• The vasectomy monologue was improvised by Steve Carell at director Paul Feig’s suggestion (83:39–84:53)
• “Do you know the physical toll that three vasectomies takes on a person?!” (79:45)
• Scene originally played dramatically until the “snip snap” take added the perfect laugh-break

Jan Smashes the TV

• Jan destroys the plasma TV with a Dundee in a fit of rage
• Only 5 TVs purchased, 4 broken for the filming (“...wasn’t a big target.” – Angela, 105:17)

Police Arrive—Chaos Ends

• Cops know Dwight from previous run-ins; Michael tries to “take the fall” but isn’t at fault
• Melvina (Beth Grant) gives Dwight the look at the bus stop as he leaves her stranded (110:49–111:13)

Finale: “Dinner Party” Aftermath

• Jan, alone, mending a Dundee, surrounded by her souvenirs
• Jim and Pam’s triumphant burger date; filmed at real mom-and-pop joint, now closed
• Andy and Angela’s car scene: classic on-set blooper, Ed Helms’ “confession” (108:35–110:24)

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• “If Jack Black showed up at your house as a clown, he would go all in.” — Jenna, 07:41
• “If there was room, [I'd invite] Jan—definitely. If there was room.” — Michael's Deleted Talking Head, 29:33
• “I have to say, Angela Martin is really happy to have someone to judge Pam with.” — Angela, 61:24
• “We see that Jan has turned a corner and...there is under this kind of external facade of blonde efficiency a very, very weird, egotistical, messed up human being under there.” — Rainn Wilson on Jan, 100:52–101:48
• “Do you know the physical toll that three vasectomies takes on a person?!” — Michael/Steve Carell, 79:45
• “Snip, snap! Snip, snap! Snip, snap!” — Michael/Steve Carell, 79:45
• “And I’m a candle maker, but you don’t hear me bragging about it.” — Jan, 99:48–100:09
• “You burn it, you buy it.” — Jan, 100:09
• “Women are warriors.” — Jenna, 91:17
• “You took me by the hand, made me a man...that one night you made everything all right…” — The Hunter Night Song, recurring, eg. 08:23
• “My TV... That was $200! Good luck paying me back on your $0 a year salary, babe.” — Michael, 103:53

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:12] – Episode format, special guest clips outlined (cast, director, writers)
• [10:17] – Steve Carell reads episode summary ("You are cordially invited… Snip, snap, snip, snap. Let’s get to it.")
• [18:05] – Paul Feig on almost missing out as director
• [27:02] – Kicking off “special assignment” ruse at the office
• [30:35] – Start of condo tour, Jan’s wine dig
• [36:29] – Set design: photos, Warhol-inspired print, kimono
• [38:22] – Candle room “smell” challenge explained
• [40:44] – Paul Feig’s real-life cot/bench story
• [47:12] – John Krasinski breaks down “the tiny TV” scene
• [53:46] – Andy’s preppy, multi-layered outfit catch
• [55:42] – The osso buco “three hour” moment
• [56:28] – Michael’s “oaky afterbirth” toast (improvised)
• [57:29] – Genesis of Jan’s surprise dance with Jim
• [64:14] – “Celebrity”/Charades game breakdown
• [66:09] – Jim tries to ditch Pam at the party, sparking fan debate
• [69:14] – Themed “hell” visual gags (Jan as devil, Michael in flames)
• [78:47] – Dwight’s arrival with lawn chairs, giant wine glasses
• [79:45] – The “snip, snap, snip, snap” vasectomy blowup
• [87:44] – Deleted kitchen scenes; “You have made this home...a house.”
• [104:19] – Melvina “calls it” after TV is smashed
• [110:49] – Beth Grant on her character’s “esoteric” bus stop ending

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Tone & Language

• Jenna and Angela’s tone is playful, affectionate, and self-deprecating, loaded with anecdotes, deep friendship, and a sense of grateful nostalgia.
• Guests maintain their trademark humor while providing candid (sometimes emotional) reflections.
• The discussions balance the behind-the-scenes technicalities (set design, prop management, hiding pregnancies) with the comically minute observations beloved by fans.

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Memorable Fan-Submitted "Dinner Party Horror Stories"

• [03:05] – Becca J. (Tennessee) Office quote (“oaky afterbirth”) goes over the heads of a dinner group—proving context is everything.
• [04:02] – Madeline O. (Clown hired as entertainment for a millennial dinner, leading to “cringe for me right now is I can barely handle it.” – Angela)

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Conclusion

This “Second Drink” episode cements the lore around The Office’s “Dinner Party” as both a cringe comedy masterpiece and a testament to creative risks at the height of the show’s powers. The hosts' blend of in-depth research, cast recollections, and exuberant tangent-spirals make this a true must-listen for fans and TV nerds alike.

Endnote:
“We hope we did it justice. This is one of our favorite memories of shooting the show.” — Jenna, [111:43]

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For further laughs:
Don’t miss the blooper reel and extended cut, where the on-set struggle not to break is as epic as the fictional dinner party itself.

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“Go light your candles, take a minute for yourself, and find some serenity.” — Angela, [112:01]

Transcript

[Angela Kinsey]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

Welcome to your second drink of dinner party. This is such a great breakdown. We got so many audio clips from our cast for this episode. We got Steve, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, Ed Helms, Melora Hardin, Beth Grant. Plus we got tidbits from the director Paul Feig and writers Gene Stupnsky and Lee Eisenberg.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's an epic episode. And we also discussed more about the dinner Party episode in Our Office Lady 6.0 episode Dinner Party Horror Stories. I was a little stumped as to what we might be able to add to the discussion in this second drink. But then I thought, why don't we read more of the fan letters from our submissions from Dinner Party Horror Stories?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, there were so many good ones. If you remember, we asked you all to send in your own Dinner Party Horror stories, and you guys really delivered. I'm going to start us off with one from Becca J. In Tennessee.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

Becca says when applying for medical residencies, it's common to have a dinner with current residents. This way, everyone gets a sense of the culture and if you like them, and vice versa. Like many of the group, I ordered a glass of wine. Then I quoted Michael Scott and said I was getting an Okie afterbirth. Unfortunately, my dinner companions were not familiar with the US Office, including an Aussie who complained about the show after I explained my weird phrase. Ultimately, I matched with that program and I made great friends and I introduced the office to. To many residents.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, could you imagine the crickets if you said your wine had an oaky afterbirth to people who didn't get the inside joke, the office reference.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, what if this is a room full of residents? What if some of them are like OB GYNs, and they're like, what is happening?

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I liked this one from Madeline O. Who said, one time my husband and I were invited to our neighbor's house for dinner. She is single and mid-60s, and she had invited us and a few other neighbors our age to come. She provided all the food, had the best dishes out. It was a very fancy and proper occasion. Everyone was chatting quietly while we were just finishing our dinner in her dining room, and there was a knock. She said, oh, the entertainment is here. It was a clown. She had hired a clown to come entertain us millennials.

[Angela Kinsey]

The cringe for me right now is I can barely handle it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Madeline said. We were all very weirded out, but we sat politely in the living room while the clown gave us a performance clearly made for a fourth grader's birthday party.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my gosh.

[Jenna Fischer]

Eventually, the clown left. Needless to say, we never had another dinner party with her. Oh, there's so much about this.

[Angela Kinsey]

There's so much about this. First of all, clown's just doing his or her job. That's what they do. They do clown parties for fourth graders.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

So imagine the clown guy. Like, you have a real choice in this moment. Do I go so hard and Fully commit.

[Jenna Fischer]

Right.

[Angela Kinsey]

Or do I back off a little because I realize maybe I'm not the clown they wanted to hire? Or am I like, fuck you guys. Are you pranking me?

[Jenna Fischer]

Here's the thing I know about clowns, is that they take clowning very seriously. I mean, there's, like, clown colleges.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

So I have to imagine that this clown just committed.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. I would go so hard.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. I feel bad for this woman because it sounds like this dinner party started out nice. She got out her fancy dishes. She provided all the food. Something happened.

[Angela Kinsey]

What was the mistake?

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, it was the clown.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I know, but how did we get there?

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't know.

[Angela Kinsey]

What's our train of thought? This whole thing with this clown. Like, do they commit? Do they not commit? Right. It's making me think of this interview I just saw Jack Black do on Seth Meyers. Well, I'll let him explain it, but Jack Black was in an SNL sketch that bombed, but he didn't take his foot off the gas. He just.

[Jenna Fischer]

He fully committed.

[Beth Grant]

He did.

[Angela Kinsey]

He said, I only have one gear. You gotta hear this. This is a tangent, but that's what this is making me think of, this talk about dinner parties gone wrong, this kind of vibe.

[Jenna Fischer]

You had a sketch that did not air that is still incredibly beloved among.

[Angela Kinsey]

My cohort from that era, which was.

[Jenna Fischer]

Written by Amy Poehler and Emily Spivey.

[John Krasinski]

Boys Night Out.

[Paul Feig]

Oh, yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Boys Night out was a guy.

[Angela Kinsey]

He was very excited because his wife.

[John Krasinski]

Was going out for the day and he was gonna have a boys Night out. I pitched it to Amy, and Amy wrote it up for me. Yeah, Bespoke for me.

[Jenna Fischer]

And it was just a little song.

[Angela Kinsey]

I was like, I think it'd be.

[John Krasinski]

Really fun to come out and sing a song.

[Angela Kinsey]

Boys Night Out. Boys Night Out. And Amy was like, I'm on it.

[John Krasinski]

And she wrote it, God bless her.

[Jenna Fischer]

And I thought it was funny.

[John Krasinski]

But then, yeah, in the dress, it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Really took a dump skate.

[John Krasinski]

And it was like, it's out.

[Jenna Fischer]

And I agreed with Lauren.

[Angela Kinsey]

I was like, no. Yeah, I do.

[Jenna Fischer]

I will say, like, it took a dumpski.

[Angela Kinsey]

Not.

[Jenna Fischer]

And you never took your foot off the gas. We all knew it wasn't gonna go to air. We're like, look at Jack trying his hardest.

[Angela Kinsey]

I've only got one gear, as anyone who knows me knows.

[Jenna Fischer]

Ah. See, if Jack Black showed up at.

[Angela Kinsey]

Your house as a clown, he was.

[Jenna Fischer]

He'd go all in.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's how I pictured this moment at.

[Jenna Fischer]

This woman's dinner party. Oh, well, thank you Everybody, for sending in your letters. We hope you enjoy this breakdown dinner party. I'm Jenna Fisher.

[Angela Kinsey]

And I'm Angela Kinsey.

[Jenna Fischer]

We were on the Office together, and we're best friends. And now we're doing the ultimate Office Rewatch podcast just for you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Each week, we will break down an episode of the Office and give exclusive behind the scenes stories that only two people who were there can tell you.

[Jenna Fischer]

We're the Office ladies.

[Angela Kinsey]

You took me by the hand made me a man that one night you made everything all right oh, that one night, baby that one night.

[Jenna Fischer]

I have tears in my eyes because I am so excited. You know what that song means? That means it's time for a dinner party.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my gosh, I'm so excited. You and I watched this episode so many times over and over this week, and I'm telling you, I loved it every single time.

[Jenna Fischer]

Angela, My husband Lee had never seen this episode.

[Angela Kinsey]

How is that possible? That is crazy.

[Jenna Fischer]

I got to watch it with a person who's never seen it. I thought he was going to choke, he was laughing so hard, Especially during the condo tour. He couldn't catch his breath.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, my whole family had to watch it over and over. Each one of them watched it with me once.

[Jenna Fischer]

Guys, it is season four, episode 13, written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, directed by Paul Feig. Arguably maybe the best episode of the Office.

[Angela Kinsey]

Definitely one of the most memorable. Every time Jenna and I are, you know, doing interviews or talking about the show, this is an episode we are always asked about. I feel so honored that I got to be at that awkward dinner table. What a great lifelong memory. And we have some really special things.

[Jenna Fischer]

For you today, starting with the summary. I'm not reading the summary today, Angela.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, no, no, no, no. You know who needs to read the summary? The host of the dinner party himself, Mr. Steve Carell.

[Jenna Fischer]

You are cordially invited to Michael and Jan's condo for a last minute couples only dinner party. Attendance is limited. We only have six wine glasses. Join Jim and Pam, Angela and Andy, and eventually Dwight and his former babysitter for an evening of drinks, games, music, candles, oso buco, and a home tour like no other. Snip, snap, Snip, snap. Let's get to it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Thank you, Steve Carell, for reading our summary.

[Jenna Fischer]

So, guys, we were a little nervous about this one because it is such a big episode. We wanted to really do a good.

[Angela Kinsey]

Job and there is so much to cover. So Jenna and I reached out to all of the guests of The Dinner Party. And also to our writers and our director, Paul Feig. And everyone is sending in audio clips.

[Jenna Fischer]

Let's get started fast. Fact number one. This episode was written by Jean Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg. I spoke with both of them. Angela. Jean told me that the inspiration for this episode was the Edward Albee play who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Now, if you guys don't know this play, it is amazing. And it is about a crazy older married couple who invites a younger couple from their work over for a dinner party. And it's just this insane evening.

[Angela Kinsey]

It completely goes off the rails.

[Jenna Fischer]

There's a movie version starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton that is crazy good. You can check it out. If you liked this episode, you'll like that movie. Here's a little fun fact from Lee Eisenberg. The original working title for this episode was who's Afraid of Jan Levinson Gould? Which makes total sense to me because Jan Levinson Gould really brings it.

[Angela Kinsey]

She scared the bejesus out of me in this episode. There are a few moments where she looks at Pam where I was like, I would not want to be Pam today, for sure.

[Jenna Fischer]

Jean told me that they were assigned this script right before the writers went on their summer hiatus in June of 2007. So, guys, we would go on this little hiatus every summer, and the writers could go off and write episodes. Normally, writers only got one week to write an episode, but because they were on hiatus, they had three weeks to work on this episode. I mean, they only got paid for one, but they said they couldn't put it down. They just kept adding details and details. They used their whole hiatus to write it.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, I think it shows. I don't want to change the whole structure of how we do television. Maybe we should all get three weeks for a script. Just saying.

[Jenna Fischer]

So we had a fan question from Megan W. And Meredith H. Who want to know what everyone's initial reaction to this episode was when we did the table read. Oh, guys.

[Angela Kinsey]

One of the first people I reached out to was Melora, and she responded immediately. Here is Melora's reaction to getting the script.

[Melora Hardin]

When I read the Dinner Party episode, I was definitely just blown away. I was on the floor laughing and really felt like it was gonna be so much fun. I just couldn't wait to sink my teeth into it. It just felt like, you know, all of the wonderful, unhealthy and completely dysfunctional elements of Jan and Michael kind of coming to a head, and I couldn't really wait to dive in and get going, Angela.

[Jenna Fischer]

Gene told me that during the table read of this, he sweated through his shirt. He said it started off a little quiet because the episode is pretty dark, but that by the end, when the cop says, not now, Dwight, the whole room just erupted into laughter. And afterwards, Greg Daniels came up to him and Lee and said, this script was perfect.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wow.

[Jenna Fischer]

So Gene reminded me that before he and Lee got their jobs on the Office, Jean had been working part time as Harold Ramis's nanny, and Lee was a temp at hbo. And he just said, greg changed our lives. So hearing from this man who was our mentor, telling us we nailed it, it was the highest compliment he ever received as a writer.

[Angela Kinsey]

I bet that means so much to them. You know, Jenna, here's what I remember about this table read. I do remember this build. It started and it just took over the room. People were laughing and then laughing and then really laughing. And by the end, that final line of the script, everyone started applauding. And I remember the applause lasted for like a minute.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

It must have felt so amazing for Jean and Lee to see their hard work just have that kind of adoration in the moment.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, get this, guys. I guess the folks at NBC did not love this script.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, no.

[Jenna Fischer]

After the table read, Greg had a phone call with NBC.

[Angela Kinsey]

Uh oh.

[Jenna Fischer]

When we asked Rainn Wilson about this episode, he talks about that phone call dinner party.

[Paul Feig]

It is one of the top three all time great Office episodes. It's absolutely extraordinary.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's a pretty dark episode.

[Paul Feig]

And after the table read, I heard a story from Greg Daniels that the network was like, that's a very dark episode. And Greg was like, yes, yes, it is. They're like, are we sure we want it so dark? And Greg was like, yep. And they were like, okay.

[John Krasinski]

And then we proceeded.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know, I feel like if this episode had come earlier in our run, maybe it wouldn't have happened, right? Maybe NBC would have given notes and Greg would have maybe had to sort of pick his battles. But at this point, our show was so established and critically acclaimed and had won awards, I feel like Greg was able to confidently say to them, like, yeah, this is the show, this is how it's written, and we're gonna do it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Gene and Lee told me that they did not do a rewrite on this script.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wow, you guys, all of our episodes, as amazing as they were, would go through several rewrites. That's just kind of how a script comes to be. So for this to not have a single rewrite, that Is amazing.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. So we had this amazing script. We're all ready to shoot this amazing episode, and then we got shut down because of the writers strike.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

For four months, we had to wait.

[Angela Kinsey]

It was just a very surreal time because so many shows that shut down did not come back. They weren't able to survive the strike. And the fact that we were able to come back and we knew we had scripts waiting for us was huge. But it was really important for us as a cast that we stand with our writers and support them.

[Jenna Fischer]

Jean and Lee said it was really surreal because they went from writing this episode, having this table read, to picketing their own set.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And it was so, so bizarre. But we shut down. This leads me to fast fact number two. Fast fact number two is that Paul Feig directed this episode, but he almost did not direct this episode.

[Angela Kinsey]

I couldn't even imagine if it wasn't him.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know, I know. Well, when we reached out to him, he told us how this came about.

[Paul Feig]

I had been brought on. I directed a lot of episodes of the Office, but in that season, I had been given Survivor man, which I was really excited about, and actually am very, very proud of that episode. But I remember reading the script for the Dinner Party, and it was given to some other director, and I was so jealous because I thought, like, if only I could do this episode. This is, like, everything I want to do. It's so uncomfortable and cringy and hilarious. But another director was assigned to it. But then the writer strike happened, and so it all fell apart because I did Survivorman, and then the writer's strike stopped everything. And so we were off for months and months and months for however long the writer strike went. And my great joy was at the end of that, everything shifted so much that that director, who was supposed to do wasn't able to. And so it came back around to me, and so I was so excited to do that episode. I just saw it so clearly in my head, and it was just so funny to me. But the crazy thing about that episode was, once we did it, we knew it was so funny. The audience, the loyal office, audiences hated it. It was really a very divisive episode because I think it was so uncomfortable and so cringy that people couldn't deal with it. And I remember, like, we were so excited, all of us, all the writers, everybody, we were so excited because we really thought this was kind of, like, one of the best things the show could do. And we were kind of all bummed out that people were so weird. About it. But I think the whole thing was, it was so uncomfortable that the first time you watch it, you almost can't handle it. But once you watch it a second, a third and fourth, and however many times you watch it, then it becomes fun. Cause you know it's coming, you know it's gonna be terrible, and you just can enjoy the cringiness. And so I could not be prouder of that episode. It's really, you know, I won a DGA directing award for it, which is the only time I'll ever get an award for anything. But I just think it's the funniest thing in the world.

[Jenna Fischer]

I remember the fan response to this episode was not overwhelmingly positive when the show first aired.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. I remember even within my own extended family, they either loved it or they hated it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. Very strong reactions. It has grown to be beloved. It was not beloved when it first aired. You know, I don't know who this other director was that was supposed to direct this episode, but Gene told me that this person had never directed a single camera comedy ever, that this episode would have been their first one.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my Lord.

[Jenna Fischer]

Now maybe it was a big time movie person, you know, and they just never done half hour TV before. I am so glad that we got Paul Feig.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. I mean, you don't want the Dinner party script to be your first time at single camera comedy.

[Jenna Fischer]

If I were that person, I wouldn't sleep.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

No. Fast fact number three, Angela, we know that the writers strike provided us with Paul Feig. It also provided us with a problem in the form of your giant belly.

[Angela Kinsey]

I was wondering when you were going to bring that up.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'm not the only person bringing up your belly, Angela. Because when we asked Paul Feig about his memories of shooting this episode, he discussed it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, no.

[Paul Feig]

One of my favorites is how we had to desperately hide Angela's pregnancy during it because she was very late stages. And so you'll notice a lot of her carrying flowers and things in the foreground and then a pillow on her lap and she's sitting on the couch. I think we had her in a big giant overcoat too. So that was fun. It was very challenging doing special effects with no special effects.

[Jenna Fischer]

So, Angela, we also got mail about your belly from Susie S, Alex G. And Emma O. Oh, no. Ladies, they want to know how far along were you in your pregnancy and what kind of meeting was there for hiding Angela's baby bump in this episode? Please tell us everything.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, ladies, if memory serves me, we filmed this episode in early March. Now, you have to remember when we did the deposition, I was barely showing. Four months have gone by into my pregnancy. I had my baby early May. So it was a belly. It was a full on baby belly. And I do remember poor Paul Feig. He's the sweetest person coming up to me and being like, hey, Angela, So we're gonna have you stand behind the copier. We're gonna have you hold this pillow. We're gonna have you hold a purse. We're gonna have flowers. We're gonna have a wall you stand behind. There were, like, all of these things. There were actual meetings about how to hide my belly. And then when we started filming, I remember tucking behind the copier and Matt Sohn, our camera operator, saying, I can still see it, Ange. I was like, what? So now there was this new dialogue I had with the camera operators where they'd be like, back it up a little pivot. Pivot, like duck. Hold it higher. We had this whole language of the belly hide.

[Jenna Fischer]

Am I correct that in that scene when you first enter the condo and Michael and Jan are trying to take your coats, you don't take off your coat because you needed it to hide your belly?

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah, and my coat was enormous. It's like, not a coat I would ever wear. It was so big. But, yeah, I have a lot of track the belly moments for this episode that I can sprinkle in as we go. But we had to get creative. It was a big belly One day, no belly next day, big belly. That's what happened during the writer's strike.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, guys, those are my fast facts. I think we should take a break, and we will be back with a dinner party and more audio clips from our dinner guests.

[Angela Kinsey]

Light your candles. Get your oso buco going. We're about to have a dinner party. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, just because it's a new year, that does not mean you have to be a new you. But maybe you want to be a less burdened you, a clearer you, not a totally new you, but. But maybe, like, you just want to hone in. You want to refine.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, I like that. Refine.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, therapy can help more easily identify what is weighing you down, what might be holding you back. You can better understand your relationships, your motivations, your emotions.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm trying to let go of just sort of stressing about the small things, because those really just add up, and they're going to be just fine.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, and you might need help identifying what are small things. What are big things. BetterHelp Therapists can help with over 30,000 therapists, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally.

[Angela Kinsey]

BetterHelp makes it easy to get matched online with a qualified therapist. Sign up and get 10% off at betterhelp.com officeladies that's betterhelp.com officeladies I'm Emma Grade, host of Aspire with Emma Grade, a podcast where I sit down with.

[Beth Grant]

People who don't just dream big, they build big. From culture shaping voices like Mel Robbins.

[Jenna Fischer]

To leaders redefining success on their own terms, to game changing entrepreneurs like Mark.

[Angela Kinsey]

Cuban, Aspire is about mindset, ambition and.

[Beth Grant]

Doing the work that actually moves the needle.

[Angela Kinsey]

If you're ready to raise your standards and take charge about the life and career you're building, Aspire is where you start, follow and listen to Aspire with me.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, it's pretty cool. You sign up and then you can start automatically investing your extra money. Like even if it's just spare change.

[Angela Kinsey]

I feel like there's always something we're all saving up for, you know?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. I mean, maybe it's a vacation, maybe it's college tuition, maybe it's just a new couch.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

Paid non client endorsement compensation provides incentive to positively promote Acorns tier 2 compensation provided potential subject to various factors such as customers accounts, age and investment settings does not include Acorns fees. Results do not predict or represent the performance of any Acorns portfolio. Investment results will vary. Investing involves risk. Acorns Advisors LLC and SEC registered investment advisor view important [e-mail] office ladies, We are back. We are at the office. It's a Friday night. We're working late.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, there's a special assignment from corporate which we never find out what the special assignment is like really and truly. How creative did Michael Scott have to get that he was able to con the whole bullpen?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Everyone's shuffling papers. They're looking at things. What are we doing? What do we think the assignment is? It seems like we're doing stuff.

[Angela Kinsey]

I feel like this is Michael's smartest moment, that he came up with a special assignment that everyone believed. Yeah. At 36 seconds, Jenna, is when Jim knows. I believe. This is when Jim knows. Because Michael gets on the phone to corporate and he's like, it's not fair to these people. These people are my friends and I care about them. Like, who talks like that to corporate? I know Jim knows, but people are grumbling, they're griping. And there is a great deleted scene. It's a whole runner with Toby. Toby is sharing that he's so bummed out because he had tickets to Tom Petty. What? Yeah. And Toby had to give them to his ex wife and her new boyfriend.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, no.

[Angela Kinsey]

So, yeah, everyone is kind of like they're bummed out. Why are they staying so late? And then Michael proudly walks in because he's had this phone call and he's like, you know what? You don't have to stay late. I told corporate we're not doing it. Everyone can go home. And they're like, wow, thank you, Michael.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. And then he turns to Jim and he says, hey, you want to come have dinner at our place tonight? I know you have no plans.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh. And Jim's like, he got me. Yep.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, there's a series of deleted talking heads where people talk about their ideal dinner party. And there's one by Michael Scott that really cracked me up. Sam, can we play that?

[Jenna Fischer]

My ideal dinner party. Easy, Jim. Pam Ryan, the mayor, Barack Obama, Shiloh, Jolie, Pitt. Because at the end of the night.

[Angela Kinsey]

Brad or Angelina would have to come.

[Jenna Fischer]

And pick him up.

[Angela Kinsey]

And I would get to meet them.

[Jenna Fischer]

Shia Labif because of Disturbia, all of.

[Angela Kinsey]

The children of the world. Val Kilmer.

[Jenna Fischer]

But he probably wouldn't come too famous, obviously. George Clooney.

[Angela Kinsey]

And Jan, definitely.

[Jenna Fischer]

If there was room.

[Angela Kinsey]

Michael would invite all of the children of the world. Val Kilmer, definitely George Clooney, but only Jan if there was room.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, that tells you everything you need to know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right? And I feel like they deleted that because it was tipping his hand too soon. Right.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, now we have a very sad talking head from Dwight that ends with just crying.

[Angela Kinsey]

He's so sad he hasn't been invited. Yeah, I thought rain was so funny. In this talking head, he really made me laugh. Bless his heart.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, lady, it's time to go to the condo.

[Angela Kinsey]

All right, so Pam and Jim arrived to the condo. It's already awkward, and this is going to be a comedy sprint to the end. It's just going to be one joke after the next.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, it starts with both Michael and Jan trying to hug Jim at the same time. And then, I don't know if you noticed, but only Michael hugs Pam. Jan does not even go in for a hug.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, I noticed. And then she throws you some serious shade about the wine you brought. She's like, oh, thank you so much. This will be great to cook with. Which, you guys know is code for thanks for the crappy wine.

[Jenna Fischer]

Exactly, Angela. Jean told me that one of their goals in this episode was that it would just be loaded with a ton of subtle passive aggressive comments and coded language, and that this dig at Pam about the wine was the first. Jean also told me that this moment was inspired by the fact that he and Lee were roommates when they first started writing on the show and that Lee Eisenberg is an amazing cook. He referred to him as a gourmand.

[Angela Kinsey]

What?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. And one time, Gene saw Lee cooking with some wine, which was something that Gene did not know you could do. His actual words were, it blew my mind.

[Angela Kinsey]

He's such a dude. Of course you can cook with wine.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I guess Lee explained to him that it has to be a cheap wine. And that always stuck in his head that you cook with cheap wine. And that's why he gave that line to Jan. Well, it's perfect, babe. Should we take a tour, babe?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, babe. Oh, I'm so sorry about this horrendous carpet. We're a work in progress. I call this the mask wall, babe. Oh, we watch this episode a lot, but it's so good.

[Jenna Fischer]

This home tour really kicks off all of the Jan and Michael dynamics in this episode. And when we asked John Krasinski about his memories of this episode, he talked about this scene of Jim and Pam arriving and then starting the tour.

[John Krasinski]

That episode was, without a doubt, one of my favorite to ever shoot, because there was this incredible energy on set, this idea that we were finally getting to pull the curtain back on the world of Michael Scott. And I think that for me, I was already almost laughing in every scene because of how Steve was playing his character. There was this unbelievable beaming of pride and joy to have these two people finally in his home after what I imagined to be a lifetime of hoping and wishing that it could be possible one day. And here they were. And not only were they in his home, he was able to give them a tour. And then the battling dichotomy of Michael's excitement and Jan's sort of weighty judgment of his house and his excitement was all loaded into every scene.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's so true.

[Angela Kinsey]

So true. So well said.

[Jenna Fischer]

Jk, we got a fan question. Angela from Cameron W. Linda M. And Monica J. Did you guys actually film in someone's house?

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah. There was a man that owned this condo.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, it was a condo in Woodland Hills, California. And I remember they told me they had to take out all of that man's furniture and repaint his walls, and then they had to put it all back the way he had it. And that blew my mind.

[John Krasinski]

I know.

[Angela Kinsey]

In the deposition DVD commentary, Ed talked about this for a minute. He said, when they filmed in the garage, this man's belongings, there were some of them that they just shoved all into one corner. And they were like, what is this guy about? Because guess what he had.

[Jenna Fischer]

What?

[Angela Kinsey]

He had all of these professional ping pong player posters. What? Yes. And they had just had all this ping pong in the deposition. So they were like, oh, my gosh. And they recognized some of the names because of Dwight's talking head. And he said, in addition to all the professional ping pong posters, he had a professional ping pong table that was folded up and sort of wedged in the corner.

[Paul Feig]

Wow.

[Jenna Fischer]

So this guy obviously was a ping pong enthusiast. We know that maybe he was a.

[Angela Kinsey]

Amateur uprising, professional ping pong player.

[Jenna Fischer]

Maybe he was a champion. We don't know.

[Angela Kinsey]

We don't know. But yes, he had to move all of his stuff out and cram a bunch of stuff into the corner of the garage, and then we had to put it all back for him.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, we asked Paul Feig about designing the condo for Michael and Jane, and here is what he had to say.

[Paul Feig]

For Michael and Jan's condo, I had the benefit of being the person, the director who got to do Office Olympics, which was where we established Michael and Jan's condo when he bought it. And so, you know, found this very kind of stark, normal, cookie cutter kind of condo that he would have with very stark white walls and all that. And that was really fun. So we, when I was lucky enough to get to do this episode and go back to there, the whole concept of what Jan would have done with that place was really fun to play with. And I remember Lee and Jean and I got really hung up on the idea that she had a Warhol, I think they even put it into the script. But that she had done like a Warhol esque print of herself, which you only see briefly when they're in the hallway, I think when Jim and Pam first arrive. And you see it in the stairwell when they go up to the infamous candle room. And it's like this quad Warhol style picture of Jan. But I just loved the idea that we had to show off how Jan had fixed up the place. But also the idea that Jan had done it. Even though she tried to warm it up, it was kind of very cold. So we were hung up on the idea of really dark gray walls and what art she would have put up. And I was very, very hung up on the idea of them putting up a. That Jan put up a kimono on the wall, which I had seen somewhere and thought, oh, that's kind of a cool decoration. But it's also not terribly warm at the same time. And so that made me laugh.

[Jenna Fischer]

I have to add another little tidbit, Angela, is that I guess they put up a bunch of photos. You can't really tell when you're watching, but they are all photos of Jan and other men. There are no photos of Jan and Michael.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then there's a lot of photos I remember of just Jan by herself.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Like in a frame. Like she has made it the Jan shrine.

[Jenna Fischer]

But I love that she has given it her touch. But it's in no way homey.

[Angela Kinsey]

No. It's just really kind of cold. And Michael has no space that is his own. Except maybe where all of his rejected furniture items have gone into the garage.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. They take Pam and Jim on this tour and we learn that Jan has both an office space and a workspace because she can't create in her office space.

[Angela Kinsey]

And her desk in her office space looked like no one had ever sat there. It's so sparse.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, at 3 minutes, 32 seconds, you can see that her desk chair still has the plastic cover on the arms.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my gosh. Fantastic.

[Jenna Fischer]

That was a little detail that Paul Feig had. He thought that would be funny, so he made them leave it on.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's great. They put so much thought into every little nook and cranny of that condo.

[Jenna Fischer]

Should we talk about the candle room?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. I can't imagine what that smelled like. It must have been so strong.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, lady. We got a lot of mail about it from Ross C. Sierra S, Allie E. And Emily D. Did the candle room actually smell like candles? Oh, yeah. It was a room Full of multiple scented candles.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I didn't have to go in the candle room. And thank goodness, because I was pregnant and so sensitive to smell. I probably would have been like, ah. But Paul Feig spoke about the candle room, and here's the audio clip.

[Paul Feig]

The candle room. We just knew that we wanted the candle room to be insane. And the big thing was, like, when you're in there, it smelled crazy. And it's like, how do we do that? How do we put that across to an audience? Because one thing, an audience can't take in two things. They can't take in the temperature of what's happening, and they can't take in the smell of what's happening. And so that's why you have that shot of John Krasinski kind of like looking out the door and going, oh, like he can't breathe. Because you just know it just stinks in there. But I really just loved how dense and terrible we made that room.

[Angela Kinsey]

I loved John's look to camera when he was gasping for air. It was so believable and funny. And I don't think that was probably an easy thing to convey, but he did it so well.

[Jenna Fischer]

So well. John and I talked with Paul before we shot that scene, and he said, I want it to look like you guys are doing that thing when you walk into a stinky public restroom and you've taken, like, a deep breath before you walk in, you're trying to hold it for as long as you can, and then you need air. So you're just trying to take in the smallest amount of air that will get you through.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

So that's what we were trying to do in that scene. Well, now they move into the master bedroom. Oh, my gosh. There are so many delicious moments in this.

[Angela Kinsey]

I do not know how you guys got through this. Well, I'm going to say that a lot through this episode because there are scenes that were just the four of you that are some of the funniest scenes I've ever seen. And I don't know how you got through this one.

[Jenna Fischer]

This is the scene where for the longest time, there's just a camera on a tripod pointed at the bed.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Which Jim and Pam clock immediately. And so does the audience. And then Jan says, michael, I told you to put that away. And then she swats him on the butt. It's so uncomfortable.

[Angela Kinsey]

She swats him on the butt.

[John Krasinski]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And then we learn that Michael sleeps on a bench at the foot of the bed. And Angela, I can't even tell you how hard we laughed every time Steve Carell curled up on that bench when.

[Angela Kinsey]

He was like, no, I fit. Look, it's actually pretty comfortable and he just curls up like a baby on it. Well, Paul shared with us the inspiration behind the bench and it's so great. Here it is.

[Paul Feig]

So the whole thing with Michael and Jan and that weird bench that he sleeps on at the end of the bed came from when I was working as a script reader in the early 80s for a Hollywood, big Hollywood producer. And I befriended this woman who worked in his company and at one point we were hanging out and we went by her house to pick something up. And I went in to there and they had this open bedroom plan. And I looked and there was this giant bed, like a king sized bed. But then next to the bed was this little tiny cot. And I remember saying like, oh, what's that? And she got very serious and she said, like, look, when you get in a relationship, you have to make sure that you're able to be intimate with somebody and share things with them. And what it turned out was that when once they were done with their time together in bed, she had to roll off onto this cot and sleep by herself because this guy couldn't handle having anybody else in his bed with him. And I just thought that was the saddest thing I've ever seen in my life. And so I remember when we were scouting that location and there was that little stool at the end or that bench at the end of the bed. I can't remember if it was in the script or if we took it and ran with it, but I remember saying to Lee and Jean, I told them that story, I said, like, how funny we have to have this thing where Michael can't sleep in the bed. And so that's what we did. And I just remember when we were shooting made me laugh so much because the way that Steve Carell would curl up on that bench and my whole thing was like, okay, we got to hang on this as long as we can. And so we have Jan going like, oh, he fits perfectly. Ha ha ha. And I just tried to get every last frame out of everyone just staring at Michael on this bench and it's silent and it's just completely uncomfortable and it makes me laugh still to this day.

[Jenna Fischer]

Now, lady, that clip suggests that maybe this was the condo guy's bed and bench, because he said when they scouted the location, they saw the bench or maybe just a bench. And then we recreated it, but I have a bench at the End of my bed. No one sleeps on it, but this is a very popular thing.

[Angela Kinsey]

I have an upholstered bench at the foot of my bed as well. It's where I, like, sort of lay my robe at night. You know, I, like, kick off my slippers. I put my robe on the bench.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And it's all there for me in the morning. My bench could not fit a grown man. It's a tiny little bench. I actually really looked at that bench and I was like, oh, they found a wide bench. That's a substantial bench.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, exactly. It's just big enough that you believe it, but still small enough that it's just so sad.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And also just again, Michael has no space in his own home. She has both guest rooms she's using. And now he doesn't even get to sleep in his bed. It's so sad.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's tragic. And now I've got a fun fact. This scene of the bedroom tour, specifically this scene is John McCain's favorite scene from the office, and I can tell you why.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. How do you know that? That's such a random Tidbit to know.

[Jenna Fischer]

BJ Novak was at a dinner party with John McCain. I would love to hear that story, how that came about. That's fascinating to me.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's very on brand, though, for bj. BJ finds himself in these eclectic groups of people all the time. So he's at a dinner party, John McCain's there.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. You want to be BJ's plus one to a dinner party because he's going to take you to a cool group.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

He was at this dinner party, and someone walked up to him and said, John McCain is a huge fan of the office. Would you like me to make an introduction? Now, I've experienced this too, with politicians. A lot of times. Politicians, they have a person whose job it is to whisper things in their ears that are really specific about the other guests at a party, because they vetted everyone at the party so that when the politician meets you, they can say something really specific and personal.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's like the scene you guys in Devil Wears Prada, Right. Anne Hathaway is next to Meryl Streep. They're at that big shindig in Paris, and she's telling her every little person that walks up some little tidbit.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. So BJ was like, oh, he's probably been told, I work on this show called the Office and yada yada. So BJ was like, I'm going to put him to the test. And I'M going to ask him specifically. John McCain, tell me one of your favorite scenes from the office.

[Angela Kinsey]

B.J.

[Jenna Fischer]

Right.

[Angela Kinsey]

My gosh. Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

So when he met him, he did it. He said, what's one of your favorite scenes? And John McCain said, I love that scene in the dinner party when they're given the house tour and they walk into the bedroom and the video camera's up in the background and the bench. And he just went on and on with such great detail that B.J. knew. Oh, this is for real. This guy does love the office.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's so wild. It's so specific. Yeah, it's such a specific scene. It was.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, he picked a good episode, and he picked a good scene, because when I was rewatching this with my husband Lee, this was the scene where I thought we were gonna have to pause because he couldn't catch his breath. He was, like, laughing so hard.

[Angela Kinsey]

All right, well, speaking of having to, like, pause to catch your breath because you're laughing so hard, Jenna. Up next is the scene with the tiny tv.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, my God.

[Angela Kinsey]

The tiny plasma TV that only comes out two inches from the wall.

[Jenna Fischer]

There are two times when I laughed so hard on our show that I thought I wasn't going to ever recover. This was one of them. Tears streaming down our face. We had a fan question from Maddie S. Paula T. Kennedy, H. How many takes did you guys have to do when Michael was showing off his plasma tv? Guys, John Krasinski talks about this. I'm going to turn it over to him.

[John Krasinski]

When we got to the moment with the television, I think there was an energy in the room that was overwhelming. I was already quaking with laughter. It wouldn't have taken much for me to laugh and then throw in maybe one of my favorite jokes in the entire show. And I remember at the table, Reed laughing. But then to see Steve again with that beaming face of pride, just turn to us and say, you won't believe what what I have. And also, look what it can do when Company comes over. I can just do this. And I'm pretty sure that the distance between the TV and the wall was like, an inch and a half. And he was so proud that it comes out. To watch TV in the comfort of your own home, and then you push it back a good inch and a half to hide it away when Company comes. Luckily, the outtakes are out there in the world, and so you can see. I mean, Jenna can tell you, but I think that it took probably 19 or 20 takes before I was even able to stand up. Vertically in that scene without doubling over and again. As I've always said, I'm a crier laugher. So when I laugh that hard, my entire face turns red with tears. And the pressure that's filling in my face for trying not to laugh, and to no avail. I don't know why I even try not to laugh. I should just let it out and then my face wouldn't turn beet red in every scene. That is, without a doubt, one of my favorite scenes. And I will cherish that memory for. For the rest of my career.

[Angela Kinsey]

You can hear him losing it, just retelling it, you know?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, Jenna, one of my daughter's favorite things since we've been doing Office Ladies is watching the bloopers. My daughter Isabel absolutely loves them. She watches them over and over. I think it's so fun for her to see you and I laughing and. And these people that she's known, you know, since she was born cracking up. So she actually helped me gather all the bloopers for this episode. She knew right where they were. She even knew time codes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Jenna, I love it. You're passing along the love of time codes to Isabel.

[Angela Kinsey]

I am. So I feel like we have to hear the blooper of this scene. Cause it's so wonderful. Sam, can you play that?

[Jenna Fischer]

I guess what surround sound means is that right over here, Jim. Two speakers. Damn. We have two speakers. What, honey?

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, Jesus, this is terrible.

[Jenna Fischer]

We'll never finish this episode. Check this out.

[Angela Kinsey]

Folds. Oh, this is a wall. Sorry. Oh, my God.

[Jenna Fischer]

Lady.

[Angela Kinsey]

It makes me laugh. Just hearing makes me crack up, lady.

[Jenna Fischer]

Steve did a whole runner where they just let him go with this tv. And he tries to explain that the TV has surround sound. And what he means by that is that the screen is surrounded by a speaker. The whole thing was, you've gone to someone's house when they've just gotten their new TV system with their new sound speakers, and they're so excited to show it off. Maybe they even, like, play part of a movie for you, right?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

That was the inspiration for this. And so Steve was going to bring that energy of, like, we were sitting in a professionally done home theater, right? Yes. But instead he's just talking about this tiny tv, which, by the way, is not even a plasma tv. It's just a flat screen tv. But he keeps referring to it as a plasma tv. Oh, my God, Jenna.

[Angela Kinsey]

Do you know what I love? Is that how this is still a joke with the cast. So a few years ago, you guys, we've talked about this before. We have a cast text thread where we will text and check in, say hello, little clips, pictures of our kids. Creed usually sings us a song at Christmas and he'll text us. You know him at home with his, like, elf hat on. And Jenna sent a photo to all of us. You were on a job and you walked in to, like, a little dressing room they had for you, and there was the tiniest TV mounted on the wall. Jenna. And you sent us a picture, and we all started cracking up.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. I walked into this dressing room and I thought to myself, you could hold this in your hand. Why have they mounted it on the wall? It was so reminiscent of the dinner party episode. I was so excited to send that text and people were loving it.

[Angela Kinsey]

It will never get old to me, that scene. I can watch it and watch it and watch it, but there are so many things in this living room that made me laugh on a second watch. Jenna and I also remembered it the day we were filming because I was seated by it. That janky side table that Michael made. It is the saddest looking table, and he's so proud of it. It looks like scrap wood. Like if you got a crate of firewood that he used the crate to make the table. And the dialogue cracked me up too. Jim is like, is that chestnut? And he's like, I think it's either pine or Nordic cherry. It's like, what?

[Jenna Fischer]

Angela, it's time for you to arrive at this dinner party.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, Andy and Angela, here we come.

[Jenna Fischer]

We had a fan question from Haley M. Angela, are you starting to break when Michael goes in for the hug, which you refuse?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. Yes. I pretty much like John said, the minute I walked in that room and saw everything, just the minute we started those scenes, I was already tickled. And everything from then on was just me trying not to laugh.

[Jenna Fischer]

I have a Fun catch at 6 minutes, 34 seconds when Andy takes off his coat. Underneath his coat, he is wearing a turtleneck with a shirt over it and then a sweater tied around his neck.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah, he's in prime preppy mode.

[Jenna Fischer]

This was a bit that Gene, our writer, came up with. He just thought it would be really, really funny to have a person who has tied a sweater around their neck take their coat off.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, they had that ready to go underneath. Well, you know, I said I would let you guys know when we had some belly hiding. It's happening all through the episode, but one of my favorites is this giant bouquet of flowers that was to hide my belly. Yes, that's how Big my belly is. Look at that bouquet of flowers.

[Jenna Fischer]

They had to make the bouquet that big because the point of it was for Andy to give his hostess some flowers. But the reason they're so large was because they were a belly hide.

[Angela Kinsey]

There's a great blooper from this as well if you guys go back and rewatch them. But I have a little catch I want to point out.

[Jenna Fischer]

What is it?

[Angela Kinsey]

At 6 minutes, 44 seconds, I'm standing next to Jan while Andy's doing the tuna. Tuna. Bet you get a lot of tuna. You eat a lot of tuna that whole bit. Yep. I just, as an actor, just my own little prep that I decided to do was I just stared at Jan's boobs. I mean, I was eye level to them. She's in heels. She's taller than me. They're right there. And I decided to throw her a little judgy shade. Angela Martin, sass look. And Paul Feig came up to me and was like, oh, my gosh, Angela, I just caught in camera that you're giving Jan's boobs the judgy look. He was like, you gotta do that every time. So I did, and it made it in the show. And it's just one of those little moments that wasn't scripted that ends up on the screen. And it's always fun to relive those.

[Jenna Fischer]

But that is a big. Of course Angela would do that moment. Like, of course. Right? I'm so glad they caught it. This is also when we find out, Angela, that the osso buco will not be ready for at least three hours. And I love Pam's line when she says, do you mean three hours from now or like three hours from four o' clock when you started it?

[Angela Kinsey]

Jenna, when I rewatch the scene, that is one of the lines that you say. That is more most like you in real life.

[Jenna Fischer]

It is.

[Angela Kinsey]

It just felt like in that moment, Jenna was saying it as your friend. I was like, that would be Jenna. She'd be like, no.

[Jenna Fischer]

But you.

[Angela Kinsey]

You planned ahead. Surely, if you know it takes three hours, surely you had already estimated the time that you'd be serving it.

[Jenna Fischer]

I feel like that is something I could possibly say.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

In response to a host.

[Angela Kinsey]

Sometimes in Spain, they eat at midnight. So when in Rome?

[Jenna Fischer]

When in Rome. I guess we're gonna sit around and drink some wine now. Michael makes a toast. He notes the oaky afterbirth of the wine. Jean told me that Steve improvised that line.

[Angela Kinsey]

You're kidding.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okie. Afterbirth.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my gosh. Steve Carell.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, now Jan needs to relax. She wants to put some music on.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And I don't know if you know this, but her former assistant Hunter is a fabulous musician. And so she's gonna put on his cd. It's called the Hunted.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And then she's gonna dance by herself in front of all of us.

[Jenna Fischer]

We got some fan mail about that. Amanda B. Iliana B. And Gabe G. Said, please tell us everything about Jan's dance. Well, I'll start with this. Gene told me that after we did a few takes of Melora dancing on her own, he had the idea that she should try to pull Jim into the dance. So he got her aside and he gave her that note privately. John did not know that was going to happen. Melora just ran with it, and we didn't know either.

[Angela Kinsey]

And Jenna, when I rewatched that, now, knowing that. Right, because Jean shared that with you, and then Melora talked to me about it, I watched our faces. Not only John's, but I watched yours and mine, because it was a surprise to all three of us. And you can really see a look on both of our faces of like, what? What?

[Jenna Fischer]

What?

[Angela Kinsey]

What's happening?

[Jenna Fischer]

It was perfect. Well, like Angela said, we did ask Melora about this, and she told us the inspiration behind her dancing.

[Melora Hardin]

One of the most fun moments to play was the dancing with John Krasinski for the song that Hunter had written. It just felt like such a wonderful sort of jab at Michael, you know, so passive aggressive. And also, I'm a dancer, so I really wanted to just be a little, like, off the beat. I wanted to make sure that I really tried hard to just be so inappropriate, but also just, like, a little bit off the beat. A little drunk, you know, kind of a little tipsy. And I felt like that would be even a better, you know, even a better jab to Michael, because Jan and Michael are, like, at war at that point in the episode.

[Jenna Fischer]

I love that she's a little off the beat.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah. Jan just doesn't give a. You know, it's so, like, crazy to think, if you really think it through, that she would get up at this awkward dinner party and play a song her former lover wrote about her and him in front of all of them.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. Angela, we got so much mail about this song. Hannah H, Bri P. Brandy R. Miles W. And Reagan C. They want to know who wrote and performed Hunter's song on the cd. And is it evidence that Jan and Hunter had a love affair?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. And do we think that Michael knew when she played the song.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'll tell you guys. Jean and Lee wrote the words to the song. It was not sung by the actor who played Hunter. It was actually recorded and sung by Todd Fancy of the New Pornographers, who wrote the music as well. But get this. Gene told me that he and Lee wrote a much longer version of the song with really cheesy lyrics. He said they worked on it for way too long, but they were just having so much fun writing this cheesy love song.

[Angela Kinsey]

And they had three weeks, so they kept tinkering.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I guess Todd also recorded that extended version of the song. And Jean sent me a link. And in the extended version, it is very clear that this song is about Jan. It is very clear that they have had sex at least once. So I had Sam pull a clip so we can hear this verse.

[Angela Kinsey]

People talk, letter, parents, scout, forget them. Corporate rules F all. Cause it ain't up to love. It's up to us. That one night you made everything all right.

[Jenna Fischer]

Angela. He says corporate rules F them. And also, apparently his parents did not like this relationship because he also says he doesn't care what his parents have to say about it either.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's hilarious. That version is also very produced with all the other instruments. I like the one that they picked. Cause it was more simple, you know? And then I also love. Of course Andy has to go, Ah, yeah, that gets me every time.

[Jenna Fischer]

And that's Ed, you guys. That was just Ed throwing that in there.

[Angela Kinsey]

As the scene continues, my character throws you under the bus about the faxes. Jan is, again, not happy with you. I mean, I have to say, Angela Martin is really happy to have someone to judge Pam with.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know. To judge anyone with. Anytime someone's being judged, that's the only time you speak.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's when I bond.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. Well, Pam is going to sneak away to the bathroom. And she has a talking head. She does not care what people say about her. She just wants to eat. And she doesn't think it's a lot to ask at a dinner party.

[Angela Kinsey]

Is she talking in the bathroom?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Here's the crazy thing, Angela. So Pam has this talking head in the bathroom. And then Jim is going to have a talking head in the bathroom where he says the hosts are playing their own separate game of making their guests uncomfortable. And they're both winning. It's great. John and I are in a real, very tiny guest bathroom.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's what I was going to ask. You know what it looks like, Jenna? It looks like that hall bathroom. That a lot of homes have. It's like the half bath, you know, it's just like a toilet and a sink, and that's it.

[Jenna Fischer]

It was a half bath. And it's funny to me because I feel like this could have been something where you just put up, like, little fake walls around us. But no, we were in a real bathroom. It was so tiny in there. Paul Feig actually talks about this. Sam, will you play the clip?

[Paul Feig]

I'll never forget being jammed into that tiny bathroom with Jenna and with John shooting those talking heads about them being uncomfortable. And we were all literally. I was up on a sink. I think it was Randall Einhorn was in there with a camera. He or Matt. Matt Sohn. And we were just jammed into this tiny thing shooting these talking heads. I never laughed so hard. I mean, my God.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, between these two talking heads in the tiny bathroom, there is a scene that got deleted. It's between Jim and Pam. They are tucked in the hallway outside the bathroom door. And Jenna, Pam is eating a granola bar that she has, like, stashed away in her purse or something. And then Jan bust you guys, she's like, what are you guys eating? It's so funny. And Jenna, you guys were cracking up.

[Jenna Fischer]

We could not get through it. And by the way, I ate so much granola bar because Paul Feig was like, jenna, we have to believe that this is, like, the meal you've been waiting hours for. You're so hungry. So I was so full of granola bar. And we kept breaking. Being confronted by Melora with her intense eyes. It did me in. I couldn't do it.

[Angela Kinsey]

You were both, like, genuinely startled and scared each time. And then it just is hilarious.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, in the living room, we've got this painfully realistic game of charades going on. A game of celebrity, really, if you know that game.

[Angela Kinsey]

My, My. My turn. My, my. My turn. You will learn so much about a couple. If you play any kind of charade or board game where you have to, like, give clues out loud, you really learn a couple. Jenna. When I rewatched this, I thought about a game of Taboo I played with another couple years ago. And the guy turned to his wife and goes, I. Oh. Oh, I call you this all the time. And she goes, oh, stupid.

[Jenna Fischer]

No, Angela, yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

And the room was silent. And then when she got it, he was like, yes. And they were like, woohoo. And they were celebrating, and we were all like, what?

[Jenna Fischer]

What? What did we just learn?

[Angela Kinsey]

But this is that moment. This is what is happening. We see Michael And Jan trying to play a game, and it is just so cringy.

[Jenna Fischer]

The amount of passive aggressive comments is incredible. And then Jim is totally messing with Michael.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

He knows that Michael is trying to give the clue Tom Cruise, but he refuses to say it. It's so, so, so good.

[Angela Kinsey]

And of course, Angela Martin knows no pop culture, so she's no help. And Andy is horrible at giving clues.

[Jenna Fischer]

Terrible. Now, we have a moment coming up that was very controversial.

[Angela Kinsey]

Is it when Jim tried to ditch you at the party?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Jim fakes a phone call from his landlord saying that his apartment is flooded, I guess. And he tries to get Pam to come with him to escape the party. He's like, we gotta go. We're so sorry. But Michael is like, well, you guys don't both need to go check on the apartment. And Jim is like, okay, great. Well, I'll see you at home later then, Pam. Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And Pam is like, excuse me, you can buy new stuff, but you can't buy a new party.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, we got a lot of mail about this moment. And Lee Eisenberg actually spoke about this in an interview with Office Tally back when the episode aired, because I guess after this aired on the east coast, the message boards blew up with fan comments online. People were really, really mad that Jim would consider leaving Pam behind at this party. But Jean and Lee said they thought it was a really sweet, playful scene. And it sort of was like. Like a mental chess match between Jim and Pam and that Pam ends up winning. And they thought Pam was the victor of this scene. But people could not get past the fact that for a moment, Jim was willing to leave her there.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, that should tell you how bad the night was going. It didn't really bump me because he included you in the beginning. It's only when he was challenged that he was like, okay, well, I'm gone.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, the evening has now dissolved into just silence. It's just everyone sitting around saying nothing.

[Angela Kinsey]

And how long have they been sitting there just in silence?

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't know.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, Jan is fully reclined with her head back and her eyes closed.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, Pam gets a little chilly, so Michael offers her his jacket. And this sets off Jan.

[Angela Kinsey]

This scene is so brilliant. Melora and Steve are so amazing. But her look, the look Melora gives you and then slowly glances back over to Michael and then glances back to Pam. And then you see her thinking and planning to say something embarrassing about him.

[Jenna Fischer]

The story Jan tells is that she's very sorry it's so chilly, but they're Having to have their sliding door replaced. And you can see a big blue tarp over the door. And the reason is because Michael ran through the glass when he heard the ice cream truck.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Jan's like, it's a cute story. Michael ran through the sliding glass doors because he thought he heard the ice cream truck. And Michael's like, stop it. I don't like the story. Okay, fine. Look, I like ice cream, so sue me. And then he's like, wait, I shouldn't say that, because she will sue you. Cause she loves lawsuits. And then he said the glass was extremely clean, and it was like it was invisible. And she just erupts. She's like, you're so right. You're so right. Because before I lived here, the glass was always covered in smudges. And then I moved in and I cleaned it, so I guess that makes me the devil. And then they're both, like, crazy laughing with, like, crazy eyes. And he's like, ha, ha ha. Yeah, yeah, she is the devil. And. And it is. Oh, my God. It's two people unhinged.

[Jenna Fischer]

Here's what Gene told me about this scene, Angela. He told me that the theme of this episode was, quote, dinner party from hell. And the idea was that Michael is in hell and Jan is the devil. And so they did a lot of things toward this theme. For example, they designed Melora's wardrobe so that she was dressed in red. And for this scene where they wrote that line, I guess I'm the devil, and then, you know, Michael responds, and I'm in hell, they purposely placed her in front of a roaring fire. And then in the room, they have all of her candles lit all around Michael so that he does appear to be in the flames of hell. But Melora improvised that moment where she made little devil horns on her head, which is so, so funny. But, yeah, if you look around this apartment, there's a ton of red stuff.

[Angela Kinsey]

There is. And, you know, I caught at 11 minutes, 5 seconds, that red pot, like, thing that she took when she was fired in the job. And it dropped out of the box, and they had to put it back in the box. It's seated next to her on the little table.

[Jenna Fischer]

Amazing detail. We're about to go into the kitchen for some girls time. And in the kitchen, all of her cookware is red. All of that was on purpose.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, let's talk about this kitchen scene. Pam has wanted to break up the tension in the room. She's like, is there more wine? And Jan's like, no, no, no. I'LL get it. No, actually, let's have some girl time. Angela, come on. And she takes them into the kitchen. Well, Jenna, there were a few scenes that we filmed us three gals in this kitchen. Only one made it into the episode, but there is another one, and it's great. Sam, can you play it?

[Melora Hardin]

So this girl that I basically grew up with becomes Miss West Virginia. And then suddenly all the boys start.

[Jenna Fischer]

Paying attention to me. And it was funny because I never.

[Melora Hardin]

Even considered myself beautiful until people started pointing it out to me.

[Angela Kinsey]

Jan, wow.

[Melora Hardin]

You are so, so much more beautiful than Miss West Virginia. Oh, so that is why I. Wait, Pam, what was your.

[Angela Kinsey]

What was your question?

[Jenna Fischer]

Where did you grow up? It's incredible, isn't it?

[Angela Kinsey]

So good.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

She just goes off about Miss West Virginia, and we're just sitting there in silence as she's chopping things. She clearly hates this woman.

[Jenna Fischer]

My question was, where did you grow up? Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And in the kitchen scene, you'll notice I'm standing behind a little ledge by the counter. And I remember Paul Feig and I were so excited that there was a ledge in the kitchen. They didn't have to build that. And I fit perfectly tucked into it so we could hide my belly well.

[Jenna Fischer]

While the ladies are having their time in the kitchen, Michael gives the guys a tour of the garage. He also uses this time to try to get them to invest in Serenity by Jan. And he's in. You don't need to say more than a sentence to him.

[Angela Kinsey]

This is my daughter's favorite line in the whole episode is when he goes, thought about it. I'm in.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Michael's like, do you want to invest $10,000 into this candle business? Think about it. Thought about it. I'm in.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, when we asked Ed about his memories from shooting the dinner party, he talked about the first time he saw this garage. Sam, can you play that clip?

[John Krasinski]

At some point while we were shooting, I stepped off the set. I think I was probably just going to get a snack or something at craft service. And I walked through the garage of the condo where we were shooting. And the garage was also a location in the episode. They had done all the set decoration for the garage. And I noticed this amazing detail in there, which is that all of the items in Michael Scott's garage were things that he had bought from infomercials, like, late night infomercials. And this was just like a background joke in the show. Like, I remember seeing, like, a Bowflex and, like, a meat dehydrator, like, all this random stuff, and it just made me laugh so hard and was such a reminder of how incredible the Office team was. Everyone at every level, from production design, set decoration, all those details, all of those people that worked on the show were so creative and contributing to the comedy of that show in very big and very small ways. And it all made such a difference. Anyway, that's one of my favorite details about that episode, Angela.

[Jenna Fischer]

I looked it up. So currently a Bowflex System starts around $1,500, but Michael had both a Bowflex and a Solo Flex. And a Solo flex is like $2,400. And then, like Ed said, like, meat dehydrator. Just any as seen on TV item was shoved into this space.

[Angela Kinsey]

And really pricey stuff. There's two boxes of La Coussette, like, Dutch ovens. Those are so expensive. They're like, at Williams Sonoma. And it just kind of has that reminder of when Oscar sat down with him and said, what are you buying? What are you spending your money on?

[Jenna Fischer]

And I don't know if you noticed, but there's also just boxes labeled Michael's stuff.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

So clearly Jan went through and just boxed up a bunch of his stuff. And it's out there living in the garage. So sad.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah. You know the two chairs by that fireplace were those two hand seats. That's right. But those aren't in the living room anymore.

[Jenna Fischer]

Lady, I think we should take a break. We still have so much more to talk about.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my gosh. Dwight and the babysitter haven't even showed up yet.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, we will get to that right after this break.

[Angela Kinsey]

So Josh and I are super excited because we got a Whole Foods in our neighborhood now. Oh, lady, I know. It's really great. You can get everything there. And I always feel really good about the produce. And, like, what they offer feels like really good quality.

[Jenna Fischer]

They have great seafood there. Oh, really, really, really good seafood proteins. But they also have the 365 brand, like, salad kits. You can do, like the ready to eat rice and bean blend. Really good.

[Angela Kinsey]

They also have things like that you might want, like your vitamins and probiotics and protein powders, all the sort of wellness stuff.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's where I get my probiotics.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, really?

[Jenna Fischer]

It's in a little refrigerated section.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. And you gotta look out for their sales because they often have sales on their supplements and vitamins.

[Jenna Fischer]

Shop all things Wellness at Whole Foods Market.

[Angela Kinsey]

So I have a little fashion thing I've been doing lately.

[Jenna Fischer]

What is it?

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. I don't know if you've noticed, but next to my watch on my wrist, I've started stacking a few little bangle y bracelets.

[Jenna Fischer]

It looks good, right?

[Angela Kinsey]

So I have this gold one on right now that I love. It's called the Penelope bracelet by Jenny Bird. Have you been on their website? It's so great.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, I have earrings. Coming from Jenny Bird. Jenny Byrd is amazing.

[Angela Kinsey]

What I'm learning is that one great little jewelry accent can make you look put together.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's true. This is a thing that stylists have taught me over the years. If you add a piece of jewelry or like a belt maybe, or just you don't just get dressed, you then there's an extra step.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right. So it's like, oh, maybe I'm just in like a regular T shirt and jeans, but I've got this great little bracelet that makes me look like I'm like, mm, look at me, I'm sassy. So here's the thing. Their pieces are lightweight. They're comfortable. They go with everything. They're not fussy, but they make you look fantastic. And I like that because I'm not a fussy person.

[Jenna Fischer]

You're not a fussy person. You can get 20% off your first order with Jenny Bird by visiting jenny-bird.com and use code officeladies at checkout.

[Angela Kinsey]

I find winter fashion a little tricky. Really? Yeah. I don't layer well. I feel like I always do it wrong. Like I leave and I'm like, ah, I'm cold. I should have added a little cardigan or something. Or then I'm like, oh, now I'm too hot. Why do I have this bulky coat with me today?

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, maybe you need some help from a personal stylist. You know, Macy's has personal stylists and they can help you discover your go to cold weather trends.

[Angela Kinsey]

I need a go to cold weather trend. I need to know these are my three looks that I have in the winter. And you know Macy's. They're the experts on the brands you love. And plus they introduce you to ones you haven't even discovered. They have good American blank. NYC coach, Rod and gun. Dkny Steve Madden. On and on.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

Shop now@macy's.com or in. Ding Dong. Oh, there's two more guests. Jan is confused. Her whole dinner party is here. Michael is not. He knows who's at the door. It's Dwight and Melvina, his older babysitter from when he was a child.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, and don't worry, they've brought two wine glasses and a cooler of food.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Since they're unexpected, they've got it covered, don't worry.

[Angela Kinsey]

And two lawn chairs so they have a place to sit. The wine glasses are the biggest ones you'll ever see.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, they are. This sets off an argument. Jan wants Michael to send them away, but Michael stands his ground.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Michael's like, listen, you said he couldn't come because he didn't have a plus one or we didn't have enough wine glasses. Well, he brought the wine glasses and he brought another human.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know. I love that he's brought a person.

[Angela Kinsey]

A person.

[Jenna Fischer]

So here we go.

[Angela Kinsey]

And Jan is like, fine, have it your way. And Michael's like, have it my way? When do things ever go my way?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. When he wanted to see Stomp and she wanted to see Wicked, what did they see? Wicked. When she said she wasn't ready to have children, what did Michael do? He had a vasectomy.

[Angela Kinsey]

Then she decided, I want kids. He had the vasectomy reversed, but then.

[Jenna Fischer]

She changed her mind again. He had another vasectomy.

[Angela Kinsey]

Snip, snap. Snip, snap. Snip, snap.

[Jenna Fischer]

Do you know the physical toll that three vasectomies takes on a person? Ugh. All of this happens in front of all of us. There is so much to unpack about this scene, guys, so buckle in.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, when we saw the bench, we thought, it can't get weirder than the bench. And then we played celebrity, and now we're standing in the hallway of the condo yelling about vasectomies.

[Jenna Fischer]

Where can it go? Let's start with Dwight's date, His former babysitter, Melvina Angela. Jean told me that they thought it would be really fun to offer this role to our longtime casting director, Allison Jones.

[Angela Kinsey]

But she said no.

[Jenna Fischer]

She refused. Greg wanted the incredible Beth Grant to play the role.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, yes. Greg had worked with Beth before and knew her very well.

[Jenna Fischer]

You guys might recognize her from the film no country for Old Men. I mean, she has a huge filmography. But at this time, that film had just come out. We reached out to Beth, and she told us the story of exactly how she was cast on the show.

[Beth Grant]

I was thrilled when I got the call to do this part and to be Rain's babysitter and girlfriend. It's demented and I love it. And I had worked with Steve Carell fairly recently in Little Miss Sunshine, so I was already completely in love with him and did love the show. And I had worked with Greg Daniels on King of the H, and we ran into each other during the Writers Guild strike. And I think he saw me in my strike mode. I guess he knew I was right to be able to be that demented woman.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, then Beth shares with us what it was like to do the scene at the front door. She's holding a cooler the whole time. This is all happening. It's her first scene of the episode. Here's what she had to say.

[Beth Grant]

Coming to the door to that dinner party was so thrilling for me. It was so hard not to laugh. I felt that since I knew Steve, he was out to get me, he wanted me to break. And here I was, a guest star, nervous with all you regulars, you fabulous comedians, you brilliant comic minds. And here I am, the guest star with rain. And opening the door is Steve Carell. Just going for it. And I started this riff and improvising to the point that I was determined not to laugh. So I started almost grunting and crying. I don't know if you can hear it in the episode, but. And tears in my eyes. And he said, oh, great, now she's crying or something. And I leaned over. I was holding that cooler, you know, bringing our own food since we weren't invited, holding that cooler. And I leaned over, just shaking all over, and came back up. And somehow I think I managed not to break, but that was the only time I managed not to break because you guys were just so hilarious.

[Angela Kinsey]

Jenna, we should share with everyone what line Steve improvised that sent us all to the floor.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, guys, Steve improvised the line. Snip, snap, snip, snap. You have no idea the physical toll three vasectomies has on a person.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, you try not laughing with Steve Carell in front of you, improvising stuff like that. We were all a goner.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, it's interesting because Paul Feig sent in an audio clip about this, and I'll let him explain it. But there's a reason why Steve improvised that line. Here you go.

[Paul Feig]

There's so many great things to think about and remember from this episode, but the one that makes me just realize how genius Steve Carell is, in case anybody didn't realize that already, is when the whole snip snap run was. It was a pretty dramatic scene of them, like, talking about having kids and all this. And so we did several takes of it. It was really good, but it was very dramatic. And I remember kind of saying to Steve, maybe let's do A take or just kind of find a little more humor in it. I know it's kind of hard because it's. It's kind of a serious subject. And he's like, oh, okay, yeah, I get it, I get it. And that's when he went off on the whole snip, snap, snip, snap, which is just brilliant. I mean, that scene is so funny because it's so heartbreaking and cringy, but also hilarious.

[Jenna Fischer]

I remember that, Angela. I remember doing takes and takes of that scene where they were just going back and forth and you could just see the pain. And Michael, that he wasn't a father, and that Jan had been so manipulative of him. And it was. It was like a drama. And then Paul came over and talked to Steve, and they were like, how can we make this a comedy again? How can we keep the dark elements of this scene but not let it get too heavy? Brilliant. Steve Carell.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. He so saves the moment. And it's hilarious. I mean, you're cringing. It's horrible. But he makes it funny.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Well, now, guys, we're going to sit down at the table.

[Angela Kinsey]

I guess dinner is ready.

[Jenna Fischer]

Near ready, finally. Can I point something out?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

If you look at the table, we all have wine glasses, Right. We also all have water glasses, which are wine glasses. So clearly Jan had more than six wine glasses because she is using them for water as well.

[Angela Kinsey]

She just didn't want Dwight to come, you guys, to her fancy party. He did not make the list.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, Dwight has started eating. I mean, they brought their own food. They're wasting no time. They're the only ones eating. Jan is still upset over what happened at the door. She's so upset she has to excuse herself. She goes to the kitchen.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, I mean, the last thing she said before she sat at that dining table was, I hate my life. Yeah, she's not in a good place. Jenna, there is a deleted scene that is so fantastic where you kind of whisper to Michael, go to Jan, go comfort her. You kind of do this little motion, like, go say something. So he gets up and he walks over to her again. He's comforting her, but we're all witness to it. And it's so clumsy and awkward and. Sam, can you play the first part of that? Hey, no, no, no.

[Beth Grant]

Don't be sad.

[Angela Kinsey]

Don't be sad. Look, I care about you and I support you.

[Jenna Fischer]

And you are smart and beautiful.

[Angela Kinsey]

And you have beautiful bosoms, and you can't even tell they're fake unless you're naked. And I believe that with my support and your Constant calls to Dr. Perry on my phone plan, which is a little bit of a strain because I only have 20 anytime minutes a month. Every minute after that is 75 cents.

[Jenna Fischer]

You should look at some other plans.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, thanks, weirdo.

[Jenna Fischer]

But you know what? I'm months to month because I don't want to too.

[John Krasinski]

Your commitment.

[Angela Kinsey]

I remember when he turned to Beth and goes, oh, thanks, weirdo. We all lost it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, Gene said that's one of his favorite lines that got cut.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, really?

[Jenna Fischer]

Mm. He loves that moment.

[Angela Kinsey]

Michael continues to try to comfort Jan, and it doesn't get any better, but it really paints a picture of how he feels about his home life with her.

[Jenna Fischer]

What were you saying to Jan?

[Angela Kinsey]

Honey, nobody in the complex likes you, but you have made this place look great. It's like a museum. You can't touch anything, which is a really strange way to feel in the place that you live. You have made this home. Home, a house.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's just what Paul Feig said about their design of the house. Yes. Like a museum.

[Angela Kinsey]

You have made this warm, cozy home, a house.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, Michael. I think they were right to leave those out, because otherwise, I think we might have felt too badly for Jan when Michael is about to do what he's about to do. But before we get there, Angela, I have to talk about this moment when Dwight offers you some of his beet salad, and you respond by saying the thought of popping one of his beets into your mouth makes you want to vomit. Because I remember something else that was happening during this scene. Will you share it with us?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. It was actually really hard for me to focus in this scene and say my dialogue, because Jenna, my daughter in my belly, just decided in that moment she was going to run a full marathon. She was like, dig a diggity. Dig a diggity and kicking so much. I don't know. Maybe it's the sound of Rainn Wilson's voice. Maybe Rainn's voice awoken my child in my womb and she was ready to fight. But it was so surreal to me to be thinking about the timing of the scene and everyone's dialogue and when I was supposed to come in and trying not to laugh in the meantime, having this, like, wrestling match happening in my belly.

[Jenna Fischer]

I think there are a lot of women who can relate to that, Angela. I have a friend who is a lawyer, and she was very, very pregnant, and she was having to take a deposition, and she told me at the end of the day, she Was like, I could barely focus on what I was doing because I was having to give very carefully worded questions and comments because it was all going on the record. But all the while, her kid in her belly was just tossing and turning. Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

So much so. And I have shared this story before, and it's one of my favorite memories. And while the scene was going on, I'm talking, everyone is saying their lines, and there's the rapid cadence of the dialogue. I, off camera, grabbed Ed's hand and under the table, put it on my belly. And he turned to me with his eyes wide, and all of a sudden, he wasn't Andy, he was Ed. And he mouthed to me, oh, my gosh. I needed someone else to know and to witness, like, what I was, like, going through in the moment. And it's a special memory to me. And when I rewatched the episode with my daughter, I said, isabel, you were running a marathon in mommy's belly right now. And she was like, what? It's so special to me, Guys, women are warriors.

[Jenna Fischer]

We go to work and we focus on our work as if we don't have that going on. Try to imagine how I could put it to a man, like, okay, you're trying to give the most important presentation of your life and imagine a puppy is jumping at your leg the whole time. Like just the most distracting thing jumping.

[Angela Kinsey]

At your leg, but it's inside you, which is even weirder. It's like the alien. What is happening?

[Jenna Fischer]

Women are warriors. Way to go, Ange. Beth Grant also shared her memories about shooting this dinner table scene. Let's have a listen.

[Beth Grant]

Sitting at that table and, you know, sucking on those beats. The reason I was sucking on those beats was to keep from laughing. And rain's over there eating and going.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm.

[Beth Grant]

There's so much subtle humor in this episode. And then, of course, the demented relationship that they have. I love you all so much. I'm so honored to be part of this very popular and respected episode. Each of you doing such beautiful, subtle, hilarious comedy. And I was so thrilled to see that all of you broke up. Once we got inside and we sat down at the table and someone would break and say, sorry, sorry. And then someone else would break, sorry, sorry. And then we'd keep going. The last thing I'll say is, when I came home, I said, I do not know how Paul is going to edit this. It's too hilarious. Every moment is a three hour episode. I don't understand how he's going to do It. But by golly, you did it. And it is just an honor to have been part of this amazing and as I say again, demented episode.

[Angela Kinsey]

Amazing and demented.

[Jenna Fischer]

That sums it up.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Gene told me that he and Lee actually begged NBC to make this a super sized episode, but I guess the schedule had already been set. But he also told me that they did end up releasing a 29 minute producer's cut on itunes that included a bunch of deleted scenes, including some of the ones we talked about. Like the granola bar scene.

[Angela Kinsey]

Maybe NBC didn't supersize it because they were holding a grudge because Greg wanted it to go as is. Ooh.

[Jenna Fischer]

Wow. I love that speculation. They're like, no, you can have your weirdo episode, but it's only going to be 22 minutes.

[Angela Kinsey]

We're not going to make it big.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's what she said.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, that's what she said.

[Paul Feig]

Oh.

[Angela Kinsey]

One other little detail from this dinner party is how enormous the glasses were that Dwight was drinking from. To me, they look like glasses you buy at Spencer's Gifts. Remember that place in the mall where you could get like, kind of joke sized stuff? Well, Paul really loved these glasses and there was one detail about them he wanted to share with us.

[Paul Feig]

One of my favorite gags in the show is when Dwight comes over with his babysitter and they're at dinner with the wine glasses. I have them fill the wine all the way to the top because I figured that's what Dwight would think he would do with a big wine glass is he would fill it right to the rim. So that's a little wine lover's joke for everybody.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know what they look like to me, Angela? They look like those wine glasses that I see a lot of moms post on Instagram about getting through their day.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wine weekend with the ladies and the wine glasses, like the size of your head.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. That's what they remind me of.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, my God. Lady, guess what.

[Angela Kinsey]

What?

[Jenna Fischer]

The food is ready.

[Angela Kinsey]

The food is ready, but it might be poisoned. Oh, no.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, my gosh. Yes. Michael whispers to Pam. He thinks that Jan has maybe been trying to poison him.

[Angela Kinsey]

He can't prove it, but he thinks.

[Jenna Fischer]

He just hopes she didn't do anything to the food tonight.

[Angela Kinsey]

Like, what has been happening to Michael? Has he been having violent diarrhea? Stomach cramping after he eats with her? Like, what is making him think this?

[Jenna Fischer]

Pam has a talking head. Poor Pam is so hungry. She says she knows that Jan did not poison the food, but if she were going to Poison the food. Wouldn't she have poisoned Pam's since she is Michael's former lover? And now, you know, Pam is not going to be able to eat you guys.

[Angela Kinsey]

Michael has soft teeth. We learned that in this episode. And because of his soft teeth, he has to dip his meat into his wine or probably whatever beverage is in front of him. And Jan hates it. This has clearly come up before, and she doesn't want him to do it. She's like, could you stop doing it? It's disgusting.

[Jenna Fischer]

Lady, can I tell you a story about a guy I dated?

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, God, I was so worried you were about to tell me you dipped meat into your beverages. But it's about a different. It's a guy.

[Jenna Fischer]

Angela, how long have you known me? You thought maybe I dip my meat and beverages?

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, you made a face. You guys can't see her, but she made a face. You did the thing with your shoulders that you do, Jenna, when you're about to share something with me that you haven't shared before. And so I thought, oh, my God, I've eaten with her, but have I ever eaten red meat with her?

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, my God, no. I eat meat normally. I can't believe that's a sentence I had to say. Well, but I did. No, what I was going to share was I dated a guy who, first of all, had to drink milk with every meal. Not water.

[Angela Kinsey]

Gross.

[Jenna Fischer]

He was a grown man, but he had to have a big, tall glass of milk. I mean, maybe no judgment, but I'm just saying. I don't know.

[Angela Kinsey]

I judge. Okay, go on.

[Jenna Fischer]

We're at a restaurant, orders a tall glass of milk.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

But he had this thing where he would take a bite of food and then immediately take a sip of milk and then chew the food with the milk in his mouth and then swallow it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, God. And you had to sit and watch that through a whole meal?

[Jenna Fischer]

This was his preferred way of eating. He liked the taste of his food mixed with a sip of milk.

[Angela Kinsey]

All foods.

[Jenna Fischer]

Every meal, every food. A bite of sandwich, sip of milk, forkful of spaghetti, sip of milk.

[Angela Kinsey]

That is disgusting. That's a deal breaker for me. I can't spend the rest of my life watching you take one bite, a swig of milk and slosh it around. I can't do it.

[Beth Grant]

I'm out.

[Jenna Fischer]

I dated him a long time.

[Angela Kinsey]

How long?

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't want to say.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, no. Oh, no.

[Jenna Fischer]

But it was a lot of meals.

[Angela Kinsey]

A lot of milk meals.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, listen, Michael is really offended that Jan has pointed out this quirk in front of the dinner party. And she is so evil, she goes, oops. And that's it. Michael has had it. He is going to take back his space. He marches off. We don't know where he's going or.

[Jenna Fischer]

What he's getting while he's gone. I got a little glimpse of your plate, Angela.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Will you please tell people what you did?

[Angela Kinsey]

You guys, it was one of those little actory moments. And it might also have been because I was really pregnant and everything was smelling so strong to me. But I took my napkin, my fancy napkin that Jan had laid out for all of us, and I just gently covered my meat with it so I didn't have to look at it. And I thought Angela Martin would do that because she's a vegetarian. She wouldn't have eaten the meat or wanted to look at it. But she wasn't gonna say anything because this is clearly not the dinner party where you wanna voice up about the food. So I covered my meat with the napkin.

[Jenna Fischer]

So brilliant. I love that choice. Well, Michael comes back to the table, and he has brought with him his neon beer sign. And he takes a painting off the wall, which, by the way, I wanna point out, is red.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm.

[Jenna Fischer]

And he hangs up his beer sign. And when the neon light goes on, you hear the hum. And we are just bathed in this glow from this sign.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, listen, it's a St. Pauli Girl beer sign, and it's outlined in blue. So when he turned it on, it was like a cascade of blue light filled the whole room.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's just so incredible.

[Angela Kinsey]

And you see. See the blue on Melora's face? That's how bright the light is. Jan is furious.

[Jenna Fischer]

She gets up, she turns on Hunter's cd, and now we are going to have the argument.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, we thought we had the argument, but now the showdown is about to happen.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. They start arguing about talent, about creativity. Michael's like, I don't think he's a good singer. I don't think he's very good at all. But Jan seems to love him.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's one of my favorite lines. Jan says, at least he's an artist. And Michael says, bfd, I'm a screenwriter, and this is my favorite line. Jan says, and I'm a candle maker, but you don't hear me bragging about it. Yeah, it's one of my favorite lines of the whole episode.

[Jenna Fischer]

I also like this couplet. You burn it, you buy it. And then Michael says, great. I'll be your first customer.

[Angela Kinsey]

You're hardly my first.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, My God, Angela, I cannot believe we got to sit in that room.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, we got front row seats to this live show. It was mind blowing.

[Angela Kinsey]

Just the two of them were doing this dance and we got to watch it. I am still blown away that we got to be there.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, when we asked Rainn Wilson about this episode, this is what he talked about.

[Paul Feig]

I think the true hero of Dinner Party is the magnificent Melora Hardin, who is insanely brilliant all through the series, but especially in that episode. I mean, Steve Carell being one of the all time greats on the planet Earth, comedic actors, and Melora Hardin stands toe to toe with him all the way through it being just as funny, just as specific, just as weird. And it's where you kind of see that Jan has turned a corner and that there is underneath this kind of external facade of blonde efficiency, there is a very, very weird, egotistical, messed up human being under there. Her candles on and on. But her performance is just magnificent. It's so dry.

[John Krasinski]

It stands the test of time as.

[Paul Feig]

Just one of the great all time performances all throughout the series, but especially in that episode. When I rewatched it recently with my son, I was blown away by how great she was.

[Jenna Fischer]

Melora is the star of this episode. She just is.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

We were so lucky to have her. I mean, back on the pilot when we cast her, could we have known that this is what was going to happen?

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, Jenna, Melora has shared with us that she felt like they knew the chemistry these characters could have if they really got room to run. Way back on the pilot. Here's what she had to say.

[Melora Hardin]

The whole Jan and Michael arc started when we were having lunch at the pilot episode. Me and Steve and Greg were all having lunch together. And somehow Steve and I both said, like there was just some spark and some weird dysfunctional attraction between Michael and Jan that if we ever got so lucky to, we would hope that we could get them to hook up somehow, some way at some conference or something. So that was the beginning of it. So I think going into it, I was always aware of what the potential for sort of showing this wonderfully complicated and dysfunctional relationship was. The hilarity of that, it was just so funny and so kind of dark and darkly funny, which just really appeals to my personal sense of. I really loved that the Dinner Party took it to that next step of implosion. Yeah. Was just thrilled. Was just thrilled that we had a chance to really implode on screen in front of everybody and hopefully get a lot of laughs out of it, which we did.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, speaking of implosion, this whole thing is about to crescendo when Jan picks up a Dundee and smashes Michael's beloved plasma screen TV.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, I mean, he's like, that was $200. Good luck paying me back on your $0 salary, babe. My favorite moment after that, there's the silence of like, oh, my God, what just happened? And the person that calls it for the night that's like, yeah, I'm done here. Is Melvina. She's like, yeah, I'm gonna go.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, Melvina is the only person who doesn't work for this guy. So she could be like, yeah, I'm out of here. Yeah, this has taken a turn for me. Well, we had a fan question. Angela from Meg, Emily, Ethan, and Emma. How many plasma screen TVs were broken by a Dundee and how many takes did this actually require? Well, I reached out to good old Kentopedia who told me that those little TVs were actually kind of expensive. He said they bought five of them and we broke four. Oh, now, I remember doing a bunch of takes with Melora where she missed at first and they would have us react as if she hit it. They could always use our reaction. But then she only had those five chances to actually land the dundee when she was on camera.

[Angela Kinsey]

And, you know, I mean, the sort of comical thing is it wasn't a big target.

[Jenna Fischer]

It wasn't.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's a small thing to hit square in the middle with a Dundee.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's true.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, we're all going to follow Melvina out the door, right? Everyone gets up from the table, they're going to leave. I was actually asked not to get up from the table, if you notice. And it's because you would have seen my belly. So I'm the last to leave the dining room.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, not only do we leave, but the police arrive.

[Angela Kinsey]

There are two moments that are so delicious in the scene. Well, one of my first things is right away, the police officers are like, hey, Dwight. Because they know him because he's always hanging around them. He, like, wants to be part of the club. And the other thing is when Michael says to them, as if they know what he's talking about, he says, my girlfriend threw a Dundee at my tv. Yeah, can you imagine?

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, they ask if he wants to press charges because some neighbors heard a lot of yelling, a big domestic disturbance, and Michael says, I'll take the fall. And they're like, no, you're actually.

[Angela Kinsey]

You're actually not in fault you don't have to take the fall. Is there anywhere you can go tonight?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. And Dwight offers to take Michael home with him, which Michael refuses until he sees Jan come out of the condo. And then he's like, yeah, yeah, okay. No, I'll go home with you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, Jenna, as everyone is leaving, there was a Dwight and Angela deleted scene. And Angela is very scared. Sassy with Dwight. I want to play it.

[Jenna Fischer]

I noticed you're wearing open toed shoes. Since when did you become a whore?

[Angela Kinsey]

There might be a lot of things about me that shock you. Now if you excuse me, I have to get back to my date. There might be a lot of things about me that shock you. And then I look them up and down and I coyly kind of smile and I walk away. And now there's this series of scenes, right, that kind of wrap up the episode. There's a montage of Jan. She's trying to fix the Dundee. You can tell she's sad. She knows this night went horrible. Clearly knows this is a night they might not come back from. Right?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

You see Jim and Pam having this really cute scene. They finally got food. They're having a hamburger.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. We got a fan question about this from Reagan Colliner, who wants to know what burger place did Jim and Pam eat at the end because the burgers looked amazing. I'll tell you what, the burgers were amazing. I don't know if it was just because I'd spent four days saying I was hungry, but when I got that burger, I'm really eating it in that scene. I think you can tell.

[Angela Kinsey]

I think you were happy to eat anything other than that granola bar.

[Jenna Fischer]

I think I was. Well, we filmed that scene at the Home Plate burger joint. And it was this little mom and pop hamburger stand which eventually, sadly went out of business. It's now a smog shop. And in that same strip mall, there was a car wash that they turned into a cold Stone creamery. And that is where Andy and Angela are sitting in the car having their ice cream.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. Ed and I have a very funny story about this moment. And I asked Ed, I texted him, I said, ed, can I share about the car scene? And he's like, yes, you can tell everyone. I farted in the car. So we're in the car and he's supposed to lick a little bit of my ice cream and then I have to squish it on the side, Right? It took a few tries to get that squish just right. And in between setting up, they'd have to clean the door. And we're in between setups. And Ed had a little toot, and I was really pregnant, as you guys know, and it smelled. And I was like, oh, no. Oh, no. And we were rolling when it happened. And so it's in the bloopers. Here it is. Oh, God. Oh, gosh.

[Beth Grant]

Oh, no.

[Paul Feig]

Eventually, coming out of the car. I think I know it. I'm sorry.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's not that bad.

[Jenna Fischer]

He drove you from the car. You had to get out.

[Angela Kinsey]

I had to get out of the car. And our crew was listening the whole time, and they were cracking up. Ed is hitting the dashboard like, no, no, come back. I'm sorry. It cracks us up. It makes me laugh. Oh, my gosh. Years later, Jenna, when the show wrapped, Ed gave me the sweetest card. He wrote all of these lovely things, and he ended it with, and I farted in a car with you. So we'll always have that. Love, Ed. It happens, guys. It happens. But that one made the blooper real.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, the very last scene is Dwight and Michael pulling up to this bus stop. And as they pass by, we can see that Dwight's babysitter is waiting for the bus with her cooler. And they do not offer her a ride. It's terrible. But Beth Grant sent in a little memory of shooting this as well.

[Beth Grant]

I must say, at the end, when I'm standing at the bus stop waiting for the bus. Cause he hasn't even had the decency to drive me home. And his car pulls up, and we have this moment of looking at each other, to me is so esoteric and brilliant and wonderful. And Rains looked to me. And then he drives off, leaving me at the bus stop. He's a free man.

[Jenna Fischer]

I just love how tickled she is by her whole storyline in this. She was so, so game for all of it. And I loved having her on set. She was an absolute delight.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. And, Beth, oh, my goodness. Thank you so much for sending in these audio clips. And thank you to Melora and Rain and John and Ed and Paul Feig, Gene and Lee, Kintopedia, Jenna. Everyone really showed up for us for this episode. And Steve, read the summary, guys.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's dinner party. We hope you liked it. Angela and I worked extra long on this episode because we wanted to get everything we could and share it with you. This is one of our favorite memories of shooting the show, and we hope we did it justice.

[Angela Kinsey]

We love you guys so much. Thanks for listening. Go light your candles, take a minute for yourself, and find some serenity Sam.

[Jenna Fischer]

Will you take us out with just one night?

[Angela Kinsey]

That one night you made everything all right. So, Ross. So right. All night. All right. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. So, Ross. All right.

[Jenna Fischer]

Thank you for listening to Office Ladies. Second drink.

[Angela Kinsey]

This episode was initially created in collaboration with Earwolf.

[Jenna Fischer]

Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey.

[Angela Kinsey]

Our executive producer is Cassie Jerkins, and our audio engineer and associate producer is Molly Nugent. Odyssey's executive producer is Leah Reese.

[Jenna Fischer]

Dennis. Office Ladies was mixed and mastered by Bill Schultz. Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.