Second Drink: Weight Loss, Part 1

Summary

Office Ladies Podcast Summary

Episode: Second Drink: Weight Loss, Part 1
Date: March 16, 2026
Hosts: Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey

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Overview

In this "Second Drink" episode, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey kick off season five of The Office with an in-depth rewatch and behind-the-scenes breakdown of the two-part "Weight Loss" opener, focusing on Part 1. The episode explores fan reactions, memorable production stories, and insider details about making this milestone episode. As always, Jenna and Angela bring their authentic friendship and memories, serving up a blend of hilarious banter, thoughtful viewer mail responses, and fascinating details that only the original Office ladies can share.

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Main Themes & Key Discussion Points

Fan Mail Highlights & Reactions (02:20–04:23)

• Episodes People Skip: Jenna shares fan mail revealing some skip "Weight Loss" during rewatches because they find it triggering due to its focus on weight loss competitions and Kelly's extreme measures. ("Some people skip weight loss. They find this episode triggering... they have to skip it." – Jenna, 02:32)
• Solving Mysteries: Listeners thank Angela and crew member Kelly Cantley for solving the mystery of Meredith’s red face.
• First Episode Back In Person: Fans gush about the hosts’ excitement and chemistry when they recorded together again after the pandemic.

Podcast Preparation Methods (04:23–07:20)

• Angela details her transition from colorful note cards to a fully digital, color-coded system for notes, which reduced her colored ink usage but led to reliance on sticky notes.
• Both hosts elaborate on their collaborative process: "We like to surprise each other as well, so we also keep separate documents." – Jenna, 06:45
• Angela’s daughter notes both women are “really good research writers,” a compliment both relish.

Kicking Off Season Five (07:52–09:55)

• Episode Overview: Dunder Mifflin participates in an 8-week company-wide weight loss competition; Pam leaves for art school in New York; Andy pressures Angela about their wedding, while she continues her affair with Dwight.
• 28 episodes are ordered for season five to make up for season four’s shortened run due to the writer’s strike.

Office & Parks & Rec Timeline Clarification (10:01–12:16)

• The hosts correct past podcast errors about Rashida Jones leaving The Office to join Parks and Rec—revealing she left for storyline reasons and Parks and Rec didn’t exist until midway through season five. This change is important as it led to new showrunners (Jen Salata and Paul Lieberstein) stepping in.

Writers’ Room & Structure Innovation (12:16–13:31)

• Development of "Weight Loss": Writers wanted a weight loss episode for a long time but struggled to fit it into a single day. NBC’s request for a one-hour premiere led to the “summer retrospective” idea—showing the Dunder Mifflin staff across the summer.
• The episode’s pacing is faster than in previous seasons, incorporating more supporting characters and jokes.

All-Crew Episode Commentary: Production Deep Dive (13:40–18:11)

• Angela lauds the all-crew DVD commentary for "Weight Loss," and lists contributors:
  • Randy Cordray (line producer)
  • Kelly Cantley (first assistant director)
  • Alicia Raycraft (costume designer), and more.
• Continuity Challenges: Eight wardrobe and office set changes; tracking the stage of Meredith’s sunburn, the goatee beards, and the fruit’s rotting state, among other details.
• Editing was especially hard because, unlike usual, scenes couldn't be rearranged due to time progression.

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Detailed Episode Breakdown

Conference Room Feast: Preparing for Weigh-In (22:04–27:00)

• Michael encourages everyone to bulk up and even avoid the bathroom before the official weigh-in. The stakes: three extra vacation days to the winning branch.
• Jenna lists all the (mostly unhealthy) food present, noting the "funky" cheese in the fondue fountain.
• Anecdote: Jenna recounts a college story about entering a weight loss contest and front-loading junk food—ending up heavier and with an embarrassing "hostage newspaper photo."
• Dwight sprays all leftovers with prop "bug spray" (actually aerosol water) to foil anyone from taking food home (26:28).
• Memorable quote:
  • "Stanley really wants to take some of these dumplings home, but Dwight is like, no, no, you cannot take any of this food home..." – Jenna, 25:36

Scale Prop & Meredith’s Face Mystery (27:00–31:23)

• The custom-built group scale in the warehouse is explained; it was made just for the show.
• Meredith’s Red Face: The red face was due to a deleted subplot about a severe sunburn from a fishing trip—makeup tracked several stages of burn for continuity, but the story was cut while the look remained.
  • "Kate, you know what? You should win team player award for the run of The Office." – Angela, 28:15

On-Screen Weight & Representation (30:16–31:23)

• Pam’s weight is displayed as 126 lbs in the weigh-in. Jenna recalls asking the writers to use her real weight at the time, rather than a higher speculative number.

Supporting Character Bits & Production Details (31:23–34:15)

• Stanley’s talking head features a photoshopped old prom photo of actor Leslie David Baker.
• The yoga class scene only includes Creed, Kelly, and Michael. Michael's “I learned that her butt refuses to quit” about Holly stands out (33:05).
• Brief aside on Lonesome Dove: “I got so excited just to see one of [Larry McMurtry’s] pieces of work mentioned…”

Real-Life Allergies Chat (34:09–35:48)

• Brief detour where Jenna shares she’s allergic to sweet potatoes and Angela mentions her daughter’s dairy sensitivity, segueing into cat and duck feeding myths.

Production Trivia – Fruit in the Vending Machine (35:48–36:28)

• Dwight smashing junk food and loading fruit into the vending machine took over an hour for a seven-second scene due to constant resets.

Angela & Andy Wedding Antics & Digital Wardrobe (38:45–39:22)

• Andy’s on-screen tie and shirt had to be digitally changed in post-production to maintain continuity after a scene was moved.
• Jenna’s deep-dive on The Breakers mansion—Andy and Angela’s proposed wedding venue—is a trivia highlight.

Angela/Dwight/Andy Love Triangle (41:11–42:41)

• Angela’s talking head from deleted scenes spells it out: "[I] have one fiancé and I have physical relations with one man."
• Documentary crew’s boldness in confronting Angela about her double life is highlighted.

Goodbye Scene for Pam: Real-World Production Issues (43:07–46:37)

• Michael’s emotional goodbye features a lost poem ending with "seagulls."
• Scene shot on a "triple digit" hot day, so Steve Carell wore an athlete’s cooling vest under his suit costume.
• Lighthearted banter about warming vests and hidden heating packs on set.

Michael and Holly’s Rap: True Love? (46:40–47:31)

• Their “adorable” (and largely scripted) rap was a fan favorite, but they improvised for over ten minutes, cementing their onscreen chemistry.

New Receptionist & Pam’s Art School Challenges (47:37–49:52)

• Introduction of Rani (Dale Raul), who would later return.
• Pam, surrounded by much younger students, struggles to fit in—it was a deliberate costuming and casting choice to highlight her as a “nontraditional student.”

Kelly’s Fad Diets & Poop Tea Antics (50:19–51:56)

• Kelly’s “master cleanse” diet is lampooned.
• Jenna shares a hilarious (and gross) story about trying (and failing) a flat tummy tea ad campaign, resulting in nothing but bloating and excessive farting with her Splitting Up Together co-star.

Deleted Scenes & Character Interplay (52:28–54:00)

• Jan delegating tasks to Michael (e.g., grocery errands) as if he’s her assistant.
• Jim’s talking head and Jan’s office-wide email clarify Michael is NOT the father of Jan’s baby, complete with a sassy PS.

Holly & Kevin Fiasco (58:32–59:14)

• Holly scolds Angela for berating “special needs” (as Dwight misled her), to the group’s delight and Kevin's humiliation.

Andy’s Wedding Locations & Angela’s Demands (60:05–66:39)

• Andy loses deposits at multiple venues. Angela’s sly, escalating avoidance begets more secret Dwight encounters.
• Angela’s iconic talking head ("I have a nice comforter and several cozy pillows... That's how I sleep at night.") was fully scripted.

Pam & Jim’s IChat Scene: Tech Problems & Set Nostalgia (61:53–63:39)

• Video call with real-time iChat caused wireless camera glitches. Jenna fondly recalls being “back” on the warehouse set for the day.

Weight Loss Competition Breakdowns & Dieting Extremes (74:08–76:54)

• Kelly, desperate to lose weight, swallows a tapeworm Creed gave her. Jenna shares real medical info about the dangers and scams of tapeworm diets.
• Angela teases a real-life "tapeworm" behind-the-scenes story she’ll only reveal in the podcast finale.

Finale & Teasers for Part Two (76:42–76:58)

• The first half ends with a promise of more Jam (Jim/Pam) goodness in Part Two, particularly Jim’s big surprise for Pam next week.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You guys are both really good research writers.” (Angela’s daughter about Angela & Jenna, 07:00)
• “There is so much awesome information about the making of weight loss 1 and 2.” (Angela, 15:04)
• On the Meredith Sunburn Mystery: “Her character was always getting into some kind of mishap, which resulted in Kate being in the hair and makeup trailer forever.” – Angela, 28:15
• “I have a nice comforter and several cozy pillows. I usually read a chapter of a book and it’s lights out by 8:30. That’s how I sleep at night.” – Angela, recounting her character’s scripted line, 61:17
• “Don’t give milk to cats…they are allergic to the dairy in milk.” – Jenna, 35:36
• “Do not swallow a tapeworm on purpose are words I’m saying just in case anyone out there thought they should.” – Jenna, 75:59
• “Crew DVD commentaries are the best!” – Angela, paraphrased throughout

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:20: Fan mail on “Weight Loss” episode and returning to in-person recording.
• 04:23: Angela’s note card to document to paperless prep journey.
• 07:52: Season 5 overview; 28-episode order.
• 10:01: Correcting Parks & Rec timeline.
• 13:40: Crew commentary and production continuity challenges.
• 22:04: Opening feast and weigh-in tricks.
• 27:03: Custom prop scale & Meredith’s sunburn explained.
• 31:23: Stanley’s weight loss journey & yoga class scene.
• 33:05: Michael’s “her butt refuses to quit” line.
• 35:48: Fruit in vending machine took an hour to shoot.
• 39:22: The Breakers mansion trivia.
• 41:11: Deleted Angela/Dwight/Andy love triangle talking head.
• 43:20: Michael and Pam’s parking lot goodbye (and cooling vest trivia).
• 46:40: Michael & Holly’s “rap” scene; chemistry spark.
• 50:19: Kelly’s cleanse; Jenna’s “poop tea” anecdote.
• 60:05: Andy’s wedding venue fails & digital wardrobe correction.
• 61:53: Pam/Jim real-time IChat scene & tech mishaps.
• 74:08: Tapeworm diet and real-life dangers.
• 76:42: End note & tease for Part 2.

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Tone & Final Thoughts

Jenna and Angela keep the episode lively, candid, and warm, giving plenty of space for jokes, tangents, and affectionate ribbing—at each other and their characters. Their affection for the cast, crew, and Office fandom is palpable. The blend of trivia, production secrets, and personal anecdotes make the episode a must-listen (or, in this case, a must-read summary) for both Office die-hards and casual fans.

Want More?

Stay tuned for Part 2 of "Weight Loss," where Jim’s big surprise for Pam—and more behind-the-scenes scoop—await!

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This summary omits ads and non-content promotional sections for clarity and brevity.

Transcript

[Angela Kinsey]

When it comes to dog food, you kind of always feel like you have to choose. You have to have food that's fresh and healthy or do you have food that's easy to store and serve, but it doesn't always feel like it's both?

[Jenna Fischer]

That's where Sundaze comes in. Sundaze was founded by veterinarian and mom, Dr. Tori Waxman, who was tired of seeing those quote unquote premium dog foods full of fillers and synthetic junk. So she created Sundays. But you don't have to put it in the refrigerator.

[Angela Kinsey]

No, because they're air dried and it's real food made in a human grade kitchen.

[Jenna Fischer]

There's no weird ingredients, no fillers. And the best part, you just scoop it and serve.

[Angela Kinsey]

So make the switch to Sundays. Go right now to sundaysfordogs.com OfficeLadies50 and get 50% off your first order. Or you can use code OfficeLadies50 at checkout.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's 50% off your first order at sundaysfordogs.com.au OfficeLadies50 sundaysfordogs.com Office Ladies50 or use

[Angela Kinsey]

code OfficeLadies50 at Checkout.

[Jenna Fischer]

You have heard us talk about quints before, but I've got a quints story for you. I talked about the jeans that the cool mom complimented me. I got those on quints. I was at a book club and one of the ladies told me she bought the jeans and she loves them. We're really getting the word out about Quince.

[Angela Kinsey]

We love Quince. Go to their website. They have so many great products and they're really well made. Like the little sweater that I've been wanting. It's back in stock, guys.

[Jenna Fischer]

Quince works directly with safe ethical factories. They cut out the middlemen. You're not paying for brand markup or fancy retail stores, just great quality clothing.

[Angela Kinsey]

Go to quince.com officeladies for free shipping and 365 day returns. That's a full year to wear it and love it.

[Jenna Fischer]

And you will now available in Canada too. Don't keep settling. For clothes that don't last. Go to Q U I n c e.com officeladies for free shipping and 365 day returns.

[Angela Kinsey]

Quince.com officeladies hello and welcome to your second drink of weight loss, part one.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I was going through our mail for this episode and we had three fan mail flurries on this episode. First, you know, Angela, how there are some episodes that people skip when they do a rewatch of the Office.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah, like Scott's tots.

[Jenna Fischer]

Exactly. Well, I found out some people skip weight loss.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh.

[Jenna Fischer]

They find this episode triggering just the whole idea of a weight loss competition, and especially the dramatic measures that Kelly is taking. They can't watch it. They have to skip it.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, I do get that. And also, I don't think most companies are making their employees enter a weight loss competition these days. Like, who's doing that?

[Jenna Fischer]

No, we've definitely evolved since this episode aired in, like, what, 2008? Well, we also got a lot of mail. Our second fan mail flurry was just people thanking you, Angela and Kelly Cantley for. For explaining why Meredith's face is all red in this episode.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, those are some of my favorite moments on this podcast when we can solve little lingering questions for people.

[Angela Kinsey]

I love it now. And we've talked about this before, where we meet people and they love the podcast, but they say thank you. Cause now we know your crew, and we know what people do, what their jobs are, and they know names. They know Kelly Cantley.

[Jenna Fischer]

In her letter, she said, thank you to Angela and Kelly Cantley.

[Angela Kinsey]

I love that.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, finally, this was our first episode back in person, doing the podcast after the pandemic.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my gosh, that's so exciting.

[Jenna Fischer]

Our first time in studio, and we got this letter from Jessica B. Who said, the giddiness in your voices at the beginning of this episode was perfection. It was so cute to hear you two that excited just to be in the same room together. And we just got a lot of mail, people commenting that they felt like our chemistry was just off the charts. And they were so happy we were all together again.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, that makes me happy. I mean, we were emotional that day for many reasons. We were super happy. We were also just like the journey we had all been through collectively. Yeah. Lots of feelings.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, this brought up a question that I have for you, Angela.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

Do you remember in the early days, you would come to the podcast with all your note cards and you'd spread em out all over the table?

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah. Like the first couple of months.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. When we were in studio, of course. But then when we had to go remote and move into our closets, you didn't have room for your note cards. You were, like, balancing them on all kinds of stuff.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. You know, at the start of our podcast in 2019, we had this huge table, like you said, and I could spread them all out. And then I moved into Josh's closet right by all of his baseball hats. And I did. I tried to balance my Cards everywhere. I would drop them, I'd be shuffling through them. Cause I couldn't spread them out. And I migrated to a document.

[Jenna Fischer]

You did. Okay, so this is my question, because we talked about that, how you now worked off a document.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, lady, I will tell you. You have seen my documents. They are in all different colors. It's true.

[Jenna Fischer]

They're color coded.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

So highlighted portions.

[Angela Kinsey]

So, like, I would. In my note card days, I would have yellow note cards and pink ones and green ones, and they kind of meant different things to me. Like, my blue note cards were for, like, deleted scenes, so I would know. Okay. I put all the deleted scenes on blue note cards and then little tidbits or fan catches or background catches. So I do that. Now I go through my document, and I have green sections and red sections. And I used to print out my documents. And I don't know if you've noticed, but now I just read off my laptop.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

You want to know why? Why I keep running out of ink.

[Jenna Fischer]

You running out of the colored ink?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. I'm like, josh, I need more colored ink. I'm paperless now.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, my gosh. You went from note cards to a document to paperless.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, today, you and I are recording a bunch of different things. And so I have a combo. I'm paperless. But then look what's on my keyboard.

[Jenna Fischer]

You have four sticky notes to remind you of things. Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

So I guess I still, every once in a while, go back to a little post it that I stick onto my laptop to remind me of a few things.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, you know, people are always curious, how do we prepare our podcasts? And we put a lot of time and effort and research into them, whatever the subject is. And we share a little bit with each other. Like, I'll tackle this, you tackle that. But we like to surprise each other as well.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

So we also keep separate documents.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know, my daughter said something the other day. She's working on a paper. She's a junior in high school, and she knows you and I do our documents, you know, and she said, wow, mom, you know, one thing you and Jenna have in common?

[Jenna Fischer]

I was like, what?

[Angela Kinsey]

She goes, you guys are both really good research writers.

[Jenna Fischer]

That is a high compliment. I appreciate that.

[Angela Kinsey]

And I said, that means I do really enjoy that part of it. I do love to see what you're going to dig up and vice versa. And we kind of build the show together. And we both like to dig in and research new things.

[Jenna Fischer]

We do. All right, well, listen, everybody, that's all we got. Now here is your second drink of weight loss part one. 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. Hi, everyone. Hey.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my God.

[Jenna Fischer]

We are kicking off season five of the Office with Weight Loss Part one, Season flippin five. Yeah, we're here. Here we are.

[Angela Kinsey]

Let's do it.

[Jenna Fischer]

This is season five, episode one. Written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stepnitsky, Directed by Paul Feig. Stop talking. We already don't know what we're doing in here.

[Angela Kinsey]

Do you know what I was gonna do? I was gonna go, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo. And then I was like, no, that's annoying. So then I said nothing. And then you said nothing. And then we just stared at each other. You know why?

[Jenna Fischer]

Because we can. There might be a lot of long pauses in this podcast. Today, I'm going to move us into a summary. The gang at Dunder Mifflin participates in an eight week company wide weight loss competition. Pam begins her three month design program in New York City. And Andy attempts to get Angela to commit to wedding plans. But she's busy. She's having an affair with Dwight. An affair?

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. She is stressed the F out. And the minute Andy asks her about the wedding, she runs to Dwight.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, I have a question about that. Why can't you guys, like, have sex at home, like after work? Are you guys having sex at home after work or is it only in the warehouse?

[Angela Kinsey]

That is such a good question. I've never thought about. I mean, I definitely see their hookups in this episode whenever Angela is spiraling. Yeah, maybe she's happy at home with all of her cats. And maybe she doesn't let Andy come over so she doesn't need Dwight to cope. Yeah, or maybe they're just shagging everywhere. I don't know.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, we'll discuss more later.

[Angela Kinsey]

We'll discuss more.

[Jenna Fischer]

Guys, this was the start of our fifth season, like we said. And to make up for the shorter fourth season that got interrupted because of the writer strike, NBC ordered 28 episodes for season five. So this season has the most episodes of any Office season. Oh, my God.

[Angela Kinsey]

I didn't know that. Yeah, that's some good office trivia, my lady.

[Jenna Fischer]

Thank you. Thank you. Well, it's gonna Move us into fast fact number one, which is a little complicated. I'll tell you why. Okay, back at the end of season three, we said that Rashida Jones left the show and stopped playing Karen Filipelli because she had to go do Parks and Recreat.

[Angela Kinsey]

Was she not going to do Parks and Rec then?

[Jenna Fischer]

She wasn't, Ang. Because Parks and Recreation did not exist yet. Parks and Recreation does not exist until the middle of season five of the Office.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, farts. We got that wrong, m'. Lady.

[Jenna Fischer]

We did.

[Angela Kinsey]

Why am I saying m'? Lady?

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't know.

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't know. M'.

[Jenna Fischer]

Lady. The new lady.

[Angela Kinsey]

I hope not. Because people right now are like, my ears are bleeding. Stop saying m'. Lady. Wait, so Rashida, was she leaving to do a different project?

[Jenna Fischer]

No, she left because they finished the storyline of Karen, Jim, and Pam. It was a storyline thing. I mean, she did go on to do more projects. She did a bunch of movies in that time. But no, it was a storyline thing. Similarly, I'll have you know that we wondered during Branch wars if the photo of Hillary Clinton in her office was a nod to Leslie Knope loving Hillary Clinton. We thought that it was. It wasn't. Because again, there was no Leslie Knope. There was no Parks and Rec. Yet.

[Angela Kinsey]

We were determined to pull up Parks and Rec by a few years.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I love Parks and Rec, so I know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, well, there you go. We got that wrong.

[Jenna Fischer]

So this is important for two reasons. One, we need to know the timeline of Parks and Rec clearly. And number two, Greg Daniels, who created the American version of the Office, he created Parks and Rec along with one of our writers, Mike Shore. So midway through this season five, we're going to lose both Greg and Mike because they're going to be working on Parks and Rec. And that is why Jen Salata and Paul Lieberstein take over as the showrunners for season five. All right, there you go. Now, Mike Schur moved to Parks and Rec full time. Greg was doing both shows. Greg did a little bit of Parks and Rec. He did a little Office.

[Angela Kinsey]

He bounced back and forth.

[Jenna Fischer]

He did. Yes. Just wanted us to get that timeline correct.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, fast fact number two, Writer of this episode, Gene Stupnitsky, said that the idea for a weight loss episode had been on the writer's wall for a really long time, but they couldn't figure out how to do it in one day because, remember, they had that rule where they tried to have plot lines that only cover one workday.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right.

[Jenna Fischer]

When NBC asked for the Premiere of season five to be an hour long. Greg Daniels had the idea that we could do the weight loss episode as a sort of summer retrospective.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right. Because we never see the characters over the summer.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Jean said this was a really cool opportunity to see the characters over their summertime and that they almost called this episode summer. Huh. You might notice also for this episode, there is no cold open. It just starts with the opening credits. Jean said that there was a cold open in the script. It was written that way, but they actually just folded it in to the plot. And he said that the pacing of this episode is a little quicker than previous seasons. This is gonna become kind of our new pacing moving forward. And that this was a change they made so they could fit in more jokes and more supporting character storylines.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, I definitely noticed. I felt like it clipped along.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. Fast fact number three, this episode has an all crew commentary. Angela, take it away.

[Angela Kinsey]

It does, you guys. When I started listening to this DVD commentary and it was all crew, I called Jenna right away. It was one of the best DVD commentaries I have listened to up until now. It's so good.

[Jenna Fischer]

And you've listened to all of them.

[Angela Kinsey]

I have. And I want to share with you guys who is on this DVD commentary for weight loss. Okay. It's phenomenal. It's great. So much information. At the beginning of the DVD commentary, everyone in the crew went around, said their names and their job title for this episode.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

Randy Cordray, our brand new line producer. Michael Gallenberg, our production designer. Brian Whittle, our boom operator. Nick Carbone, our sound utility. Ben Patrick, our production sound mixer. Alicia Raycraft, our new costume designer. Kelly Cantley, our first assistant director. And Jake Oust, our post producer.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, my gosh. What was it like to hear all of their voices again?

[Angela Kinsey]

It was so wonderful. And you know, Kelly Cantley, I loved her so much. And Jenna, we still are on each other's Christmas card lists. We send each other Christmas cards every year. And I just adore her. And I texted her, I said, kelly, I can't tell you how wonderful it is. I just spent an hour with you, like, listening to your voice. I miss you so much. And she was like, ang, I miss you too, Ange.

[Jenna Fischer]

I get her Christmas cards too, from her and her husband Kevin and their two dogs. I look forward to them every year.

[Angela Kinsey]

There is so much awesome information about the making of weight loss 1 and 2. First thing I want to share with you guys, that this was Randy and Alicia's first episode that they ever worked on on the Office. And what an enormous, huge way to start their time on the show. So normally, one episode, as Jenna said, is one day. They had to take our show over the course of eight weeks in one episode. It was a continuity nightmare for Alicia. Wardrobe had eight changes. And, Jenna, you and I love tracking things. Well, guess who else loves tracking things?

[Jenna Fischer]

Alicia.

[Angela Kinsey]

Kelly Cantley.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, boy.

[Angela Kinsey]

Kelly Cantley. She listed off all of the things that they would have to track over Weight Loss 1 and 2. I loved it so much, I wrote it down and I began to track it as well. Number one, eight, wardrobe changes. Number two, eight, set dressings of the main office bullpen. And number three, was it raining or not raining outside the windows, depending on the scene. Number four, they had three different goatee beards on Michael, Ryan, and Dwight. Number five, Meredith's sunburned face. We'll get to that. Number six, the dry erase board with everyone's weight loss stats. Number seven, the fruit flies. And number eight, the rotting of fruit.

[Jenna Fischer]

Wow.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's what they were keeping track of. So many things. And then lastly, this episode was a huge challenge for the editing department. Do you remember in Goodbye Toby how I had the script, I had the shooting draft, and I kept telling you how the scenes were all rearranged differently for the episode that actually aired.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, Jake shared in the commentary that Greg and the writers were very used to being able to just move scenes around and kind of change how the episode would take shape. And they could not do that in this episode because it's week to week and everything progresses week to week within one episode. And you can't move around that story.

[Jenna Fischer]

No. And our clothes are changing, right? Yes, like you'd notice. But there is. I saw a little flub.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, well, you'll have to bring that up. They also address, and I'll bring this up when it happens, a character that they had to keep digitally changing their shirt.

[Jenna Fischer]

What? Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'll share when we get to the moment.

[Jenna Fischer]

Angela, I think you need to do fast facts more often because that is possibly one of my favorite fast facts we've ever done. Well, I'm giving you fast fact number three from now on.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, I bet you are. Thanks.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know, you guys, fast facts are really hard.

[Angela Kinsey]

Fast facts are really hard. Jenna created fast facts for herself and then was like, angela, these dang fast facts. I wish every week the crew did the DVD commentary is what I wish, because it's the best commentary. It was the most insightful, interesting, the best background Trivia. Fast fact 3 was easy because of Our crew's commentary.

[Jenna Fischer]

I cannot wait to watch that payoff as we break down this episode. Let's take a break. Shocker. I need to go to the bathroom.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know, we've had a big morning. It was a reunion. We both drank lots of beverages. All right, we're gonna go to the restroom. We'll be right back. I have found that hiring isn't just about finding someone who's willing to take the job. You might get lots of folks that are like, sure, I'll do that job, but it's finding the right person for the job. You know, the right person with the right background who can actually take your business and move it to the next level. You know what we need?

[Jenna Fischer]

I know what you're gonna say, lady.

[Angela Kinsey]

We need Indeed.

[Jenna Fischer]

With Indeed sponsored jobs, we would only be paying for results. No monthly subscription, no long term contract. We could join the 1.6 million companies that sponsor their jobs with Indeed. Lady. Spend more time interviewing candidates who check all your boxes. Less stress, less time, more results. Now with Indeed sponsored jobs. And listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves at indeed.com officeladies just go to

[Angela Kinsey]

indeed.com officeladies right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com officeladies Terms and conditions apply. Hiring. Do it the right way with Indeed. So I've decided something. I want to start wearing scrubs, like in my everyday life.

[Jenna Fischer]

First off, love this for you. Secondly, please explain.

[Angela Kinsey]

All right. Well, not just any scrubs. Specifically figs. It seems like every Dr. Derm pediatrician I meet with is wearing figs. And it shows. The fit, the colors, the comfort. It's all on point. I want in.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, I see the vision. Figs truly are as cute as they are functional. Soft, stretchy, and breathable. Yet durable enough for long back to back shifts.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right? Or in my case, grabbing a quick coffee or a grocery run. Sky's the limit, really.

[Jenna Fischer]

So true. They also come in so many fun colors and flattering styles. You could have a different look every day of the week.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know I would. And did I mention they also have loungewear, accessories, and even a collab with new balance on comfortable footwear?

[Jenna Fischer]

No, but I'm glad you did. Figs really does think of everything, don't they?

[Angela Kinsey]

They sure do. So if you work in healthcare, know someone who does or just want to rock some seriously comfy essentials, head to wearfigs.com right now and use code FIGSRX for 15% off your first order. That's where figs.com code FIGSRX. You know, a lot of times you get ads that are just not meant for you. You're like, why am I getting this? And a lot of times those business to business marketing ads get wasted on the wrong people.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, LinkedIn doesn't want to be one of those people that's sending out an ad that's not targeted, that's not intended. They have grown a network of over 1 billion professionals and 130 million decision makers. And that is where it stands apart from other ad buys.

[Angela Kinsey]

First of all, you can target your buyers by job title, industry, company role, seniority, skills and company revenue. So you can stop wasting budget on the wrong audience.

[Jenna Fischer]

If you want to reach the right professionals, use LinkedIn ads.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's why LinkedIn ads generate the highest business to business roas of all online ad networks. Seriously, all of them.

[Jenna Fischer]

Spend $250 on your first campaign on LinkedIn ads and get a free $250 credit for the next one. Just go to LinkedIn.com office. That's LinkedIn.com office.

[Angela Kinsey]

Terms and conditions apply. All right, well, we are back. Everyone is in the conference room. They are having a feast. I mean, there is a buffet of food happening here.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, well, Michael tells everyone they better eat up because it's their last meal. They're going to start this weight loss competition. But first they're trying to bulk up

[Angela Kinsey]

so that when they lose weight, the number is big. There's a big difference, right?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, exactly. Dwight has also told people they can't even use the bathroom. You're going to have to hold it. They want maximum poundage on the scale.

[Angela Kinsey]

And the stakes are high because Michael explains that this is a corporate weight loss challenge. And the branch that loses the most weight and wins three whole extra vacation days.

[Jenna Fischer]

Everyone's excited.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

I paused and I went frame by frame and I made a list of all the food I could see.

[Angela Kinsey]

I love this. This is reminding me a little bit of my pizza by Alfredo moment. Is it gonna be 10 minutes?

[Jenna Fischer]

No, there's not that much food.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, let's hear it.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, there is a chocolate fondue fountain. There is a cheese fondue fountain. There are marshmallows, fried chicken, ribs, maybe some waffles, cornbread, muffins, donuts, lots of soda, Mac and cheese dumplings. I swear someone has mashed potatoes and gravy on their plate. And then Jim has some strawberries on his plate. Probably for the chocolate fountain. But I was surprised to spot a bit of healthy food. Not surprised to see it on John Krasinski's plate, however. He was such a healthy eater.

[Angela Kinsey]

He was. Jenna, do you know what I remember about this scene? What? How funky that cheese got. Yeah, it got real smelly.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Kelly shares on the DVD that they could only keep that cheese melted for three hours, and then it would start

[Jenna Fischer]

to, like, coagulate or whatever.

[Angela Kinsey]

It got so gross.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, that really makes me think twice about any cheese. Fondue. Fountain.

[Angela Kinsey]

The fountain food. I might be done with fountain food.

[Jenna Fischer]

When I was in college, I had a boyfriend, and we read that there was, like, this protein shake company that was going to give a $10,000 prize to whoever lost the most weight and, like, gained the most muscle by, like, using their protein shake.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right. So the idea is to, like, get healthy, lose weight, and here's your incentive is a bunch of money or something.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. So we entered you and your boyfriend. Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

You did the shake challenge.

[Jenna Fischer]

We did. Here's the. Did the same thing where, like, in the week before you carved up, we did. We ate a bunch of food. I probably gained about £5 in one week. Yeah. Because we just, like, ate pizza and burgers. Because we were like, this is great. I mean, we'll start out with more weight, and then we'll lose it all

[Angela Kinsey]

and more and we'll win $10,000.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. I mean, we took pictures of ourselves. I still have it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, no.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, somewhere I have it. I know, because I was cleaning out some old photo albums and I found it, and it jogged this memory. You had to prove the day, you know, of the weight loss start. So you had to hold up that day's newspaper. I mean, like a hostage photo.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my God.

[Jenna Fischer]

So I've got this picture of myself.

[Angela Kinsey]

This was before you could Instagram. Now you can instastory your Instagram and it's a timestamp. But back then, you had to hold up, like, a newspaper.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. And take it with a regular old camera. I'm in, like, a sports bra and some, like, sport shorts, and I'm holding up a newspaper. And I will tell you what, not only did we not win, I did not lose any of the weight that you gained.

[Angela Kinsey]

Carb loading.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's right. After the eight weeks, I mean, we gave up so quickly. We were all in for the first week of the fitness challenge. And then all that happened was from all of this is that I gained five pounds and then I held up a newspaper. The end. So that memory Came flooding back as I was watching us in this conference room scene. So Stanley, Meredith, and Creed have plans for their leftovers. You know, Stanley really wants to take some of these dumplings home, But Dwight is like, no, no, you cannot take any of this food home. We're eating healthy now. And he starts spraying what looks like an insect repellent all over all of the food. We had a fan question from Chelsea B, Alice R. And Henry F. What was in the bottle that Dwight is spraying on the food?

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, guess who knows?

[Jenna Fischer]

You. Me.

[Angela Kinsey]

Thanks to our crew. It was not real bug spray, of course. This was a prop bottle that Phil Shea had designed. He had this made, and it was full of aerosol water. Oh, so he was just spraying water?

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, I assumed that's what it was, but it didn't look like water. I mean, it looks so real.

[Angela Kinsey]

I thought it looked real. And I thought everyone's reactions were really good. Great acting, folks. You sold it well.

[Jenna Fischer]

Now the gang is going to go down to the warehouse. They're going to weigh in.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. And Jenna, at 1 minute, 5 seconds, there is a great shot of the big scale that we're all going to get weighed on. And I have a prop breakdown.

[Jenna Fischer]

Give it to me.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. That scale was custom made by Rice Lake weighing Systems. They made it specific to our requests, and they were able to program the little computer screen with whatever the writers wanted them to put on it. Right. It was like part of the joke. Our weight. That was all like a writer's joke.

[Jenna Fischer]

My mind is being blown right now that that was not a real scale.

[Angela Kinsey]

No, the scale didn't exist. It was made just for us. And Rice Lake weighing system didn't ask for any credit or any company plug. They were huge fans of the show, and they did come to set the day we filmed this. And everyone on our crew said they were so nice. And after this episode aired, that scale stayed in the warehouse as part of the warehouse set.

[Jenna Fischer]

That I remember.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm.

[Jenna Fischer]

Now, during this weigh in, Angela, what's up with Meredith's face? Did you notice her face is all red? We got a lot of mail about it. They wanna know what's going on. Was there a storyline that.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yes. I want you guys to know I took a photo of Kate's face as Meredith looking like that. And I texted it to Kate last night, and I said, kate, you know what? You should win team player award for the run of the office. Cause her character was always getting into some kind of mishap, which resulted in Kate being in the Hair and makeup trailer forever, right?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And here was the storyline, and it's shared in the deleted scenes. Meredith gets severely sunburned. And here is her explanation. Sam, can you play the clip? These guys took me out in their fishing boat. I don't think I caught anything.

[Jenna Fischer]

Hello.

[Angela Kinsey]

Hello. Hey.

[Jenna Fischer]

Your face is almost back to normal.

[Angela Kinsey]

If one more kid calls me Hellboy,

[Jenna Fischer]

I swear to God. Oh, you wish. Hellboy's a hero. Oh, wow.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, she went out on a boat, got super, super sunburned, and this was something they had to watch in continuity of which stage of the sunburn was her face at. Then the whole storyline got delet. But they couldn't take out Kate's face. You know what I mean?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. So they just had to leave it in. And Kate said the day after the show aired, Steve came up to her on set and was like, you know what, Kate? I still thought it was funny. You know, I kind of love that Meredith has this mystery about her that she has this whole other life we don't even need to explain. And Kate said it made her feel so good that Steve was so thoughtful to come over and say that.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, that was hard. When you had a storyline and then you'd watch the episode, they wouldn't warn you. A lot of the times you'd just watch the episode, and it was gone.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And, you know, with supporting cast, we were often, you know, in the B or C story, and those really got moved around a lot.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And trimmed and edited, and it did happen. But Kate, man, such a good sport.

[Jenna Fischer]

Wow, Guys, also in this scene, Michael throws Pam off the scale because she's gonna go away to art school. So he doesn't want her extra poundage. Now they've already weighed in. And then Pam gets off the scale and a new weight is displayed.

[Angela Kinsey]

So embarrassing. Everyone is clocking this number change.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. We got some fan mail from Kim C. Who said during the group weigh in, it becomes clear that Pam weighs 126 pounds. Jenna, did the writers consult you about your actual weight when they added this fact, or did they just guess how much they thought you might weigh? And were you comfortable with sharing this speculation about your weight? Well, I'll tell you guys, actually, in the script, the original table draft, Pam weighed 145 pounds. And I said, you guys, this is. I feel like a weird thing for me to split hairs about, but I don't weigh 145 pounds. It's not accurate. Why don't you just put my real weight? Which at the time was 126 pounds. I don't weigh 126 pounds anymore. But at the time, that was my weight, and so they changed it. Yeah, but, yeah, when they speculated about my weight, they put me at 145. And I just. I don't know. I just corrected it. I thought it should be correct.

[Angela Kinsey]

I have no problem with that. Well, Jenna, that scene made me laugh. Just because your performance, your reaction, you watch everyone doing the math, and you're just standing there, and. And it was very funny the way you played that moment. Now it's week two of their weight loss contest. Oscar and Andy arrive. They're going to hold the elevator for Stanley, and Stanley says he forgot something. And then he takes the stairs without them knowing. And he has a great talking head where he shares that he's been losing weight on his own, and he just noticed some of his speed and fire, that he's lost a little bit of his pickup. And go. And he's doing this for himself.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. And in this talking head, he shows an old photo of himself. Well, we got some mail about that. People wanted to know, what is this picture? Is this from Leslie David Baker's real life? Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Is this young Leslie in this photo?

[Jenna Fischer]

It is young Leslie in the photo.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my God.

[Jenna Fischer]

I texted Leslie, and he gave me all the info.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, let's hear it.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's a Photoshop picture. He does not know any of the other people in the picture. Got it. They photoshopped him into it using one of his old prom photos.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, Leslie, I love that.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, they're really taking this whole get healthy fitness thing seriously. Holly is running a yoga class in the conference room. I only saw three people in attendance. Creed, Kelly, and Michael. I didn't see anyone else. Oh, yeah. And then Michael is so excited. He runs up to Jim as Jim is going into the bathroom and is like, did you see Holly's butt? And Jim's like, no. You know why? Because we don't do that. Friends don't talk about other friends. Buts. Right? And Jim is really trying to get Michael to have a little growth, right?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep.

[Angela Kinsey]

And he's like, what have you learned about her? And Michael says, I learned that she broke her left leg twice in one year. I learned that she's allergic to sesame seeds. I learned that she has read Lonesome Dove three times and that her butt refuses to quit. You know, And Jim's like, I give up. Little sidebar moment for you.

[Jenna Fischer]

What's that?

[Angela Kinsey]

Lonesome Dove was written by Larry McMurtry who is from my hometown of Archer City, Texas.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

And I knew Larry, and I know his family, and Larry was this amazing, prolific writer. I got so excited just to see one of his pieces of work mentioned on the Office, knowing that I grew up going to his bookstore.

[Jenna Fischer]

That is so cool.

[Angela Kinsey]

Love it. You guys gotta know there's only like 1800 people in Archer City. So everybody knows everybody.

[Jenna Fischer]

We got some fan mail from Brittany.

[Angela Kinsey]

Uh huh.

[Jenna Fischer]

She did her own little mini deep dive on. On sesame seed allergies.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh yeah, she did a deep dive.

[Jenna Fischer]

She did. She said that she would like us to know that sesame seed allergies are actually the ninth most common type of food allergy.

[Angela Kinsey]

I did not know that. Do you have any allergies?

[Jenna Fischer]

I do. I'm allergic to sweet potatoes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Crazy.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. I found that out late in life because my mom would only make sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving. And I'm sorry, Mom, but they always looked really gross to me, so I just never even ate them. I don't know if I had some sort of, like, visceral kind of instinct that I shouldn't.

[Angela Kinsey]

Spotty knew.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. But I never ate them. And then my first Thanksgiving in Los Angeles, I couldn't go home. I couldn't afford it. So me and my friends, we had our own Thanksgiving. And someone brought some sweet potatoes that looked effing amazing. So I had some. The next day I got super sick. I wrote it off. I had taken some of those sweet potatoes home as a leftover. I ate them again, got super sick again. That's when the doctor was like, I think you should stop eating sweet potatoes. I got an allergy test and I am allergic to sweet potatoes.

[Angela Kinsey]

My daughter has a mild allergy to dairy, but you can really tell, like, if she's had ice cream and stuff, she'll get really stuffy.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, yeah, Yeah. A lot of people have like, a lactose intolerance that causes like, some kind of like, diarrhea.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, this is our spinoff podcast.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's called what Foods do to you

[Angela Kinsey]

Body Fluids and Other Stories.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, since we're on the subject of milk and stuff, I just want to say, guys, don't give milk to cats.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh yeah, it makes them sick.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, it's like a thing that's been passed down in these cartoons forever. You give cats a dish of milk. They are allergic to the dairy and milk. Don't give it to them.

[Angela Kinsey]

Can I add to your milk with cats thing? Oh, yeah. Don't give bread to ducks. Oh, bread to ducks.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, what you can give them what, peas and birdseed.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, more food Talk for you. 3 minutes, 49 seconds. Dwight is replacing the junk food in the vending machine with fruit. Now, Kelly Cantley said this scene, which I timed, it's seven seconds, took them one hour to shoot because of the

[Jenna Fischer]

like banging the fruit in with the

[Angela Kinsey]

hammer, just all of it ripping everything out, resetting it, putting the fruit in. It took them an hour to do a seven second scene.

[Jenna Fischer]

Coming up is a really awkward scene in so many ways.

[Angela Kinsey]

So many.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oscar is going to offer to set Holly up with his yoga instructor. I feel like that was awkward. Number one.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, it's jumping in real quick. Being matchmaker.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. I always feel like you wait for someone to ask you to set them up because there are so many assumptions you're making about their life and their preferences when you offer to set them up. Right. Yeah. I don't know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Just also, like, how long has he known her? Have they hung out? Like, what does he know about Holly?

[Jenna Fischer]

Right, Right.

[Angela Kinsey]

This takes us to front reception and Jim is making sure Pam is all packed for New York. He's holding a box of her items she's gonna take with her. Did you notice at 4 minutes, 47 seconds, what is in the box that is so important? It's gotta travel to New York City with Pam.

[Jenna Fischer]

Apparently her weir spindly plasticky desk decoration, she can't live without it.

[Angela Kinsey]

I put the multicolored sphere bobble thing.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, we've talked about it on the podcast before. I get that. Maybe she needed to clear her desk for whoever's filling in for her. Just leave the box. Yeah, put it in a storeroom and get it out when you get back. There's nothing in that box you need at Pratt, Pam. Nothing. But Pam has a talking head. It's super cute. I loved doing it where I say, what up? 212. I hate to tell you, Pam, the area code for Pratt, which is located in Brooklyn, is 71 8. No, Pam, but it's okay. You're trying to be all New Yorky, trying to be cool. Yeah, that's the Manhattan area code.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, at 5 minutes, 13 seconds, there's going to be a storyline that starts which is Andy and Angela wedding planning. There's lots of delicious stuff. There's lots more in deleted scenes. All of this wedding planning is just absolutely stressing Angela out and making her more and more irritated at Andy. This is how he walks up to her. Ange. Ella, Ella, Ella, Ella. Under my. Angela. Ella, Ella, Ella. A A what?

[Jenna Fischer]

I loved it so much.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's how they're starting their conversation.

[Jenna Fischer]

And he's excited. He says every little boy fantasizes about his fairy tale wedding.

[Angela Kinsey]

And ding, ding, ding. This is when they had to go in and digitally change his shirt and tie in post production because the writers wanted to move this talking head here. It had been in a different place in the story. His tie and his shirt are digital

[Jenna Fischer]

because they had to make it match the scene with Angela.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's right.

[Jenna Fischer]

My mind is blown.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah. They had to change all of that in post so they could move this talking head up.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, in the scene with Angela, he is suggesting that they get married at the breakers in Rhode Island. This famous estate. Angela doesn't like it. He said this is really important to his family because this is where his parents decided not to get divorced.

[Angela Kinsey]

How romantic.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. That's where you want to get married. I looked this place up. It was built back in 1893 as a summer home.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wow.

[Jenna Fischer]

Not even a main residence. It was built by the Vanderbilt family. It cost $7 million to build back then.

[Angela Kinsey]

Back then?

[Jenna Fischer]

Back then. It took two years.

[Angela Kinsey]

Is it massive?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. There are 70 rooms in the house.

[Angela Kinsey]

Come on.

[Jenna Fischer]

The great hall.

[Angela Kinsey]

70 rooms for their summer residence. Right.

[Jenna Fischer]

And the great hall has 45 foot ceilings. There's a gold room. Okay. That was actually built in Europe and then shipped to the United States and reassembled in Newport.

[Angela Kinsey]

Good Lord.

[Jenna Fischer]

It is estimated to be worth $150 million today.

[Angela Kinsey]

That one room?

[Jenna Fischer]

No, the whole house. Oh, I know. I see how you went there because of the way I structured that.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my gosh. So $150 million.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. It now belongs to the Preservation Society of Newport County. It is available for tours. It gets about 300,000 visitors annually. But get this. Great grandchildren still live there on the third floor during the summer.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my God.

[Jenna Fischer]

But you can't tour their private residence area when you tour the house.

[Angela Kinsey]

This is like going to Buckingham Palace.

[Jenna Fischer]

I always wonder about that.

[Angela Kinsey]

Like, you live there.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. What is that?

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't know. 70 rooms maybe. You don't even know.

[Jenna Fischer]

Are you not giving tours of your home, Angela, to tourists while you live there?

[Angela Kinsey]

You're welcome to come over the hall bathroom. You have to jiggle the handle. It's a double flusher. You know, it doesn't quite do it the first time. Well, all of this wedding planning stresses Angela out, and she immediately pages Dwight and they rendezvous in the warehouse. Angela comes out of the little warehouse. I don't even know what you call it storage room where they meet up. And she says, look, that was the last time I have a fiance I very much like. All right, Jenna. There are deleted scenes that, throughout Weight Loss one and two, really show Angela struggling between wanting to be excited for the wedding. And also that Andy is driving her crazy. And then she runs to Dwight. It's sort of this love triangle. And. And the documentary crew clearly decided to ask her about it. And here was her response. It's in the deleted scenes. No, I'm not cheating on anybody. I have one fiance, and I have physical relations with one man. Hmm. Keeps it separate. One guy she'll marry and one guy for the shag. I guess Angela Martin is like, you know, once I'm at the aisle, it's done.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Once I speak my vows, I'll stop sleeping with Dwight. But for right now, I am engaged. This is a period of, I guess, non commitment, but commitment. I don't know.

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't know. I don't know how she's gonna deal with how batshit crazy Andy makes her once they're married. What will her outlet be? But, yes, I thought that was interesting. Cause there's that moment when she comes out of the storage room with Dwight where she sees the camera. Right. And this talking head would have happened immediately after, where they would have confronted her, which I thought was pretty ballsy for the documentary crew.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, they need to follow up on these things.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Now we have a scene where Michael, through his window, sees that Pam is getting into her car. She's getting ready to drive to Pratt. And he has not said his goodbye.

[Angela Kinsey]

No, he hasn't. And I want you to know I know whose office it was that he was in.

[Jenna Fischer]

Was it Paul Lieberstein's?

[Angela Kinsey]

No, it was Jen Salata's.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

There you go. If you're curious, that's the writer's room that Michael was in. And poor Michael. He practically wipes out two flights of stairs trying to get to Pam so he can say goodbye.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's so funny. And he wrote her a poem, but he left it upstairs. It ends with the word seagulls. Here's what I have to say about this scene. Pam is gonna drive to New York in a pencil skirt.

[Angela Kinsey]

Also, here was my question. Where's she gonna park her car? There's nowhere to park your car in New York City. You have to pay for a parking spot.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, she's going to Brooklyn. She's going to, like, a college campus.

[Angela Kinsey]

You think they have a spot for her?

[Jenna Fischer]

I think they do.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

I think there's a campus parking lot.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, okay, okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about why did she come into work even for a half day? Why didn't she change her clothes? She's gonna arrive at Pratt in a pencil skirt and pantyhose. Really?

[Angela Kinsey]

Really, Pam, I hope there's parking. Well, listen, I wanted you to know Randy Cordray shared that this parking lot scene took place on an incredibly hot day. It was like triple digit weather in Los Angeles. And, you know, Steve runs hot anyway, and he had to run into this scene and it was super hot in a suit. And, well, Phil Shea found a cooling vest that Steve could wear under his suit to help keep him cool. It's the type of vest that marathon runners and athletes have. They use it to cool their body temperature down. It has these little frozen gel packs. And Steve had that on under his suit.

[Jenna Fischer]

I've never heard of this thing, which makes sense to me because I would never seek it out. I would never think, how can I be colder in any situation?

[Angela Kinsey]

No, never. It's a whole thing. I googled it. There's many different types of cooling vests that you can get. Athletes use them, soldiers use them. I mean, you know, it's like a whole thing.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know what I do own?

[Angela Kinsey]

What?

[Jenna Fischer]

A warming vest. I have a vest. And you put little hot packs in it and it keeps you warm. I bought it so that I could watch my son play ice hockey outdoors.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, well, we used to stuff those little hot pocket thingies. What do you call them?

[Jenna Fischer]

Not the food Hot pockets.

[Angela Kinsey]

What are they called?

[Jenna Fischer]

I love the idea of us having a vest filled with hot pockets. So then if you get hungry.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's a snack as well. It keeps you warm. And listen, listen.

[Angela Kinsey]

On the office, I had one skirt that had two little stitch pockets in the back and I had one little tiny stitch pocket in the front. They would give us those little hot pack things, Little hand warmers. Little hand warmers. I would stick two in my shoes. I would stick one in that front pocket, two in my back pocket. I'd stick a few in my bra.

[Jenna Fischer]

Same. Yeah, I remember that.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, same. And if my sweater had pockets, I'd stick them in there. I'd stick so many of those on my body when we were filming outside when it was cold one time, our camera operator, Matt Stone, was like, ang, just don't take this the wrong way, but I can see lumps in your butt on camera. Like they don't look human. Like human lumps. I was like, dang it. And I had to take my little heater things out of my pockets.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I can't believe that they got a cooling vest. And I'm glad they did.

[Angela Kinsey]

I am too. I thought that was so smart.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, it's time for another weigh in big announcement. They lost £31. Wow. Michael and Holly are so excited. They're gonna do a wrap.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's the most adorable thing. Cause they're so dorky and cute together.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, a little rap trivia is that they have about 10 minutes of them rapping. Even though the part that you see in the show was completely scripted, even down to Holly, like, rubbing her jacket.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, yeah, the wiki wiki.

[Jenna Fischer]

What?

[Angela Kinsey]

All of that was scripted.

[Jenna Fischer]

All of that was scripted. But they did go on and on. And Amy Ryan gave an interview where she said this was her favorite scene to shoot because they had so much fun.

[Angela Kinsey]

The crew said the same thing. They said it was so much fun that those two just went off and that the chemistry was just so apparent.

[Jenna Fischer]

I think this was the scene when they were shooting when they realized, oh, yeah, these two. True love.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, now it's week three and there is a new receptionist in town.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, Rani.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, Rani, played by Dale Raul. She has been in a ton of stuff. She was Maxine in True Blood.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, Maxine Fortenberry. I love True Blood. She was fantastic.

[Jenna Fischer]

Of course you would know that.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, I have a crossover connection with Dale.

[Jenna Fischer]

Tell me.

[Angela Kinsey]

We were both on Fresh off the Boat.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, there you go.

[Angela Kinsey]

Not Monk, surprisingly, but Fresh off the Boat.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, she will come back in season six. This is not the last we're gonna see of Rani. Meanwhile, we're gonna see Pam in her first class.

[Angela Kinsey]

She looks so cute. She has, like, I'm calling it the college ponytail. She wears this really cute ponytail at school.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right. The ponytail is the only thing that's cute about Pam. Are you kidding?

[Angela Kinsey]

I thought you looked so cute in all of your college scenes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Did you notice how young everyone else is in the class?

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, you stop it.

[Jenna Fischer]

No, but this was a deliberate choice.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

Pam is in her late 20s.

[Angela Kinsey]

Do you like how immediately I like, stand up for my best friend? I'm like you. Stop it. You are beautiful.

[Jenna Fischer]

You look just as young as those other ones.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's right. And you are smart.

[Jenna Fischer]

Thank you.

[Angela Kinsey]

You're welcome.

[Jenna Fischer]

I want you to know I was not being down on myself. I was just pointing out a deliberate production choice. Pam is in her late 20s, and they made sure that everyone in this class that the background performers were all much younger. They're just starting off in college. Right. Pam's going back to school. And they did want to create this story for Pam that she is kind of, you know. Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't know, what do they call it? A non traditional student.

[Jenna Fischer]

There you go. Well, not only that, she's in the wrong class. The teacher who was played by Sandra Lowe, Professor Monahan, she's got that zinger

[Angela Kinsey]

of a joke about Zaf Chancery, you know, which, by the way, I read a Reddit thread where people were like, that doesn't apply.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's wrong.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, my. Well, Pam does not end up leaving the class. And we got some mail. People are like, pam has been so good about standing up for herself. Why doesn't she just leave the class?

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't know. I sympathized. I felt like she's new here. She feels out of place. She just got singled out. She's going to tuck her head down and know she'll do it right the next time.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. But I guess it's gonna mean she misses her actual first class.

[Angela Kinsey]

Back in the office, Holly hears this coughing, right? She's at her cubicle. Kelly is coughing. She sounds sick. Did you notice on Holly's desk what her nameplate says? Yes, Hollis, and then in quotes, Hollywood P. Flax.

[Jenna Fischer]

I did notice that.

[Angela Kinsey]

So that's her real name.

[Jenna Fischer]

Her name is Hollis. Hollis Kelly has a talking head where she says she's on the third day of her cleanse diet where she's doing the lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper and water. That's all she's allowed to have. Angela, have you ever done any of these fad diets?

[Angela Kinsey]

I haven't, but I had a roommate who did something with cayenne pepper and water, and I think it just gives you the runs, right? You just poop, you know?

[Jenna Fischer]

I got approached to do an ad for this diet tea that's supposed to flatten your tummy.

[Angela Kinsey]

So you drink the tea and it

[Jenna Fischer]

flattens your tummy How? By making you poop a lot. But it was like a cleansing tea. And I was like, well, first of all, I'm not gonna do an ad for anything I don't believe in, so send me the tea and we'll see what happens.

[Angela Kinsey]

Did you drink the tea?

[Jenna Fischer]

I was doing splitting up together at the time, and I was talking to Oliver Hudson about it, and he. He said, I'll do it with you. Let's both do the tea and see if we get flat tummies.

[Angela Kinsey]

He's so funny, but I can so hear him saying that. Cause he's just like, let's do it.

[Jenna Fischer]

He was all in. So I asked for two packages of the tea. Oliver and I started doing it. Angela, did you poop? First of all, I gained weight.

[Angela Kinsey]

What?

[Jenna Fischer]

Second of all, we're just pooping and farting and just. We're trying to work and do our scenes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, no.

[Jenna Fischer]

The crew was like, so stop drinking the tea, you guys.

[Angela Kinsey]

You're like, we're farting them out.

[Jenna Fischer]

They're like, seriously, we cannot have the two leads of our show drinking this

[Angela Kinsey]

tea being so flatulent on set.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's ruining everything. So I just. I don't know. I just don't do this stuff.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, you know, my husband, he's super healthy, and he just makes really good choices about what he eats and he exercises. It's really annoying, his ability to be so consistent. My hardest struggle is consistency, you know, just, like, making that space for myself. And I think it's even, like, when you peel back the layer, it's like making that time for yourself, and it's just a hard thing to do.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Well, I think we should take a break, because I need a moment to center myself before Jan comes into the office. Oh.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yes. And there's some really good Jan stuff I want to share.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, we'll be right back.

[Angela Kinsey]

This podcast is sponsored by Squarespace. You guys know Squarespace? We've talked about it for a long time because we love it. We use it every single day. It is our office lady's website. We have been growing as a company, and we keep adding new features like dropdowns. We have a little shop icon. We have banners that say kind of what's happening on the podcast. And it really is just such a great tool to build the perfect website for your company or whatever your passion is that you want to share with the world.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

And there's so many tools we haven't even used yet that Squarespace provides. I mean, lady, who knows what's next for us?

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, and it's super easy and free. You just need an email to sign up.

[Jenna Fischer]

You can get the cash back and rewards on everything from beauty and fashion to travel, electronics, dining. I'm talking awesome stores like Macy's, Ulta, Adidas, Sephora, Expedia, places you are probably already shopping.

[Angela Kinsey]

And here's how Rakuten makes it work. They partner with stores to send them shoppers, and in turn, Rakuten can pass on some of that money and savings onto its members. Rakuten has 17 million members who are already saving.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Josh loves AG1. He loves how he can work it into his routine and stay consistent. He's very big on that. He has his workout routine and he has his morning ritual before he goes to the gym. And AG1 is part of it. It's super easy, and it's a way that you can feel good about yourself. And he says he also feels like he's doing something good for his body and he starts his day that way.

[Jenna Fischer]

Go to drinkag1.com officeladies to get an AG1 flavor sampler and a bottle of vitamin D3K2 for free in your AG1 welcome kit with your first AG1 subscription.

[Angela Kinsey]

Order only while supplies last. That's drinkag1.com officeladies Life with Kids is wildly unpredictable. Oh, yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, the only thing that's certain is that something is gonna go not according to your plan. Like, it doesn't matter how much you try to plan.

[Angela Kinsey]

It doesn't.

[Jenna Fischer]

There's just always gonna be chaos. And sometimes you need a little help. Like, for example, it's the middle of the night, your kid is sick. You can't leave the house to go get medicine or supplies or maybe a working thermometer because, oh my gosh, I can't believe the battery died in this one.

[Angela Kinsey]

And we don't have any batteries. And I can't leave my who's running fever.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, but that's where you can use doordash.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, we're so lucky we have doordash.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know. In this day and age.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, there's all kinds of things.

[Angela Kinsey]

Real life needs real relief. That's why doordash is there for whatever you need whenever you need it. We all know life gets crazy. Doordash just helps bring a little order to it. Order.

[Jenna Fischer]

Now we are back, and so is Jan. Oh, yeah. Jan enters the office and tells Rani to make her some copies of a document on canary yellow paper. Oh, yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

She walks in like she owns the place.

[Jenna Fischer]

She also does not acknowledge that she's speaking to a person she's never met.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah, that's true. This made me wonder if Jan is entertaining Michael being in her life again so she can just use him and use the office. She's getting free copies, right?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, in the deleted scenes, there's a little bit of a runner about this. She is giving Michael, like, a list of things she needs him to do. All her errands, go to the dry cleaners. She hands him a bag, like, grocery shopping, et cetera. Like, Michael is her personal assistant. And then when he kind of boxes anything, she's like, well, I thought you wanted to help.

[Jenna Fischer]

Wow.

[Angela Kinsey]

So to me, I feel like Jan is using him for sure. Jim has this talking head where he says, michael led us to believe he was the father of Jan's baby. And by telling us he was the father of Jan's baby, well, this talking head would have continued, and they had to trim it. And Jim then holds up an email and says, but then Jan sent this email to everyone, and here's what Jan's email said. Hi, everyone. Jan here writing to share some wonderful news and to squash a rumor. First, the great news. I am expecting. The beautiful baby girl inside me will be ready to meet the world this fall, just a few months before the launch of the new Serenity by Jan line. Shameless plug. I know. Don't hate me. Lol. Anyway, I also wanted to clarify that the father is not anyone that you or I have ever met. Remember, no matter how excited someone is about my baby, it does not make them the father. Best Jan. P.S. hope to ship you something soon.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's amazing.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. So she sent that email to everyone in the office.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, Holly would like to know, who is Jan?

[Angela Kinsey]

She says, who's that woman in Michael's

[Jenna Fischer]

office with the feet Because Michael is rubbing Jan's feet. Oscar explains that she's Michael's ex girlfriend. And Holly immediately decides, yes, you can give your yoga teacher my number. I want to date your hot yoga teacher. Yeah, his hot, hot yoga teacher. Because he teaches hot yoga and he's

[Angela Kinsey]

hot, so I'm sure he's very bendy. Yeah, yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Then Holly overhears Angela berating Kevin for being an idiot. And Holly is going to come to Kevin's defense because remember Dwight told Holly that Kevin was there as part of a special work program.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. When Dwight was hazing her.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh. She runs over to Angela and she's like, how dare you? You don't speak to him like that.

[Jenna Fischer]

And this is when everyone realizes, including Kevin, what Dwight told Holly.

[Angela Kinsey]

Angela is so delighted by this moment, she can't stop smiling.

[Jenna Fischer]

No, she loves that Holly has been humiliated. Poor Kevin, he's crushed. This means that Holly has not been paying attention to him because she wants to date him. No, he's realizing. Well, now Andy is going to approach Angela in the kitchen. He has made non refundable deposits at four different wedding locations.

[Angela Kinsey]

Hot air balloons over Napa Valley, world famous Walt Disney's Epcot center, scuba diving wedding in the Bahamas, and the Wilkes Bar Marriott, Ballroom C. To which she replies, dangerous, tacky sharks, haunted.

[Jenna Fischer]

And no.

[Angela Kinsey]

And just in general and no.

[Jenna Fischer]

And of course this means Angela and Dwight are gonna hook up again. We had a fan question. Kayla would like to know, when Dwight slaps Angela's butt, was that scripted? Because she thought your reaction was very genuine. You were surprised.

[Angela Kinsey]

No, that was improvised. That was Rainn Wilson. But now listen, you guys, Rainn and I were very, very good friends and we would always do a few takes where we would try to surprise each other a little bit within the boundaries of what I know knew would not make anyone uncomfortable and vice versa.

[Jenna Fischer]

Right.

[Angela Kinsey]

And so no, that was Rainn just mixing it up and catching me off guard, which is why my reaction is so earnest.

[Jenna Fischer]

We also got mail from Alice, who would like to ask Angela, in your talking head afterwards, was any of that improvised? Because it's one of my all time favorites.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know what? People quote this talking head to me and it was completely scripted and it read like this. I have a nice comforter and several cozy pillows. I usually read a chapter of a book and it's lights out by 8:30. That's how I sleep at night. Completely scripted.

[Jenna Fischer]

You go to bed at 8:30.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. I have lots of cats to take care of. They get up early well, now Jim and Pam are going to talk via video call. You guys, old tech alert. This was a real big deal. This was an actual live ichat. Remember ichat?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

This is before Zoom. This is before FaceTime.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And, you know, Dwight is annoyed. Michael is so excited, and picks up the computer and wants to show Pam all around.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know. Which is making her a little sick. She's like, can you please put me down? I thought it was so cute. Guys, this happened in real time. We had some questions from Alice R. And Briana P. How'd you shoot the video chat scenes? Well, it was live. They built a little set over on the warehouse set to look like my dorm room at Pratt. And I sat there and we did this live. It was really cute.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And I have to say, I was really excited because during most of this episode, I was not on our set. I was really filming on location to film Pam's art school. And so for this day, I just remember how excited I was. Even though I was all the way on the warehouse set, I was able to come over for hot snack. I stayed for lunch.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. This was one of the hardest things for us as BFFs is when you were at the Pratt School of Art.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep.

[Angela Kinsey]

You were not on our set. You were on location. So I was so excited you were there. And one thing I want to share about this, that Randy talked about in the DVD commentary is that this live ichat, Jenna caused all kinds of technical problems.

[Jenna Fischer]

I remember.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, I remember, because we had to start and stop. Here's what happened. The wireless microwave system on the side of the cameras would get triggered whenever Steve picked up the laptop and walked around with you.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

It would shut the cameras off, which meant we got to hang out a little bit because they had to sort that out.

[Jenna Fischer]

I just remember shooting the talking head, and I thought it was so cute the way they put the computer on the chair.

[Angela Kinsey]

I did, too.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, now the gang is gonna weigh in again, and guess what? They've gained five pounds. And then Kelly passes out.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And we go to commercial.

[Angela Kinsey]

We come back with some real Phyllis sass. Phyllis is super smug with Angela. And, you know, she's planning Stanley's birthday party, and she's just giving Angela marching orders.

[Jenna Fischer]

She is. She would like to get some cake. And anytime Angela seems like she might disagree, Phyllis just kind of gives a little look like we will be doing it this way. And here's why.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And there was more Phyllis sass in the deleted scenes. She was giving Angela grief. This Whole episode.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, we talked about this at the end of Goodbye Toby. Phyllis catches Dwight and Angela getting it on in the office. And we wondered, what does this mean?

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, it has gone to Phyllis's head. She has power.

[Jenna Fischer]

Mm. Holly suggests that they do fruit instead of cake. Michael comes in, he's gonna weigh in. He suddenly has a goatee. No explanation. Yeah, but he has a goatee.

[Angela Kinsey]

Kelly Cantley said that goatee took an hour to put on, so they had to factor that into the day.

[Jenna Fischer]

He didn't just grow a goatee.

[Angela Kinsey]

No. None of their goatees were real.

[Jenna Fischer]

No.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's what she said.

[Jenna Fischer]

No, none of them.

[Angela Kinsey]

They were all put on. And then they had to keep track that they were the right shape and size goatee throughout the episode for continuity. And Kelly said at the time this aired, they got some mail that a few of the goatees were off.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, my gosh. Oh. Well, Michael is going to take his goatee into the conference room and he's going to call a meeting.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Because he wants everyone to know what is the leading cause of death? It is obesity caused illness. He wants everyone to take this more seriously so they don't die of obesity.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Jim pledges to lose 65 pounds. He's being sarcastic. Michael doesn't get it. He's thrilled. He says if everybody loses five pounds, that in addition to Jim's 65, we're going to win this thing.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, Angela has presented Andy with her list of criteria for her wedding. It's pretty challenging. Here are the things she has to have in order to marry Andy.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

A thousand year old church in the continental United States. There has to be a rainbow 24 hour veterinarian on call. And then she pages Dwight to meet her downstairs because she just can't really stand being around Andy.

[Jenna Fischer]

But Andy tells Angela, you know what? I don't care where we get married, because all I care about is spending the rest of my life with you. This melts Angela's cold, cold heart. It does. And she does not show up for her rendezvous with Dwight in the warehouse.

[Angela Kinsey]

She gives Andy a little kiss. And of course he has to make a noise he makes like a bo.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, there's a very sweet deleted scene that shows Angela trying to bond with Andy over the wedding. It's in the break room and I titled it overly animated Angela.

[Jenna Fischer]

Hmm?

[Angela Kinsey]

We could get a cake shaped like your cat. They can do that.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

For you, my love, I will find the finest cakesmith in all the land.

[Jenna Fischer]

Bring me Sir Bakesalot of Frostingham.

[Angela Kinsey]

Forest. What about one shaped like, I don't know, a litter box?

[Jenna Fischer]

Hail. Right.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, is it gross or wonderful? Ah, I don't know.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'll be at my desk. Page me if you need me. Who are you?

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

Ah, I don't know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Who is this person?

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, overly animated. Angela. She was trying.

[Jenna Fischer]

Maybe he should just do some Mad Libs. You love those.

[Angela Kinsey]

I love Mad Libs. And keep suggesting cakes that look like cats or cat accessories.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's the way to your heart.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, Jim has arrived at Pam's dorm room. Did you notice that Pam is the resident advisor?

[Jenna Fischer]

I did.

[Angela Kinsey]

She's the ra. It's so perfect.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's perfect, but it's also like, Pam,

[Angela Kinsey]

take on a job.

[Jenna Fischer]

Come on.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, Jim tells the documentary crew. You know what? Why don't you go check out Pam's art over there? And when they turn to look for it, he quickly shuts the door. Right?

[Jenna Fischer]

Mm.

[Angela Kinsey]

And at 18 minutes, 31 seconds, you hear the cameraman sigh.

[Jenna Fischer]

You hear Randall Einhorn sigh.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, that's Randall.

[Jenna Fischer]

And that was improvised. He just did that. And they loved it. And they kept it in.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah. So fun.

[Jenna Fischer]

I would like to say, Pam, thank you for finally wearing a hoodie or any kind of casual clothing here at art school. I feel like she just has been overdressed since she got there.

[Angela Kinsey]

We are on two different pages on this. I think that Pam has looked amazing for art school.

[Jenna Fischer]

I love her ponytail. I just think, and this was a choice, that I should say that this has all been a choice. It's on purpose. It's all to make her stand out a little bit, to be like, she isn't dressing the way the young people dress today.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right?

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay. So, like, I'm giving her grief about it, but, you guys, we planned this, right?

[Angela Kinsey]

And also her affected speech, how she's like, top of the morning, Tuya. Shall we walk over here? Perhaps we'll sit here. Let me cross my legs and my stockings.

[Jenna Fischer]

What are you talking about?

[Angela Kinsey]

That's how she talks.

[Jenna Fischer]

No, she does not.

[Angela Kinsey]

What are you doing? I'm just messing with you.

[Jenna Fischer]

I really got worried. I was like, what?

[Angela Kinsey]

I am messing with you. I don't know how long Jim and Pam got to hang out and smooch, but Pam got a knock on her door. There was some girl mad at another girl because someone took someone's soy milk. And now Jim is in, like, the dorm room common area at 18 minutes, 55 seconds.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, he's watching a baseball game.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. And, Jenna, you can very faintly hear some sort of baseball commentators, like announcers. Sports announcers.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Those were played by our very own producer, James o' Carey and Eric Colgin.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right. See, I wondered. Is that a real baseball game? So it's obviously real baseball footage, but then we put our own commentators on it.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's right. So Jenna and I have been in touch with James. He is fantastic. He was that guy that could, like, get you anything on set if you needed it. James got it, and we had lots of questions for him, and he answered them for this episode. He even had the shooting draft. James, thank you so much. I feel like we might have a jamesapedia.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. It couldn't come at a better time.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, because we don't have Kentopedia anymore. James. James Carey, will you. Will you be our jamesopedia? Should we talk about Stanley's birthday?

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, it looks a little sad. Everyone's standing around eating fruit. Ronnie wants to know if anyone wants to dance. By the way, my Dolly Parton fans, did you catch the song playing?

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Here you come again. I love that song.

[Jenna Fischer]

I love that song, too.

[Angela Kinsey]

I went and listened to it after I watched the episode.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's not the song I would play at a birthday party.

[Angela Kinsey]

No, no, probably not.

[Jenna Fischer]

But I love that song. People are gonna sneak off from this party, and they're gonna have some cake in the warehouse. The warehouse is the sneak site. Clearly.

[Angela Kinsey]

Clearly. And, I mean, isn't Angela uncomfortable being in that room with all those other people, including her fiance?

[Jenna Fischer]

She doesn't have any guilt about it.

[Angela Kinsey]

I guess not.

[Jenna Fischer]

She has no problem sleeping at night. We've established that that's true. Stanley is in the room with the cake, but he's not even eating it. He said his tastes have changed. Now all he likes is baklava, which I thought was a really interesting thing to say, because baklava is very, very, very sweet. Like, if you've lost your sweet tooth. I mean, it's nutty. I love a baklava.

[Angela Kinsey]

I do, too. It's dense, though. It's a dense, sugary treat.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know. And I often eat too much of it. And I get a stomachache because, you know, they give you a tiny piece, and I'll eat, like, five of them because they're just so good.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, that's what happens with you. You're always like, ange, look how cute. It's so tiny.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then you're like, ange, I have a stomachache.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know. Dwight, Holly, Michael, and Rani, spy on the group.

[Angela Kinsey]

Dwight's like, they should not be in there.

[Jenna Fischer]

Mm. Mm.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know why he's saying that?

[Jenna Fischer]

And Michael says, we should have our own party. Let's all go play mini golf.

[Angela Kinsey]

Rani and Michael and Dwight and Holly. That foursome.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, I wish that happened.

[Angela Kinsey]

Me too.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, Holly can't go because she has a date tonight.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then Michael has the sweetest talking head. He's like, holly doesn't need any luck. Everyone who meets her instantly loves her.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

So cute. I want these two kids to get together.

[Jenna Fischer]

Angela, I have a question for you about the next scene, which is when Dwight busts in and he kicks over the cake. Yeah, I wasn't there. I'm at art school. What was it like to shoot that scene?

[Angela Kinsey]

Here's the thing. That room was like. I mean, Jenna, it was like 6ft by 6ft. It is really small. And we were all in there. They tried to put chairs in so that we could sit, but not everyone could sit, obviously. We were pretty crammed in. I remember I couldn't look at Phyllis, or I would laugh whenever she had her exchange with Michael, she would kind of, you know, start to break a little. And then rain kicked over that cake with such a, like, force, it went flying. We all got cake on us, and then they would have to clean it up. We couldn't do it very many times because we were like, rain, do you have to kick it that hard? So, pretty much, I just remember being crammed in and trying not to laugh.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I thought that scene looked like it was a lot of fun to shoot. And I know. Don't ask Rainnn Wilson to kick something unless you really want it kicked.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, unless you want it to go flying. I don't think they anticipated that that much cake would travel because it was quite a cleanup.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, now it is week five of the weight loss competition. The Scranton branch is not doing very well. Holly tells us that corporate has now upped the prize to five vacation days. But things are breaking down between people. I mean, Kevin's in the kitchen. He's making himself a peanut butter bagel. Creed and Kelly are glaring at him.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, there's a deleted scene where Meredith and Kelly and Holly are working on the dry erase board.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And Kelly goes, I'm doing a blood type diet. And Meredith goes, who gives a. And Kelly goes, what'd you say, whore? And Holly goes, I got it. Okay. Hey, hey, hey.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, my gosh.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, things are getting really intense.

[Jenna Fischer]

They're so intense that Kelly says in a talking Head that she swallowed a tapeworm last night that Creed gave her from Mexico.

[Angela Kinsey]

Kelly, why would you swallow a worm Creed gave you?

[Jenna Fischer]

I know. Creed says it wasn't a tapeworm. Angela, I'll have you know I looked it up. Yeah, the tapeworm diet is a real thing.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, God. Really?

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, it's obviously illegal in the United States and it's totally dangerous.

[Angela Kinsey]

Where are they doing it?

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't know, but I guess you can buy pills that have a tapeworm egg inside of it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Don't do this.

[Jenna Fischer]

No, I read on Healthline that it doesn't even work because, yes, it feeds off your body's nutrients, but it feeds off the good stuff too. Right? It doesn't just eat your fat, everybody. It eats everything and you get really sick. You can get diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, fever, weakness. You can also get bacterial infections. You can get neurological issues. Most of these pills are a scam, okay? They do not really have a tapeworm. But a woman in Iowa swallowed a real one and she got super sick. And she had to confess to her doctor what she did. He had to report it to the State Department. It was a whole crazy thing. He didn't even know how to kill it. It was a whole thing. Guys, do not swallow a tapeworm on purpose are words I'm saying just in case anyone out there thought they should.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know, Jenna, I have a tapeworm story. But, you know, I'm gonna save it for the finale. When we are done with the whole run of the Office, you will remember. I don't wanna spoil it. There is a scene in the finale. I don't wanna spoil it. You'll remember. Jenna Rain and I traded tapeworm stories. I'm saving it for the finale.

[Jenna Fischer]

Guys, if you've ever had a reason to tune in to at least our finale episode of Office Ladies, you have it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Now there is a real life Angela Rain moment that happens behind the scenes of the finale. It involves a tapeworm. We'll get to it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, guys, that's Weight Loss Part one. We will be back next week with Weight Loss Part two, when Jim, as a big surprise for Pam, we're going to tell you all about it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Aw, Jam fans, you don't want to miss it.

[Jenna Fischer]

See you then.

[Angela Kinsey]

See ya.

[Jenna Fischer]

Thank you for listening to Office Lady's 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 Jerky Perkins, 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.

[Angela Kinsey]

Monster Energy. Everybody knows White Monster Zero Ultra. That's the og it kicked off this whole zero sugar energy drink thing, but Ultra is a whole lineup now. You've got Strawberry Dreams, Blue Hawaiian Sunrise, and Vice Guava. And they all bring the Monster Energy punch. So if you've been living in the White can branch out. Ultra's got a flavor for every vibe, and every every single one is Zero Sugar. Tap the banner to learn more.

[Jenna Fischer]

Spring just slid into your DMs.

[Angela Kinsey]

Grab that boho look for that rooftop dinner, those sandals that can keep up with you. And hang some string lights to give

[Jenna Fischer]

your patio a glow up. Spring's calling. Ross. Work your magic.