A (1:37)

Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster.

B (1:41)

Join@RocketMoney.com OfficeLadies that's RocketMoney.com OfficeLadies RocketMoney.com OfficeLadies. I'm Jenna Fisher.

A (1:55)

And I'm Angela Kinsey.

B (1:57)

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

A (2:04)

Each week we will dive deeper into the world of the Office with exclusive interviews, behind the scenes details, and lots of BFF stories.

B (2:11)

We're the Office Lady 6.0. Hello.

A (2:17)

Hey. Happy New Year.

B (2:19)

Happy 2026.

A (2:21)

2026 lady.

B (2:22)

We have a New Year's resolution.

A (2:24)

We do.

B (2:25)

Should we share it?

A (2:26)

Yes. This is a shared bff. Not only just in our work life, but in our home life. Shared New Year's resolution.

B (2:33)

I've never had a shared New Year's resolution before.

A (2:36)

Me Either. I highly recommend it, because I feel like we're going to hold each other accountable.

B (2:39)

I do, too.

A (2:40)

Okay, say what it is.

B (2:41)

It's called get off the hamster wheel.

A (2:44)

That's right.

B (2:45)

Because we work from home, and I've talked to a lot of people who manage businesses from home. You can very easily always be working or always be doing a choreography. It's like, oh, I'm just gonna throw this laundry in before I get on this zoom. Or it's Saturday, so I'm just gonna bang out a couple hours of work here in the morning. But what happens is, you were saying, Ange, it's like all of a sudden, you wake up and you're like, I have worked 20 days in a row without a full day off.

A (3:13)

Yeah, because you just, like, you know, you just scooch little things in every day. But what you were saying, and I so agree, is that let's say you're like, oh, you know, it's Saturday morning. I'm gonna do a few hours of work. But then it stays with you all day. All day. So then you're like, hmm, I wonder if Jenna saw that email. And I'm like, no, no, no. Turn that part of my brain off.

B (3:32)

Yeah.

A (3:33)

So I am committed to you, Jenna, that we are gonna take two days off every week.

B (3:38)

Yes. Weekends off.

A (3:40)

Yes.

B (3:41)

We're getting off the hamster wheel for a full decompress. And this was inspired by our break, where we took a full week off for our break, and we were like.

A (3:50)

Oh, wow, that felt good.

B (3:52)

Feels good.

A (3:53)

Yeah.

B (3:54)

So we're getting off the wheel, and.

A (3:55)

Then I want to get us a gift that I was telling Jenna. And I'm sure you're going to be like, I don't want it. I want to get on a pillow or, like, some kind of embroidery. A little hamster on a wheel with a big X across it.

B (4:08)

Why would I not want that? I want that.

A (4:10)

I want it to be, like a visual reminder. Because it's easy to climb on that wheel.

B (4:15)

It is, right? Yes. All right, all right.

A (4:18)

Shared New Year's resolution.

B (4:20)

Well, listen, we are excited to be back. We're excited to be breaking down all of the episodes of the Paper in the new year. But we have a new. What would you call it? More new things. We have a new format.

A (4:31)

Oh, yes.

B (4:32)

For the new year, we are gonna kick off each episode with a chit chat suggestion from one of you. Yeah.

A (4:40)

We are having so much fun. You guys have sent us really great topics.

B (4:44)

So let's kick off this Episode with a suggestion from Stephanie A. In San Diego, California. Hi, office ladies. This is Stephanie in San Diego, California, Originally from Ohio. Go Buckeyes. My question for you is, where is the worst place? You have been stuck for a long time. Looking forward to hearing the answers.

A (5:08)

I knew mine right away.

B (5:09)

Same.

A (5:10)

Go, you go.

B (5:11)

Me go?

A (5:11)

Yeah, you go. Mine's kind of long.

B (5:13)

Mine's also long.

A (5:14)

Oh, no. These were clearly core memories for us. Stephanie, great question.

B (5:22)

Many, many, many years ago, when I was still married to James, we received a Christmas gift, okay. And it was to go on an outing on a shark boat.

A (5:35)

Oh, my gosh. What's a shark boat?

B (5:38)

You get on a boat somewhere in, like, the Long beach harbor, okay. And you go out to sea, and then you see sharks.

A (5:48)

I guess, like, they swim up by the boat.

B (5:51)

I think you go down in a cage.

A (5:54)

No.

B (5:54)

And then you can see sharks. Jenna, let me tell you what happened, though. We loaded onto the boat, okay? With enthusiasm, and we got out. Oh. We were 10 minutes on this boat. I got so, so seasick. Like, so seasick that I spent the whole trip inside the little galley of the boat.

A (6:20)

Oh, no.

B (6:21)

Curled up under the dining table. There was no Dramamine. There were no options. It was just me and my personal grit and just muscling through it.

A (6:33)

That is a miserable feeling, that kind of nausea, that rocking back and forth.

B (6:37)

Yes. Because when you get out there, they stop the boat, and so you're just rocking.

A (6:42)

Throbbing Hours.

B (6:45)

Hours. And my kids know about the shark boat experience because I have said, like, as an anecdote, if I can survive the shark boat, I can survive anything. And when I was getting chemo and I said that I didn't feel good, my kids said, is it worse than the shark boat?

A (7:05)

Aw.

B (7:06)

Like, that's how, like, how awful the shark boat was. And I texted James about it. I said, do you mind if I tell the shark boat story? And also, I can't remember, did you enjoy the shark boat?

A (7:20)

Yeah. Did he go in the cage?

B (7:21)

He. No, he didn't. He wrote me and he said. And he said I could quote him. He said, quote. It was one of the worst days of my life.

A (7:30)

Oh, no.

B (7:31)

He said, I was miserable. I didn't throw up like nearly everyone else around me. And then I asked him about the cage. I said, did you see any sharks? I wouldn't know. I spent the whole trip under the table. He said, they brought out a shark that was about nine inches long, and I pet it, and I felt terrible for it. That's the only Shark. We saw Worst day of my life.

A (7:56)

Oh, that's Josh's worst nightmare. He gets so motion sick he can't go on a boat. I have swam with sharks. You know that, though.

B (8:04)

Yes.

A (8:04)

Yeah. But they weren't like big scary sharks, and they were well fed. And Rashida and I swam with them.

B (8:10)

I mean, it sounds like the only shark that James saw was about the size of a large fish.

A (8:15)

Oh, no.

B (8:16)

Nine inches. I mean, that's.

A (8:19)

And you guys was all day on that boat?

B (8:22)

All day.

A (8:22)

That's horrible.

B (8:23)

Yeah. Oh, yeah. I got through it by telling myself that time passes, time can't stop. This day will end. The sun will move through the sky, night will come, the boat will dock, and I will get off. That was the mantra I played in my head. It was my own personal the edge.

A (8:42)

I was just gonna say, you're like singing Annie, the sun will come out tomorrow. Basically. Oh, my gosh.

B (8:49)

All right. That's the worst place I've ever been stuck. What about you?

A (8:52)

Well, Jenna, I actually was texting you from the worst place I've ever been stuck. So I'm gonna jog your memory now. Was it. Well, it was the biggest snowstorm in North Texas in 21 years. It was December 24th, Christmas Eve, 2009. It's actually called the Christmas Eve blizzard. And I was flying back to see my family for the holidays with Isabel the morning of Christmas Eve, I think, Jenna, that year we worked right up into holidays, so that was the day I could get out of town. And my dad said, well, there's a big storm coming in, so get the early flight, get the earliest flight, because once you land in Dallas, our family farm is a good two and a half hour drive from Dallas. So we're talking rural farm to market roads. And, you know, they don't go out and treat those roads. They don't put salt on them. They ice over. So my dad was like, we are going to need to get on the road. Okay. So we land. Temperatures drop to, like, their 20s. Winds kick up to, like 60 miles an hour. It's snowing like crazy when we land. They closed DFW airport.

B (10:01)

Oh, I remember all this now.

A (10:03)

Yeah, no more flights going out. So we get in the car, and as we start to drive, it is just coming down and coming down. Isabel was only 19 months old. It was me, my mom, my dad, Isabel, and Warren. And it was like a whiteout. My dad could barely see. We were watching cars slide off the road into snow drifts.

B (10:22)

I remember this.

A (10:24)

Hundreds of people were stranded in this storm. And, you know, these little towns did not have the resources to get this many people stranded out of the snow. So they called out to, like, local farmers. They were getting their tractors, their plows, trying to get people out. I ran out of everything in our diaper bag. We ran out of food. We were stuck. And we made it as far as outside of this town called Decatur. And we were at the bottom of this hill. And when you got to the other side, the farmers had been kind of successful clearing the road a little bit on the other side, but no one could get over the hill. And it was just like all of these cars slid off in the snow. And then you'd watch another one try. And my dad sat there. We were running out of gas, and he would turn the car off to save the gas, and we'd get really cold. We would be able to see our breath. And then he'd turn the car on for a little bit. We'd warm up. We were doing this, like, intermittently and just sitting there watching car after car try this hill and go into the snowbank. Now it's nightfall. Our windshield has frozen over. And I'm getting really worried because I have a 19 month old, and I'm just like, it's cold. We're running out of gas. And my dad was like, we gotta go for it. We gotta go for the hill. We just have to. And we had no. My dad. Oh, my gosh. My dad felt so bad because we never get this kind of weather there. He didn't have an ice scraper for the windshield, so he got out his country music CDs and busted them apart so they'd get sharp and jagged. And they got out there, him and Warren, like, scraping off the ice on the windshield. My dad slipped and fell. I was like, oh, my gosh, dad, are you okay? And I'll never forget, my dad goes, I'm all right, but my dignity took a hit because he wiped out. Okay, I have to tell you, that's when I start texting you. I was like, jenna, I'm worried. I'm worried. It is dark. People are stranded in their cars. And you said, ang, I'm scared.

B (12:31)

I mean, as you're retelling this story, I am having all those feelings come back. And also, this is like, this is not a funny story. This is like a traumatic story.

A (12:43)

No, it's not. I'm sorry, but it is. It's the truth. It is the worst place I've ever been stuck. And so then, while we're scraping the ice off the windshield. There's a young woman holding this little dog and she's out in the snow. Her car's run out of gas and she's going from car to car that's stranded, knocking on the windows to see if someone will take her in. And I don't know, she's probably in her 20s, you know, my dad waves at her. He's like, we'll make room because we had a big suv. So now this young gal gets in the car with us with her Chihuahua. And I remember the Chihuahua's name was Giselle. So now we're all in it. And there's an 18 wheeler that's in front of us that's gonna try the hill. He starts to go up, he slides sideways off. And now it's our turn.

B (13:31)

You have to remind me, why have you not stopped for shelter? It's because there's just this vast nothingness between where you left and where you're going.

A (13:40)

No, once you pass Decatur, for those of you guys that drive north in Texas, there's nothing for a while.

B (13:47)

You know, that's what it's like when you drive to Kirksville, Missouri, which is where I went to school. There's just like long stretches of. There's no gas station. There's nothing.

A (13:57)

There's nothing. Just pasture. Yeah, just acres of just land with nothing on it but some cows. So the 18 wheeler slides off and I'm like, oh, my God. And now it's our turn. And I'm like, if we slide off, we're in a snowbank right now. We're on a road. So my mom just starts praying. Even if we get to the other side of the hill, we didn't have a plan. Except in the neighboring little town. My parents knew a pastor that lived there, and he said if we could make it to the town, we could stay at their house for the night, him and his wife and their two kids. So we start. My dad, I mean, my dad was such a hero in this moment. He starts the SUV with everything he has. He's just like, gonna gun it. He guns it and we're going up and we are sliding left and right and sliding. And he's not turning into the slide. He's letting the car, like, just go with the slide. And there were a few times I was like, we're going to go off. We're going to go off. And we didn't. We didn't. And we made it to the top. I mean, you could have heard, like, it's like. It was like the winning touchdown at the super bowl in that car. We were like. And Isabel, poor Isabel. I just don't even know what she remembers about this. I asked her if she remembered and she said she remembered snow. And we get to the top of the hill and then we just slide. We just coast down. Little by little, we make it to this town. We can't even get down the road that the pastor and his family live on, but we get out and we wade through the snow.

B (15:23)

And Giselle.

A (15:23)

And Giselle, did she stay at the pastor's house too? Yes. And I want to give a shout out to this pastor and his family. His name is Mike Sanders and he and his wife Andrea were so lovely to me and my family. And I'm forever grateful. And on Christmas eve night at 11pm, okay, we started our drive at 3pm At 11pm we arrive at this pastor's house. We're wading through the snow. You know, I remember holding Isabel high up so she wouldn't get just damp from all the snow. Cause it was waist high. And they took us in, we were starving. They fed five adults, a Chihuahua and a 19 month old. And we woke up Christmas morning with this family. And finally that young woman who got in the car with us was able to reach her dad because, you know, she'd run out of cell service and everything. Her family, she was driving home for the holidays. They didn't know where she was. They knew she was stuck in this storm. Her dad and her brothers, because the roads still weren't cleared, slowly made it to the pastor's house on Christmas Day. And when he arrived and he saw his daughter, he hugged her and began to cry. And then he turned to my dad, choked up, and shook my dad's hand and said, thank you. Thank you. Not a dry eye. We all were sobbing. And then she was able to leave and go to her family's home. We didn't make it to our farm until Christmas day, late in the day because we had to go so slow. But the roads were better. It was melting. That's the longest I've ever been stuck anywhere.

B (16:56)

I mean, this also sounds like an answer to the question, what's your most memorable Christmas?

A (17:02)

I mean, that's right up there.

B (17:05)

Wow. Well, I think that if I had to choose, I would get back on the Shark Boat rather than do your adventure.

A (17:15)

Oh, gosh.

B (17:16)

Because. And I've never chosen the shark boat over something else. Over something else. I have never. The Shark boat has never won anything.

A (17:25)

Well, I mean.

B (17:26)

Yeah, because you know why? Because you weren't just stuck, you were terrified.

A (17:32)

We were scared.

B (17:32)

I wasn't scared on the shark boat. I was just miserable.

A (17:36)

Yeah.

B (17:37)

Wow. Well, Stephanie, thank you for your question.

A (17:40)

I mean, that was a real, like, zing dinger. I don't know the expression, but that was my honest answer. I was like, I mean, that's it. That's the worst place I've ever been stuck.

B (17:51)

Well, listen, why don't we take a break and when we come back, we're going to break down the paper. Season one, Episode two, where no one is stuck anywhere.

A (17:59)

True.

B (18:07)

Do you remember Blue Apron?

A (18:09)

Yeah, of course.

B (18:10)

Yes, I used them back in the day when they were a subscription site.

A (18:14)

Yeah, I did too. And they were great when I was super busy and I needed meals kind of ready to go.

B (18:20)

Well, now you can use Blue Apron without a subscription.

A (18:25)

Oh, I like that. Because sometimes you want a lot of meals and sometimes you just kind of need an a la carte situation.

B (18:31)

Yes. You can also search meals by category. So if you're trying to eat more protein or if you're trying to eat more veggies, you can easily find meals that are going to fit into whatever your current eating plan is.

A (18:45)

Yeah, I saw that they have a lot of options for up to 40 plus grams of protein or more. And especially if you wanted to focus on fiber.

B (18:53)

Oh, we're supposed to be focusing on fiber. I know fiber's a thing now. I think 2026 is going to be the year of fiber. I feel like protein took over in 2025. I think it's fiber now.

A (19:03)

It's all about fiber.

B (19:03)

I'm rooting for you. Fiber. Order now at blueapron.com, get 50% off your first two orders plus free shipping with code OFFICE50.

A (19:12)

Terms and conditions apply. Visit blueapron.com terms for more information.

B (19:17)

Lady, you know that I love an Old Fashioned.

A (19:21)

You do?

B (19:22)

It's my favorite cocktail. But I can't drink anymore because it just. It doesn't go well with the medications I'm taking. But I still like the ritual of a cocktail. I like my Old Fashioned. Yeah, I discovered something. It's called RK and they make alcohol free versions of pretty much every spirit. I have tried the RK whiskey.

A (19:47)

They also have alcohol free versions of tequila, gin, rum, vodka and even amaretto.

B (19:53)

Well, investors, influencers and millions of fans are joining the RK0 proof revolution. And the warm molecule is changing the game.

A (20:01)

With the holiday season and dry January here, there's no Better time to try.

B (20:05)

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A (20:10)

Available at Walmart, Amazon or at rkbeverages.com that's a R K a Y beverages.com this show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

B (20:22)

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

A (20:38)

Yeah, I like that. Refine.

B (20:40)

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

A (20:51)

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

B (20:59)

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

A (21:15)

BetterHelp makes it easy to get matched online with a qualified therapist. Sign up and get 10% off at betterhelp.com officeladies that's better. H-E-L-P.com officeladies.

B (21:32)

All right, we are back and we will be talking about the paper. Season one, Episode two titled the Five W's.

A (21:42)

Mm.

B (21:43)

This episode was written by Greg Daniels and Michael Komen and directed by Ken Kwapas.

A (21:49)

Aw. Our favorite.

B (21:51)

Let me give you a summary. It's been a long time.

A (21:55)

Were you excited to give a summary?

B (21:58)

I was excited to give a summary, but I'm only doing one fast fact, and that's okay. Moving forward, these breakdowns will contain a single fast fact, not three.

A (22:09)

Here's the thing. We are not on the paper, right? But we know so many people who are working on the paper. So they're giving us little, you know, behind the scenes details. And I think it's okay that you're only doing one fast fact.

B (22:21)

Thank you, lady. Thank you. Well, here is your summary. Ned is struggling to stitch together his first issue of the floundering Toledo Truth Teller newspaper. Esmeralda sabotages Ned's efforts by killing their wire service and doctoring his first letter to the readers.

A (22:41)

She still has it out for him?

B (22:42)

Well, yeah, she's bitter.

A (22:44)

Yeah, he's kind of replaced her.

B (22:46)

Yes, for sure.

A (22:47)

Yeah.

B (22:47)

He also stole her office.

A (22:49)

That wasn't necessary either.

B (22:50)

I agree. The staff of the paper Become reporters, but no one really writes anything. And he has to turn this flop into a feature by writing a blunt and very earnest letter, owning that it was a quiet news day, and rebooting the paper's promise to tell the truth. There you go. All right, Fast fact number one. We are watching the broadcast version of these episodes of the paper. You know, they live on Peacock, but now they're all living on NBC Monday nights at 8:30. And I thought to myself, wait a second, they were really long on Peacock, but to be on broadcast, they can only be 22 minutes. Yeah, I asked Dave Rogers about it. He said, yeah, we had to cut them down. He said most of the episodes were like in the 28 to 29 minute range and he had to spend his entire summer cutting them all down to 21 minutes and 30 seconds. It was like reverse supersizing that he's doing. He's, you know, for the Office, he's doing the supersized episodes. For Peacock, he had to do like, reverse supersize.

A (23:59)

My gosh, what would you call that? Reverse supersize.

B (24:03)

So, yes, he said that because so much time had to come out of each episode, both Greg and Michael really wanted to be involved in the process. And they each had their own way of trimming the episode. He said Greg would take the broadcast scripts. So, like, after a show is broadcast, they turn it into a script because then it will incorporate all of the improvs and the way it was edited.

A (24:31)

That's right. It's like the transcripts you find online.

B (24:34)

Exactly.

A (24:34)

They form those after the episode airs.

B (24:37)

So Greg would take the broadcast scripts and he would do what they call box cuts. That's where he would just put a giant box around certain scenes. And then if there were other little bits that related to that scene, they would cut those out too. But I guess Michael Komen would take the Peacock cuts and actually use editing software where he pulled out little pieces of scenes and little pieces of dialogue to try to get down to the 21 minutes, 30 seconds.

A (25:07)

This is very interesting because it also is a little bit of a generational choice. Greg is clearly paper and pen and Michael is computer.

B (25:18)

Dave said he would kind of use both of those as quote, unquote notes to determine how he would cut the episode down. But he said there were a couple times early on that Michael would suggest doing a different take of a scene because it was shorter or faster. And he and Greg had to explain that since this is a documentary, there aren't multiple takes.

A (25:44)

Right.

B (25:44)

So if a take or an angle lives in the original episode.

A (25:49)

That's it.

B (25:49)

It can't be changed.

A (25:51)

It can be removed, but it can't be a new version of that same scene.

B (25:55)

Exactly. So there you have it. That's your single fast fact.

A (26:00)

I like it.

B (26:01)

Well, let's get into the episode. This episode opens with Ned welcoming everyone into the conference room. Ned, you remember, is the brand new editor in chief of the Truth Teller pa A newspaper that up until now has written no original stories.

A (26:16)

Yeah, they would just pull clips off of other news sites, but now they have to do it all on their own. Did you notice what the sign said on the door?

B (26:24)

I did.

A (26:25)

There's a handmade sign on the door as you walk into the conference room. It says, truth teller staff meeting, 9am 9am I was like, that's kind of early.

B (26:35)

I mean, he has to get going.

A (26:37)

He does.

B (26:38)

Everyone is in the conference room except for two people. Oscar is not there, and Esmerelda is not there. And Ned starts by asking, how many people have written for a newspaper before? Only mayor.

A (26:51)

Only mayor. And everyone else's experience is pretty thin. Someone's like, oh, I have a text thread. Really?

B (27:00)

That's their writing experience.

A (27:01)

I tweeted like, the experience is real slim.

B (27:05)

Ned is now going to share his favorite issues of the Toledo Truth Teller. He's taken, like, these newspapers, these front pages, they've been framed.

A (27:14)

They're like antiques that hang in the hallway of the building.

B (27:17)

And he brings his favorites into the room. These are the headlines on his favorite. Shepherd orbits the earth. Dr. Salk cures polio and victory in Europe. I looked up the headlines.

A (27:31)

I figured you would.

B (27:33)

So Alan Shepard did do a suborbit of the Earth in 1961. Dr. Salk created the polio vaccine in 1955. And victory in Europe was declared in 1945. I was like, how old is this paper? These headlines go back to 1945.

A (27:50)

I mean, you remember what the printing press looked like? It was in black and white.

B (27:56)

Oh, yeah, that's right. Well, then I looked at my hometown paper of the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

A (28:02)

Yeah.

B (28:02)

The first issue of the St. Louis Post Dispatch was December 12, 1878.

A (28:09)

You go, St. Louis, 1878.

B (28:13)

I saw a picture of the front page. It was almost all ads.

A (28:17)

Hmm.

B (28:17)

Were early newspapers just. It looked kind of like just an ad section. And the. Oh, the ads, lady, you would have loved it. Oh, I bet it was like needlepoint napkins now on sale.

A (28:31)

Lace gloves, half off.

B (28:33)

Lace gloves, yes.

A (28:35)

Well, Ken, he's kind of like One of the boss guys over everything. He's this British guy. He's gonna come in and stir up some. And I just want you guys to know I have a few people in this episode that I'm calling stirrers.

B (28:49)

Oh, is he one of them?

A (28:50)

He's one of them. And I had to call a bull hard on him right out of the gate. Oh, I'm ready. Yeah, I'm sorry.

B (28:56)

What is it?

A (28:57)

Well, Ken comes in the room and he's like, I'm sorry, you can't use these framed newspapers in your conference room meeting. I'm gonna take them all back. Why? Why Ken?

B (29:08)

Why?

A (29:08)

Why can't he show these framed like, newspapers to his staff? Oh, I'm sorry. He's gotta go hang em back in the hallway. Okay, great. Then everyone can just walk to the hallway. Really?

B (29:21)

I guess he was worried about them getting damaged. But did you see the person who drops them on the floor? It's Ken.

A (29:27)

I know.

B (29:28)

At two minutes, as he's leaving the conference room, he drops him on the floor.

A (29:33)

Yeah.

B (29:33)

And guess what? I have a tidbit about that. Okay, so when we shared that we were gonna be breaking down these episodes, the amazing Chelsea Fry, who plays Mare, she reached out to us and she said she was so excited, and she said, ask me any questions. So I asked her if she had any memories from this episode, and she said, this conference room meeting, she said it was essentially the first conference room meeting where everybody was all together and they were so nervous. They felt like there was a lot to live up to. So she said that when Tim Key, who plays Ken, left with all the framed articles, he dropped them. And it was an accident.

A (30:12)

No, it's so perfect.

B (30:13)

It's so perfect. And she said it broke the tension. Everybody couldn't stop laughing. And then they left it in.

A (30:20)

I think that's great. Aw, Chelsea, great tidbit. I do have a favorite moment in this conference room scene, and it's when Barry lights a cigarette and he smokes a cigarette.

B (30:32)

I know that's longer in the peacock version.

A (30:35)

Yeah, he's like, smoking a cigarette through the whole meeting. No one says anything. No one's like, do you mind? Like, the smoke. Nothing.

B (30:42)

Yes. And by the way, after Ken leaves, this conference room meeting just sort of ends.

A (30:48)

Yeah, it just sort of ends. And everyone kind of goes back to their desks, I guess.

B (30:53)

Yes.

A (30:54)

Ned is gonna go up to Mare at her desk and they're excited. They're gonna start this first issue. They're gonna go to the AP wire And start pulling articles.

B (31:03)

Yes.

A (31:04)

And then Ned spies a tin of popcorn under Mare's desk and is like, hey, can I have some of that? And she's like, yeah, sure. And here's the thing. There would have been a Mare talking head right after this. Like, as soon as Ned starts diving in, that popcorn tin mayor would've said something I thought was hilarious. It's still in the peacock version. It's not in the NBC broadcast. But I want you to hear about this popcorn. It brought back some memories for me.

C (31:30)

Hey, can I have.

B (31:31)

Can I have some of this?

A (31:32)

Yeah, sure.

B (31:33)

Dive in. Looks good.

A (31:36)

That popcorn was a gift to Maria, who had my desk before me, from Enrique, who. Who used to work in sales. They have two kids now.

B (31:46)

Yes. This popcorn, it's one of those giant tins that's, like, divided in three.

A (31:51)

Yeah.

B (31:51)

And Ned's gonna eat it through this entire episode. You see him carry this tin around. He's like, basically like, stress eating. Yes, yes.

A (32:01)

He's stress eating. Maybe four year old popcorn.

B (32:04)

I mean, they have two kids.

A (32:06)

Two kids, six years old popcorn.

B (32:08)

I mean, they had to fall in love, get married, and have two children and not work there anymore.

A (32:14)

It reminded me when Ed ate those Twizzlers that had been on the set for, like, four years.

B (32:18)

What is that story?

A (32:20)

Don't you remember? We had all those. Were they Twizzlers or Red Vines? I can't remember. In the kitchen, and they'd been there for years.

B (32:26)

Oh, the big tub of Red Vines. Yes.

A (32:29)

On the set of the office in the kitchen. And they were there for years. And then when Ed was new to the show, one day I saw him open it up and take one out. I'm like, ba. But he. They've been here a while. He'd already eaten, like, half of it.

B (32:42)

I think that they last forever.

A (32:45)

I think they might. I do have a question for you.

B (32:48)

What is it?

A (32:49)

Are you Red Vines or Twizzlers?

B (32:51)

Oh, this is tough.

A (32:52)

Yeah.

B (32:54)

I am Red Vines at the movies.

A (32:56)

Okay.

B (32:56)

But I am Twizzlers at Lake of the Ozarks. My whole childhood. My mom would buy a pack of Twizzlers, which she calls Liquish.

A (33:06)

Liquish?

B (33:07)

Yeah. Do you want some Liquish?

A (33:09)

This is adorable.

B (33:10)

She doesn't call it licorice, but she would buy.

A (33:13)

Also, it's not licorice or licorice.

B (33:16)

Isn't it licorice? It's red licorice. Is it? I think so. But she would buy a big pack when we would go down to the lake for a week. And you could just go in the cabinet whenever you wanted and you could take one, because there's no. Like, the cool thing about Lake of the Ozarks and my childhood was that you could just eat chips.

A (33:36)

Different rules.

B (33:37)

Yes. Oreos and red licorice. This is like what I call Willy nilly.

A (33:42)

Plane travel. Like, we get to the airport, the kids can get whatever snack they want for the plane.

B (33:46)

Right.

A (33:46)

You know, and can get Skittles. Whatever. It's the plane.

B (33:50)

What are you?

A (33:51)

I'm Red Vines.

B (33:53)

Yeah. Well, Ned is old popcorn tin.

A (33:56)

Super old popcorn tin.

B (33:57)

I asked Chelsea about the popcorn because as I was watching him eat this popcorn throughout the whole episode, I was like, did anybody besides Donal eat the popcorn? Cause I just had a hunch. Yeah, just like what you're talking about Ed eating food. And I know BJ and I would eat prop food that wasn't ours.

A (34:16)

Yeah.

B (34:17)

She said, oh, my God, Yes. She ate so much of it that she was sick by the end of the week. She said Taylor from props had to refill it constantly.

A (34:28)

Okay, well, I was very curious about this popcorn tin as well, and I reached out to the prop master for the paper, Scott McGinnis. We met him.

B (34:35)

Okay.

A (34:35)

Remember when we were on set and I asked him these questions, Scott, did the actors all really eat the popcorn? It looked like a lot of popcorn. Where did you get it from? What were the flavors? And was there a spit bucket?

B (34:47)

What are the answers?

A (34:48)

Here's what Scott said. The popcorn and tin were from Shirley's, a popular Ohio brand.

B (34:54)

Oh, I love this.

A (34:55)

Yeah. And he sent me the link so I can share it. He said the actors ate quite a bit, but mostly Donal, who goes full into everything. Sounds like rain, doesn't it?

B (35:04)

Mm.

A (35:05)

Scott also said the most popular flavor was. Any guesses? Cheese white cheddar.

B (35:12)

Oh.

A (35:12)

He said it's good popcorn, and I don't remember needing a spit bucket.

B (35:18)

I like this inside info. Here's what's gonna happen next. In the episode, Mare and Ned discover that the wire service has been canceled. They can't get any stories.

A (35:28)

Yeah.

B (35:29)

Esmerelda comes by, and in her very passive aggressive way, she's like, oh, yes, I canceled the wire service because you so brilliantly declared that we would be writing original news stories. Yeah, this was your idea.

A (35:44)

Yeah, I did this for you. Mm. And he's like, what the.

B (35:48)

Yeah.

A (35:49)

And she's very sabotage y. And then she mentions this lunch that they have.

B (35:54)

Yes. She's like, I'll see you at lunch. And then Ned panics, and he calls everybody back into the conference room because now they have to go get news stories.

A (36:05)

Today.

B (36:06)

Right now.

A (36:06)

The deadline for printing is 6pm yes.

B (36:10)

Here are the news stories that they're gonna chase down. This is all they could come up with?

A (36:15)

Mm.

B (36:16)

Adalola couldn't find a parking space at the dog park. They're on it.

A (36:21)

They're gonna get to the bottom of that. Who's taking up all these extra parking spaces?

B (36:25)

Yes. There's a water main break in town, so mayor and Barry are gonna go find out what's going on with that.

A (36:32)

Did you catch. As Barry gets up to leave, he throws his cigarette over his shoulder.

B (36:37)

No, I did not.

A (36:39)

I was like, did he just throw a lit circle cigarette over his shoulder?

B (36:43)

My gosh. Travis says that there are some fishing limits that have changed at the wildlife preserve, so he and Detrick are gonna go find out. And finally, Ned says, nicole, will you please look at the crime beat? Like, look at all the, like, apps and call all the places and find out if you know anything. Yes. And then Ned says, I'm gonna write a letter from the editor, and this is gonna be our paper. It's gonna be great.

A (37:15)

Now everyone go get to it. Mm.

B (37:18)

Lady, did you know that I was a journalism minor in college?

A (37:21)

Yes. I feel like in the back folder of my brain of our friendship, I remember this.

B (37:25)

Yes. I was a pre law history major and a journalism minor. I changed my major to theater, But I did graduate with a minor in journalism, and I found three of the stories that I wrote for the Index, which was my college paper during my, like, you know, time in the journalism department.

A (37:48)

Please tell me you're going to share one.

B (37:50)

I'm just going to share the subject of each of them because I thought they were pretty cool.

A (37:53)

Okay, can I just say, Jenna's holding up papers that have, like, kind of started to turn yellow. They're so old.

B (38:00)

They were typed on a typewriter.

A (38:01)

Oh, my goodness.

B (38:02)

And then I would turn these in. So Jenna Fisher for the Index is what it says. They might be giants and Matthew's sweet teamed up last Friday night in Pershing arena for a very successful St. Patrick's Day concert. As of last Thursday, SAB had sold a little over 1,000 tickets. Mm. And then I have quotes. Because you had to get quotes, lady.

A (38:27)

You basically had fast facts.

B (38:30)

Oh, my gosh. Is this where it started?

A (38:32)

I think so.

B (38:33)

Okay, here's my next one. Jenna Fisher for the Index. Springtime is bringing more than flowers to Kirksville this year. The Kirksville Planning and Zoning Commission met last Wednesday to discuss the possibility of adding a Walgreens drugstore on the corner of Illinois and Baltimore streets across from Hy Vee. But before the store can be built, the property must be rezoned from residential to commercial, causing controversy among some homes owners in the area.

A (38:59)

Ooh. Scuttlebutt. Mm.

B (39:02)

This was my two part series. This is gonna get serious. Jenna Fisher for the Index. This story is part one of a two part series on how recent sexual attacks have shaken the normally quiet midwestern college town of Crooksville, Missouri. Part one deals with the ongoing efforts of law enforcement officials to regain control of their town. Part two will deal with the ways citizens have decided to fight back against the recent attacks by taking matters into their own hands. So this was kind of my crime beat. They assign you different sections of the paper. Sure. So this was when I was on crime beat. I had to interview people. But apparently I didn't do a very good job in part one because my teacher wrote anything from the police department. This is supposed to be the law enforcement side. You have very little from them. Oh, I guess I didn't do a very good job on that story. I don't even know if it ran. It may not have run.

A (39:54)

Lady. I see so much of you, like early you in all three of those. Jenna Fisher from the Index.

B (40:01)

Jenna Fisher from the Index.

A (40:02)

Oh my gosh.

B (40:03)

Oh, lady. I used to walk around with a little spiral pad and I would say, hi, Jenna Fisher from the Index. I'm here to do a story on whatever.

A (40:10)

Just like Adalola in the parking lot. She had her little notepad. She was very serious about it.

B (40:14)

Exactly.

A (40:15)

Well, you know, I mean, we had talked about this earlier when we were re watching this episode and I shared with Jenna, you guys, and I have to tell you all, and I've mentioned this on the podcast before, that my grandmother, Lena Mae Kinsey had a column in the Archer City Paper.

B (40:31)

Yes.

A (40:33)

I can't even believe this, you guys. I found one of her columns. Get this. There is a website called Portal to Texas History. They are archiving rare historical and primary source materials all about Texas. It's been created and maintained by the University of North Texas Libraries. Thank you so much to those folks because I found my grandmother's column. It was like I got to spend a little moment in time with her. It was so wonderful.

B (41:01)

Are you gonna read it?

A (41:02)

Yes, I am. First of all, I stand corrected. I always thought her column was called around the Town. I think that was an early name of it.

B (41:10)

Okay.

A (41:11)

But it was actually called Around Archer. And here it is around Archer by Mrs. Finas Kinsey. It is basically just, I think people let her know what they were doing and then she would write up and say what they were doing. So here's an example. Mr. And Mrs. Ralph Wolfe of Azel visited their son and his wife, coach Terri Wolfe and Deidre last Friday.

B (41:36)

That's it.

A (41:37)

That's it. Next one. Rattlesnakes are moving in. Ron Mullins killed one in town. 47 inches long.

B (41:44)

I would read this column every week. Yeah, I love this.

A (41:48)

Here's one more. The youth fellowship group of the First United Methodist Church traveled to Dallas, Texas Saturday for the Tulane versus Southern Methodist University football game at Irving Stadium. The group of 20 camped out at the youth hall of a Dallas Methodist church where they attended services the following morning.

B (42:05)

Can I get on my soapbox for a second? Can I just say that this is what is missing from today? This, this tidbits of community. How amazing is this? How it stitches you together just knowing little bitty things that they went to visit their son. I love that. I love that. The guy killed the rattlesnake.

A (42:28)

That was my brother in law.

B (42:29)

This is. We need more of this in our lives today. When I click on quote, unquote, like news sites, it's not news. There's no news. It's just the same recycled bull over and over again. It's just the same political divide. It doesn't build community. That builds community. That is beautiful. It's meaningful. We need more of that.

A (42:56)

I know, I loved it. And there's little tidbit after little tidbit. And I just want to share with you the editor's note at the end. Please, editor's remember to call Mrs. Kinsey. And then they gave her phone number to report Archer city activities. We have had many, many requests from readers for more around Archer events. This is the first time in four years that we have had a local correspondent help us to make the news your news.

B (43:24)

I love it. How can we start this? How can this happen?

A (43:28)

Isn't that wonderful? That was the first time in four years. And the local correspondent was my grandmother.

B (43:34)

Now I know that there are like local church newsletters, school newsletters. I know that there are like community newsletters. I subscribe to my town newsletter.

A (43:48)

I do too.

B (43:49)

I get it quarterly and I love it for this reason. Yes, but we need this. How do we make this like a national thing? Like, wouldn't you just feel so much closer to everybody if you got little tidbits.

A (44:01)

Yeah, I think I would. I think it's nice. It's just. It makes people feel more similar than apart.

B (44:09)

Yes.

A (44:10)

Yeah.

B (44:10)

All right. I don't know how to make this happen.

A (44:13)

Well, maybe we can start making it happen here a little at a time.

B (44:17)

Should we start a folder called tidbits?

A (44:19)

Yes. And you could tell us just a little around your town tidbit, and we'll share it on the podcast. I love this.

B (44:26)

Yes.

A (44:27)

Oh, can we call it around the town in honor of my grandmother?

B (44:31)

Yes. Done. Everyone, please go to officeladies.com, look for our folder titled around the town, and send us some news about your town.

A (44:41)

Yeah. Or what you did.

B (44:43)

Yes.

A (44:44)

For the weekend.

B (44:45)

Exactly. Did you kill a rattlesnake? We want to know.

A (44:48)

Yeah. Did your home football team go to the playoffs?

B (44:51)

Yes. Well, I'm very excited, and I feel inspired.

A (44:55)

Me too. And my grandmother would be so proud.

B (44:57)

I think she should be proud.

A (44:59)

Yeah.

B (45:00)

Well, let's get back to breaking down this episode. Nicole is going to knock on Ned's door and say, listen, as a single woman living alone, I cannot do the crime beat.

A (45:08)

No.

B (45:09)

I need my bubble of ignorance. Could we please switch assignments? How about I write the letter from the editor and you do the crime beat?

A (45:17)

You know, I did notice in the conference room when she looked on her phone and saw one of the first crimes. It was, like, a guy with a machete or something. She then took her phone and hid it under her purse. Oh, I thought that was a nice little. Like, a little nugget there. That she does not want anything to do with this.

B (45:36)

I mean, it makes sense to me.

A (45:37)

Mm.

B (45:38)

This is why I don't watch, like, haunted house scary movies, because I can't have that in my head as I'm falling asleep in my 100-year-old house that I'm convinced is maybe a little haunted.

A (45:51)

You know, too close to home.

B (45:52)

Yeah.

A (45:53)

Yeah.

B (45:54)

All right, now we're gonna go to the dog park. Cause we're gonna try to figure out why there's no parking spaces. Remember, Adam and Adilola are asking questions of a park employee, and they're asking them, like, in a way, like, there's something sketchy going on, like, what's up with the lack of parking?

A (46:12)

Yeah.

B (46:13)

And the guy's like, well, if you look at the sign, the parking is for park employees to unload their things.

A (46:20)

This guy that plays this role is brilliant.

B (46:24)

Do you know who it is? I didn't know who it was.

A (46:25)

I did. It's Nick Thune.

B (46:27)

Yes.

A (46:27)

Yeah.

B (46:28)

I went down a whole rabbit hole.

A (46:30)

He's so good. He's so. No nonsense. But he's also not a dick in the role.

B (46:35)

You know, he's really great. He's a comedian, and he's been on tour with Nate Bargazzi.

A (46:40)

Yeah, no, he's fantastic. He's done a gazillion things.

B (46:43)

I started watching all his YouTube specials. He plays guitar while he does his comedy. It's very charming. It's very soothing and very funny.

A (46:53)

I feel like he was a huge git. Like, I hope he comes back in this role somehow.

B (46:57)

That would be amazing.

A (46:59)

The other thing that's going on is that Mare calls Ned to let him know that Barry's injured. I guess somehow walking down a sidewalk, he put his foot through a wooden crate. He's sprawled out on the ground. He's in a lot of pain. Shout out, Chelsea, to this deep squat that you hold throughout the whole scene. I was very impressed.

B (47:20)

Ned is like, okay, can you go see what's happening with the water main break? And she's like, I told him I'd ride in the ambulance with him. It doesn't look like he needs an ambulance, but apparently one has been called.

A (47:32)

Yeah.

B (47:32)

And Ned's like, could the ambulance swing by the water main break on the way to the hospital? No. And then he's like, I don't think so.

A (47:40)

And then he's like, fine. Can you just get me any details about what's happening at the hospital? He's getting so desperate. I wanna point out something. Background. Catch. All right. While Ned is talking to her behind him on a Credenza. Go to 9 minutes and 41 seconds. Clacky balls.

B (47:58)

No.

A (47:59)

Yep.

B (47:59)

No, there's not.

A (48:00)

Big old set of clacky balls. Mm.

B (48:03)

Wow.

A (48:04)

Yep.

B (48:04)

Clacky balls made it back.

A (48:07)

Little the office Easter egg there.

B (48:09)

Well, listen, on that note, I think we should take a break, because when we come back, we're going to talk about what is my favorite scene in this whole episode?

A (48:16)

Awesome. You know what I love about Chicken of the Sea?

B (48:26)

What?

A (48:26)

I like it. It's tasty and I can grab and go.

B (48:29)

You know what I like about it?

A (48:30)

What?

B (48:31)

Lots of protein.

A (48:32)

Yes, exactly.

B (48:34)

Chicken of the Sea has something for everyone, including an expansive portfolio of tuna. So salmon, sardines, and more available in cans and portable packets. I love the portable packets. I have bought the portable packets.

A (48:50)

Yeah, same here. There's also a new Chicken of the Sea. Wild caught light tuna with Frank's redhot Oh my gosh. My son's put Frank's Redhot on everything. They're gonna love that.

B (49:00)

Chicken of the Sea tuna packets are portable. They're great for hiking, camping, perfect for office lunches or as a quick snack.

A (49:09)

To learn more about Chicken of the Sea, visit chickenofthesea.com and look out for their products sold in store and online nationwide at major retailers.

B (49:18)

Try Chicken of the Sea's new Frank's Red Hot Tuna packet today.

A (49:22)

So Josh and I are super excited because we got a Whole Foods in our neighborhood now.

B (49:27)

Oh, lady.

A (49:28)

I know, it's really great. You can get everything there. And I always feel really good about the produce and like, what they offer feels like really good quality.

B (49:38)

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

A (49:54)

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

B (50:02)

That's where I get my probiotics.

A (50:04)

Oh, really?

B (50:04)

It's in a little refrigerated section.

A (50:06)

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

B (50:12)

Shop all things wellness at Whole Foods Market. When it comes to home security, you want to feel like you picked a system that actually keeps trouble away.

A (50:22)

Yeah. Well, that's why I like Simplisafe Home Security. It's not just another alarm. It's actually designed to help stop crime before it starts. But you can also really make it specific to your home. Here's an example for you. Okay, so the back part of my house is pretty much all windows. We have like French doors and then on either side of the French doors we have these big glass planes, you know?

B (50:42)

Yes.

A (50:43)

So it's a lot of glass, a lot of window. So you think, oh, well, I could have a motion sensor or an entry sensor. Both of those are available. But also you can have a glass break sensor.

B (50:53)

Yes. So if someone breaks the glass to get in, an alarm will go off.

A (50:58)

Exactly.

B (50:59)

Smart. I mean, Simplisafe has really thought of every way to protect the home. That is so smart. Well, you can give it a try and see the difference for yourself. They have a 60 day money back guarantee and right now you can get 50% off any new system this month only. It's a great time to upgrade to security that actually helps stop crime before it starts.

A (51:22)

Go to simplisafe.com officeladies that's at simplisafe.com officeladers. There's no safe like Simplisafe. All right, we are back and we're going into I think you and I's favorite scene of the whole episode, Lady.

B (51:40)

Yes, it's Travis and Detric. They've gone to meet with the assistant fish and game warden to talk about this new fishing law.

A (51:50)

Yeah. And Travis, you know, as they arrive, he's putting on a blazer over his Softies T shirt. He's clearly wanting to look a little bit nicer. And we find out that the assistant fish and game warden is Harper Brewster, his ex girlfriend. I love this scene so much. It's perfection.

B (52:09)

Please tell me you pulled an audio clip.

A (52:11)

I absolutely did. And I want to give a shout out as you listen to Tahni Newsom who plays Harper Detrick, played by Melvin Gregg and Matt Peters, who plays Gary. They are so damn funny in it. Let's hear it.

B (52:23)

Mr. Moore?

C (52:24)

Yes.

B (52:24)

Assistant Fish and game. Warton and Brewster. Right. Travis.

C (52:27)

Hello, Harper. How are you?

B (52:29)

You know you're not supposed to be here.

C (52:30)

I'm here in my official capacity as a reporter, okay? Not your ex boyfriend. You have to respect me as a member of the press, all right? The First Amendment compels you.

B (52:39)

Everything okay here?

C (52:40)

What's up, Gary?

B (52:41)

I'm with the Travis.

C (52:43)

I'm just here to ask you guys some questions about fish. That's it.

B (52:46)

I warned you what would happen. Now I have to tune you up.

A (52:49)

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

B (52:50)

Hold on a second, Gary. Okay, look, we're just here as reporters. We have one question. One question and we'll leave. Right? Okay.

A (52:55)

Yeah.

C (52:56)

Has the bluegill limit in the Lake Erie district changed recently?

B (53:00)

You know that it has. What are we doing? That's great. Thank you. Okay, that's one question. We're done.

C (53:04)

That was a setup question, Gary. I obviously need to ask a follow up.

A (53:08)

Go.

B (53:08)

Yes, thank you.

C (53:09)

Follow up. Harper, is there any part of you that still loves me?

B (53:13)

Dude, I warned you.

C (53:14)

Follow up to that. This is the guy that you chose? Are you kidding me?

A (53:18)

Get out. Get out. Ow.

B (53:20)

Ow.

A (53:21)

Ow, my foot.

B (53:22)

Ow. I mean, it's so good.

A (53:26)

It's so good. That was a setup question. Clearly I have a follow up.

B (53:33)

I really love this scene. I wanted to know if we were gonna see more of the characters of Harper and Gary. I went to IMDb. This is the only episode that Tawny and Matt are listed in as guest stars. Greg, Michael, if you are listening, can we please revisit this love triangle in season two, please, because I know you're working on season two right now.

A (53:55)

Yes. If you're listening, we want more of this love triangle.

B (53:58)

I loved it so much.

A (53:59)

So much.

B (54:01)

All right, now we are back at the Toledo Truth Teller offices, and Nicole is working on her letter from the editor, even though she's not the editor. And Esmeralda's gonna come by her desk, see what she's doing. And you know she's a saboteur.

A (54:15)

Yeah, she's the second of this episode.

B (54:17)

Oh, okay. She's gonna tell Nicole, I need you to defrost the freezer right now. You are the only person who can do this task. I have a question.

A (54:27)

Yeah.

B (54:27)

Who is the boss of this office? Why is Esmeralda allowed to redirect what Nicole is doing? Because I thought Esmerelda, she's in charge of online content. She's the online newspaper. But Ned is in charge of the print newspaper and is sort of like the boss of the office. But are they, like, co bosses?

A (54:49)

I don't think they're co bosses, but I think. I think Esmeralda is senior to Nicole and has probably been her boss in some form for so long that she still bosses her around a little bit. But probably this is not someone that Nicole has to listen to anymore. But it's just sort of like learned behavior.

B (55:08)

Well, it sounds like this job of defrosting the freezer has happened before as well.

A (55:12)

Yeah.

B (55:13)

Nicole has had this job before.

A (55:15)

Esmeralda might just boss Nicole around. That might be their dynamic.

B (55:19)

I had a question. Do they need a new freezer? I mean, how often. How often do you defrost your freezer?

A (55:26)

Yes. Here's my follow up to that. I don't think they have the money for a new freezer.

B (55:32)

I guess you're right. Well, when Nicole gets up to go defrost this terrible freezer, Esmeralda sits down at Nicole's computer and starts typing out this letter from the editor. So now Esmeralda's writing it. You're gonna find out it's not gonna be a great letter.

A (55:48)

Right.

B (55:48)

Saboteur.

A (55:49)

Saboteur. Meanwhile, Ned is on the phone. He's desperately trying to find if there's any crime in the area. He's not having any luck. He's very frustrated. He calls the morgue. He's like, are you sure? Can you look in any of the drawers? And he's just.

B (56:02)

Yeah, he's like, have any new bodies come in?

A (56:04)

Yeah.

B (56:04)

Are you sure? No new bodies have come in? Have you Looked everywhere.

A (56:08)

Yeah. It's weird. It's creepy, but he's desperate. Did you clock how orange his fingers are getting?

B (56:13)

I literally wrote down popcorn tracker. He's eating the cheese popcorn now, and his fingers are orange, so. Yes, I did.

A (56:21)

I thought it was such a great touch. It just kind of reminded me of when we got the kids Cheetos on this car ride. We took a road trip. Oh, no. And the backseat, like, the window, it was like, just like orange dust everywhere. Mm.

B (56:32)

Mm. Well, Esmeralda's gonna pop her head into Ned's office and be like, I'm excited for our lunch. And Ned is like, I can't do lunch. And she's like, oh, no, I invited Marv. It's your welcome lunch. And Ned's like, fine, fine.

A (56:48)

He can't say no to Marv. No, he's the boss. Boss.

B (56:51)

Yes. He's like, I'll go to lunch, but it needs to be quick. And Esmeralda says, you know, in Italy, we have a saying. If a man eats quick, he also finishes quick.

A (57:00)

Mm hmm. Yeah. And then she sashays out.

B (57:04)

She does. God, I love her.

A (57:07)

She's got some really great one liners.

B (57:10)

She really does.

A (57:11)

Well, now at the lunch, Esmeralda is trying to sabotage him, but it's backfiring. For example, she says, you know, Ned got rid of the wire. That was his idea. You know, and they're like, great. Take some balls.

B (57:23)

Yes. She's also trying to make this lunch last as long as possible. So she has. So we find out she sent her fish back, like, three times.

A (57:32)

Yeah.

B (57:33)

Because she's trying to make it so that he can't get his paper done today.

A (57:37)

She's also ordered wine.

B (57:38)

Mm. This restaurant that they're eating in, I recognized it, and I'm really proud of myself.

A (57:45)

Really?

B (57:45)

Yes. I was pretty sure when I saw it that I had shot something there before.

A (57:51)

Where is it?

B (57:52)

It's a fakie restaurant on the Universal lot. This was my suspicion. I'm like, I have shot here. So I reached out to Kelly Cantley, first AD.

A (58:01)

Yeah.

B (58:01)

And guess what? I was right. I was right.

A (58:05)

What is it?

B (58:06)

She said, we shot the restaurant on the New York street on the Universal back lot.

A (58:11)

Oh, I know. The New York street.

B (58:13)

Yes.

A (58:13)

Yeah.

B (58:14)

Now, here's the thing. When you shoot in a fakie restaurant, you have to create all of the business outside of the windows. And this fakie restaurant has windows on two sides. So if you watch this scene, not only do you have to fill the restaurant with all the people inside, you have to make all the business happen outside. So you have to watch this because it's really, really cool. You see cars driving by. You see pedestrians. All this is happening. I asked Kelly about it. She said we had 24 background performers inside the restaurant and 40 people outside the restaurant. 20 people were drivers and 20 people were pedestrians who were, like, parking cars or walking by. She said Joe Moore, who was their second second AD And Elizabeth Robbins, their DGA trainee, and nine production assistants had to help with all of the traffic direction. And she sent me the map that shows the loop that the cars made. And it reminded me of the proposal scene that John and I did.

A (59:20)

I was gonna say, look at all of that sort of atmosphere and ambiance and background they had to create out of nothing.

B (59:27)

Yes. So when you watch this restaurant scene, just know it is all actors. Very good. Right?

A (59:35)

So good. And all the work that went into that one moment.

B (59:39)

Also, at the end of this restaurant scene, did you see how Ned eats his cupcake? Yes. He's running out, he got a cupcake somehow, and he pulls the bottom off of the cupcake.

A (59:52)

Yeah.

B (59:53)

And then he puts it on the top and he makes, like, a little cupcake sandwich.

A (59:57)

Yeah. In the peacock version, Marv thinks that the way he ate his cupcake is, like, visionary. And that just annoys the hell out of Esmeralda.

B (60:05)

That's how I eat my cupcakes.

A (60:07)

Are you serious?

B (60:08)

Yes.

A (60:09)

Why?

B (60:10)

If I'm on the go? Because. You know why? Because I don't like to, like, have to, like, smoosh all the icing into my upper lip and bottom of my nose, which is what happens when you eat a cupcake. Yeah, but if you smoosh it down and eat it like a little cupcake sandwich.

A (60:28)

Like a ding dong.

B (60:30)

Yes. Then you get the icing right where you want it.

A (60:34)

We've talked about so much snack food in this episode.

B (60:38)

What is happening?

A (60:39)

I don't know, but now I'm hungry.

B (60:41)

Well, now we're gonna go to Adilola and Adam, who are at the dog park. They're still trying to find some story. The parking thing is a bust. But they're like, let's ask these teenagers if there's anything happening around town.

A (60:56)

And the teenagers immediately just mess with them. They say that there's a thing called dogging where they just act like dogs when they get together and hang out and they, like, bark. And I can't believe Adalola and Adam think this is a thing.

B (61:10)

Well, I'm gonna come to their defense.

A (61:13)

Okay.

B (61:13)

First of all, I wanna give a guest star shout out to the teenagers who were played by Gillian Craighead and Zaire Adams. But here is me coming to the defense of this storyline.

A (61:24)

Okay.

B (61:25)

Is the idea of doggin any less realistic than 6, 7?

A (61:35)

Oh, yeah. 67 makes everyone go berserk.

B (61:38)

67 is, like, so random. It makes no sense to me.

A (61:41)

It has no meaning. It's not meant to make sense.

B (61:44)

Right. So who's to say that kids aren't barking at each other and calling it dogging?

A (61:48)

That's true. That's true.

B (61:49)

I'm dogging you. Yeah.

A (61:51)

And I remember there was, like, a trend, it was a few years ago, where people would perch like they was perching. I don't know. I did it with Sarah Hyland. On this movie, you're supposed to just sit on the edge of something, like an owl. Like you perched. I didn't even know what I was doing. Like, I just did it. Cause they were like, let's do this for a picture. But yeah, I mean, I'm just saying these things do come up. I'm agreeing with you.

B (62:12)

Yes.

A (62:13)

I mean, we're doing trends now on TikTok lady. What's happening?

B (62:16)

We are doing TikTok trends. Are people following us on TikTok office ladies pod.

A (62:22)

I want you to know that we have this really young fun team at block party who tells us what trends are happening and then pitches us a few. And half the time, Jen and I don't even know what we're doing, but we. We do them.

B (62:34)

Lady, you just sent me one. You want to do that thing where you. One of us holds the other person's leg, and then you try to thread through their arm.

A (62:42)

You kind of have to dive through the other person's arm while someone's holding your leg. I mean, it's gonna be a hot mess.

B (62:47)

I don't know. I'm worried I'm gonna get hurt.

A (62:50)

I know.

B (62:50)

We're too old for that one.

A (62:51)

That one we might have to nix.

B (62:53)

Well, as Ned is leaving, he gets this phone call. He's, like, really excited. He's at this lunch. He gets this phone call. And guess what? The police department calls. They're like, hey, are you the guy who called earlier wondering if there were any crime stories? Because we have a possible serial killer.

A (63:12)

Yeah. And he's like, that's fantastic. And the guy's like, what? And he goes, I mean, it's terrible. It's clearly terrible. But now he might have a story for his paper.

B (63:20)

So he returns to the office. He's very excited. He tells mayor.

A (63:23)

He tells Merritt. Very close talking. Mm. She's the person he wanted to tell. Mm. Mm. Oh, okay.

B (63:31)

Yeah.

A (63:32)

Close talking. Sharing.

B (63:33)

Mm.

A (63:34)

So the two of them, they're off. They're gonna, like, go try to figure this out.

B (63:38)

Yep.

A (63:38)

Adalola and Adam come back. They're typing up their story. Oscar overhears them talking, and he says, did you guys get any quotes?

B (63:46)

Yep.

A (63:47)

They didn't. Oscar rolls his eyes, kind of looks to camera.

B (63:50)

Yep.

A (63:51)

Has a classic snark looked a camera. Is this the first time Oscar has spoken in this episode?

B (63:57)

It is.

A (63:57)

It is.

B (63:58)

Yes. Because from the last episode, Oscar makes it clear he doesn't want to be part of this documentary, and he doesn't.

A (64:04)

Want to participate, believe me. Out of it.

B (64:06)

Yes.

A (64:06)

But guess what? He's getting curious.

B (64:09)

He is.

A (64:09)

About being a reporter.

B (64:11)

And this is going to pay off later. I really like how they incorporated the character of Oscar into this new show. They didn't make him front and center. You know, he's very much a supporting character right now.

A (64:25)

Right.

B (64:26)

And I think that was really smart.

A (64:28)

So you're slowly going to see him getting more invested in the paper.

B (64:32)

Yes.

A (64:33)

And it plays out over time.

B (64:34)

Yes. So Detrick returns to the office, and he says, travis has been arrested. We didn't get our fish story, but I sold an ad. This guy's trying to sell his boat. So they have one ad for the paper that's. That's. I think all they have so far. Their paper is a single ad.

A (64:51)

Yeah, but ads are good. Yeah.

B (64:53)

Yeah. After Adalola and Adam give Ned their story about the doggin, Ned says, yeah, I called two local high school principals, and none of this story is real. I can't print it.

A (65:05)

Nope. Mm. He does get a mystery manila envelope, though. And inside it is a sudoku.

B (65:10)

Yes. It has, like, the version with all of the empty spaces, and then it has the answer.

A (65:16)

Yeah.

B (65:17)

So that's good. So now what do we have for the paper? We have the sudoku and an ad.

A (65:21)

That's it.

B (65:21)

Mm. Because guess what? Nicole finally returns to her desk. She sees the letter from the editor written by Esmeralda, and it's just basically a letter from Ned's point of view saying that he stole this job from a woman named Esmeralda who has a bangin body despite being a single mother. It's just all about Esmeralda and her awesome body.

A (65:45)

Yeah. And how he took her job. So clearly they can't use that.

B (65:50)

No. So Nicole just deletes it.

A (65:52)

Mare is gonna have a talking head where she says it's 5:38 and she doesn't know what they're going to print. Maybe she'll just type up the train schedules to be safe. And, lady, this made me curious.

B (66:04)

What?

A (66:05)

I was curious about the 6pm deadline that they're up against. And then I started researching what the hours are like to get a newspaper out into the world. And I found this fantastic YouTube video about a local newspaper in Singapore called the Straits Times. And they sort of take you through their night getting a newspaper out. It starts at 5:30pm and all throughout the night, different articles and headlines are coming together and they're printing. And their day ends at 5:30am so whoever Ned is turning this over to is gonna be the night shift that is then gonna get this newspaper out by daybreak.

B (66:40)

Wow.

A (66:41)

It's a really interesting existence. Like, the man that was showing you around the newspaper in Singapore said, you know, his wife is leaving for work when he's getting home.

B (66:49)

Yeah.

A (66:49)

Yeah. So shout out to the night shift at the newspaper.

B (66:52)

Yes. Thank you. Well, guess what? Their final article, the one thing they thought they still had, this Crime beat article, is also going to fall apart.

A (67:03)

Yeah.

B (67:03)

Because what they realize is that the morgue called the police to say that some creep called them insisting that there was a body they didn't know about and they needed to look around for it. And we realized it was Ned.

A (67:17)

Yeah. Ned's really quickly like his. Hangs up. Cause he's like, oh, crap.

B (67:21)

Ned's like, oh, no. So there's no serial killer. There's no nothing. So Ned has to quickly bang out a letter from the editor, and he.

A (67:31)

Decides to title it no news is good News. Mm.

B (67:35)

And he says, that's not something you expect to hear from the editor in chief of the town newspaper. But a lack of crime is evidence of people who treasure their community. And so he releases this very long letter, which, in order to pad it, he just ends up kind of plagiarizing.

A (67:53)

Yeah. He.

B (67:54)

Elmore Leonard's novels 52 pickup.

A (67:57)

He just includes a few chapters of it. It sounds like yes.

B (68:01)

And get shorty.

A (68:02)

Yeah. There is a great cutaway. It's Oscar. He's outside. He's at the newspaper stand. He's picking up the paper, and he's really excited to see the sudoku puzzle because he created it.

B (68:13)

Yes. We didn't know who did it, but it's revealed it was Oscar.

A (68:17)

And Oscar calls Stanley and is like, stanley, what'd you think?

B (68:21)

Yeah. He sends him a picture of it, and he's like, oh, you would say it's too easy, Stanley. Of course. It's a very cute exchange, and it shows that Oscar's still in touch with Stanley.

A (68:32)

Yeah. And it maybe hints to the fact that Oscar is still in touch with other people from Dunder Mifflin.

B (68:38)

Yes.

A (68:39)

Well, the episode is gonna end with Amer talking head. She says, you know, it wasn't perfect, but it was his first issue, and she framed it and she put it in the hallway next to the other antique.

B (68:50)

It's very, very sweet.

A (68:51)

Yeah.

B (68:51)

Well, you know, this episode was directed by Ken Kwapas, and we did reach out to him because I wanted to know what was it like to return to the world of mockumentary and did you have any challenges?

A (69:03)

He wrote us back such a lovely email.

B (69:05)

He did. I remembered something that Greg told us when we visited. He said when we designed this space, we wanted it to look very different from Dunder Mifflin. And they also researched what these old newspaper buildings looked like. And they were big and expansive and.

A (69:22)

Beautiful, old, grand buildings with the big windows.

B (69:26)

Yes. So they have this giant bullpen, which Ken Kwapis said is so different from the Dunder Mifflin bullpen. He said it was a challenge to visually connect people in the space. He said he was very grateful that this opened with a conference room scene because he could get everybody in the same room and really tell the story of who people were and connect them.

A (69:48)

And he certainly has a lot of experience with conference room scenes.

B (69:51)

But he also confirmed what Greg said, which was spy shots were difficult because when they were designing the set, the set was designed by Susie Mancini, by the way. And Greg said, I want you to use different blinds because I don't want it to look like Dunder Mifflin. So they chose these, like, tinier blinds. But then when you open them, it's really hard to do spy shots through them.

A (70:13)

Yeah, the blinds being a bigger size was a good thing.

B (70:17)

Yes. But overall, Ken was just so happy to be back working with these people. He said it's an amazing group of actors, and he had a great time.

A (70:26)

Well, I love that Ken is part of this world, too, and I love seeing all the little crossover moments. But I'm excited to get to know these characters.

B (70:34)

Yeah, I agree. Well, listen, everybody, that's your breakdown of the paper Episode two. A big thank you to Kelly Cantley.

A (70:41)

Ken Kwapus, Chelsea fry, and Scott McGinnis, the prop master.

B (70:46)

Thanks for answering our questions. When we reached out, and we'll see you guys all next week.

A (70:50)

See you then.

B (70:54)

Thank you for listening to Office Ladies.

A (70:56)

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

B (71:02)

Our executive producer is Cassie Jerkins. Our audio engineer is Sam Kiefer, and our associate producer is Ainslie Bubaco.

A (71:09)

Odyssey's executive producer is Leah Reese. Dennis.

B (71:12)

Office Ladies was mixed and mastered by Bill Schultz.

A (71:15)

Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.