November 16, 2021 • 48 mins
Tune in this week for part two of Brian’s conversation with the Nard Dog himself, Ed Helms. Ed tells Brian all about his real-life acapella experience, his weeks that started in Scranton and ended in Vegas - and then things get emotional as they start to reflect back on their time on The Office. Oh, and make sure to stick around for Brian’s huge announcement at the end of the episode.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up? Guys have a Shop Aloud and I am
Troy Millions and we are the host of the Earnier
Leisure podcast, where we break down business models and examine
the latest trends and finance. We hold court and have
exclusive interviews with some of the biggest names of business, sport,
and entertainment, from DJ Khaled to Mark Cuban, Rick Ross
and Shaquille O'Neil. I mean, our alumni list is expansive.
Listen to as our guests reveal their business models, hardships
(00:21):
and triumphs and their respective fields. The knowledge is in
death and the questions are always delivered from your standpoint.
We want to know what you want to know. We
talk to the legends of business, sports and entertainment about
how they got their start and most importantly, how they
make their money. Earn your Leisia is a college business
class mixed with pop culture. I want to learn about
the real estate game, unclears, how the stock market works.
(00:41):
We got you interested in starting a truck and company
or vendor machine business. Not really sure about how taxes
or credit work. We got it all covered. The Earnier
Leisure Podcast is available now. Listen to Earnier Leisure on
the Black Effect podcast Network, I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, and welcome to
(01:04):
our show. I'm Zoe de Chanelle and I'm so excited
to be joined by my friends and cast mates Hanta
Simone and Lamour and Morris to recap our hit television series,
New Girl. Join us every Monday on the Welcome to
Our Show podcast, where we'll share behind the scenes stories
of your favorite New Girl episodes. Each week, we answer
all your burning questions like is there really a bear
(01:24):
in every episode of New Girl? Plus you'll hear hilarious
stories like this that was one of your things you
brought back from ya because all professional basketball players. Yeah.
Listen to the Welcome to Our Show podcast on the
I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get
your podcasts. Hi. I'm Glory Adam, host of Well Read
(01:50):
Black Girl. Each week, we journey together through the cultural
moment where our culture and literature collide and pay homage
to the women books we grew up reading. It's a
literary kickback you never knew you needed. Listen to a
Well Read Black Girl on the I Heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is
(02:19):
Ed Helms and I played Andy Bernard on The Office.
All right, hello everybody, and welcome back. This is the
Office Deep Dive and as always I'm your host, Brian Baumgartner.
(02:39):
And guess what that was my mouth? Today is the day? Actually,
today is actually the day for a few things. But
first up, I, oh my gosh, I'm so excited to
tell you that my new book that I know I've
been talking about for weeks now is finally out. And
(03:03):
how about that just in time for the holidays. Who
could have guessed that? So head on over to Amazon
or Barnes and Noble or Books a Million, wherever it
is that you get your books and grab your very
own copy of Welcome to dunder Mifflin. And while you're
at it, grab a copy for your mother, your sister,
(03:27):
all your friends, anyone in your contacts list. You will
not regret it all right now, I also have another
big announcement to tell you about at the end of
this episode, so make sure you stay tuned after the
interview and and find out what in the world that
could be. Trust me, it is good. And lastly, what
(03:49):
you all came here for my very special guest that
is returning for part two of our conversation, the Nord
Dog himself, Ed Helms. Now, if you haven't all already,
make sure you go and listen to part one, but
then come right back here, because I've been saving the
best for last. Yes, that's right, the last. I'm starting
(04:13):
to wrap up the interviews, which I know is very
bitter sweet. But the good news is over the next
few weeks you're going to hear a few of my
very favorite episodes with some of my favorite guests, and
you also may hear some of yourself. But that being said,
today's interview truly is it is. It's one of my
(04:36):
favorites because you get to see Ed in a different way.
Right Ed is known for playing these kind of loud, bumbling,
I mean hilarious but maybe slightly obnoxious characters. Right but
Ed himself, he's just he is so not that. I mean,
(05:00):
he is hilarious and and he's a comedy nerd. We
talked about that, but today what you're going to get
to see is a very sweet, thoughtful side of Ed
because that's who he is, and I'm not gonna lie.
Things get a little emotional so here he is the
(05:23):
incomparable Mr ed Helms. Bubble and Squeak. I love it
Bubble and squeak on Bubble and Squeaker cookie every month.
Left over from the night before you said you were
(05:52):
a comedy nerd. What what was it about The Office
when you started initially watching it that you felt like
you were seeing something different? What? What? What was that? Well?
I don't know why I didn't. I didn't even I
wasn't able to sort of understand what I liked about it.
But what I do think is kind of hilarious is
(06:15):
that all of the awkwardness and the tension that we
think is so funny our parents generation, especially as Southern parents,
like you know, repression is a very powerful force in
Southern families, and and that the awkwardness is is so intolerable.
And even on the Daily Show, especially with the field pieces,
(06:38):
the correspondent field pieces, it was all about finding extremely
tense moments and you know, you read we would revel
in the awkwardness and try to foster awkwardness with people,
um because that tension is funny. Uh, And that that's
sort of my postmortem aun Hoss, Like I didn't quite
(07:01):
I didn't never understood that at the time, and I
couldn't understand why, why why our parents generation didn't think
The Office was funny, Like, well, how do you not
get this? But I understand now that that um because
I think I've seen more extreme versions of it that
make me uncomfortable at times, and I can see like, oh,
it's just it's like calibrating, like what's right here. Well,
(07:23):
there's a number of fans who come up to me,
huge fan, I'm the biggest fan of the show. I
can't watch Scott's Taughts like Scott's Taughts somehow puts it
over the line. Dinner party is sort of like the
straddling the straddling of the line, but Scott's Taughts too,
people are like no, And so I started to analyze, like, well,
(07:44):
why is that? And I think it's kind of what
you were talking about about the Daily Show, which was
most of the cringing moments were happening to us, right,
the office workers, ourselves, whereas Scott's Taughts suddenly was about
these kids and that that's rough. That's rough. Yeah, it's
(08:06):
fun to see, like if your heroes are low status,
the heroes of the show are low status, it's fun
to see them squirm. But when you see like regular
people squirm, and and that's on the Daily Show, you know,
we would try to make the bad guy squirm, right,
whoever the villain of a piece of a field piece was.
(08:28):
But I don't know why is that funny? Why is
squirming so funny? I mean, the most extreme versions were
all of Sasha Cohen's stuff, right, the borat and the
alleg It's it's a powerful it's it's it's an incredible
mechanism for satire, but it is it can be polarizing
for sure. Yeah. Um, when well, let me ask you this,
(08:53):
had had you done much physical comedy before the Office?
Did you feel like that was something that you did well?
I did. I had done a lot of improv, which
is obviously a lot of um, you know, very broad
physical stuff on stage. And I you know, I started
by doing stand up in New York City, and I
actually knew John Krasinski from that. He started by going
(09:16):
to New York and kind of dipping his toe in
the stand up world. But we we were acquaintances back
back then. But that's just a funny side note. What
was I saying before, oh, physical comedy. So in my
stand up I kind of fancied myself like I don't know,
(09:37):
like a sort of sand Luri or Brian Reagan, like
a perform like someone who acted out his my bits.
And so there was a lot of physicality there. And
then the Daily Show. I think part of what was
fun about that was being a very stuffy reporter but
breaking that mold and ridiculous ways sometimes physical. And so
(10:00):
I don't write, oh, did you really sing acapella at Oberlin? Um?
I did. There was a group called the Oberlin Overtones.
That there is, I should say a group called the
Oberlin Overtones, and I was in that group for one
semester my freshman year. I don't know, maybe it was
my it was spring of my freshman year and fall
of my sophomore year and then and then I didn't
(10:23):
do it anymore. Was that a joke that you pitched
them on, Andy, or that was just going that's yeah?
That was that I think was something that you know,
there was a little bit of Harvard writers like using
Cornell as a punching bag, right, That's that's a little
bit of what was going on with Andy Greg being
Harvard and Mike Schuer and a couple others. But I
(10:47):
had no baggage with Cornell, but I still just loved
the I don't know, it seemed like a fun thing
to make fun of. And so the acapella character trait
was that just was he was endowed with that in
the writing process. And but it is something that I
understood implicitly and I got Acapella is sided. It is
(11:08):
such an interesting art form because it is so fun
to do, but it is kind of excruciating to watch
or listen to. And I mean no disrespect to acapella
aficionados out there, I just because my own relationship with
it is complex. I have a love hate thing, and
(11:31):
I think especially in college acapella groups, there's a strong
association with kind of a a very clicky, smug, arrogant vibe. Right.
It's almost like a like certain preppy fraternities or something.
And even though the Oberlin overtones were actually not like
that at all. There's really no part of Oberlin that's preppy.
(11:51):
And um, it's something that made sense and it really
informed Andy in lots of ways that the creation of
Andy profile was one of the most thrilling creative endeavors
of my life, because you know, if it was the
acapella thing, I would just start singing on set at
wrong times and then the writers would see that and
(12:13):
be like, Oh, that's fun, and then they'd write in
more singing. And that's just one example. There were so
many little details that started to kind of slot in,
like a Tetris game about who Andy was, and it
was this feedback loop, and Mike Scher in particular had
a real shine for Andy and we just had so
(12:33):
much fun. Like I would go to the writer's room
and just joke around with Mike about who Andy is
and what made us laugh about him. And that was
another thing that I think made the office so special
is that the collaboration between the writers and the cast
was next level, right. I Mean, there were cast members
that were writers to begin with, but then I always
(12:54):
felt like the writer's room was an open door and
that when the writers were on set, it was always
a conversation and like what, like, how do we have
more fun with this character or what what can we
come up with? And everyone was open minded and that
it's that kind of best idea wins mentality that leads
to great stuff yeah, I agree with you a thousand percent.
(13:20):
And Greg told me that he wanted that opened up
as a workshop for the writers actually because he believed
that the comedy in the show was so much about behavior,
and you can't write behavior and so well in the beginning,
(13:41):
you can't until you get to know a character, right,
But yeah, you're so right. There's a famous episode of
Friends in which they start making fun of the way
that Chandler talks, like the cadence of his speech, and
it's one it's a favorite episode. It's extremely funny, but
it is it. It's something that could not have been
(14:01):
written in season one. It's something that everyone started to
understand implicitly, and it took a writer being like, that's funny,
Like that's a really specific funny thing about Chandler, and
if the other characters clock it, we can write to it.
But that's really cool to hear. I didn't know that.
(14:22):
But you're you're so right. I mean, for Greg to
be ahead of that. Writing always gets better on a
TV show as the writers learned the behavior of characters.
But to start with that ethos of like we are
behavior forward, that's awesome. Yeah, Greg's awesome. That's awesome. It's
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Need to hire you need Indeed. What's Up? Guys. I'm
a Shop Aloud and I am Troy Millions and we
are the host of the Earn Your Leisure podcast where
we break down business models and examine the latest trends
and finance. We hold court and have exclusive interviews with
some of the biggest names of business, sport, and entertainment,
from DJ Khaled to Mark Cuban, Rick Ross and Shaquille O'Neil.
I mean our alumni lists expansive. Listen in as our
(16:43):
guests reveal their business models, hardships and triumphs and their
respective fields. The knowledge is in death and the questions
are always delivered from your standpoint. We want to know
what you want to know. We talk to the legends
of business, sports and entertainment about how they got their
start and most importantly, how they make their money. Earn
Alicia is college business class mixed for pop culture. I
want to learn about the real estate game. Unclear as
(17:04):
how the stock market works. We got you interested in
starting a trucking company or vendor machine business. Not really
sure about how taxes or credit work. We got it
all covered. The Earnie Leisure podcast is available now. Listen
to Ernie Leisure on the Black Effect Podcast Network, I
Heart Radio, app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
(17:29):
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(18:38):
gears a little bit. Mike Sure talked specifically about you
during the writer's strike and coming out to the picket
line that was happening and what a difference that made
for them as they were having a difficult emotional time
picketing their own show. Do you recall anything about that? Yeah? Absolutely, Um,
(19:06):
I just remember everyone felt a lot of tension, like
am I a part of this fight? Or am I?
You know, obviously I support the writers, but I'm there's
some it's scary a little bit like it just felt
so baffling, and I think in hindsight, I've I really
appreciate what how courageous that was. And yeah, there were
(19:29):
a bunch of there were a bunch of picket lines
that I remember going to the first day was on
our little lot up in van Nis, right. It was
just our writing staff and um, they said they were
confused about what where they should go, and there were
things about going to Paramount or going to Universal. Right,
they thought, well, that's not where we work. This is
(19:51):
where we work. So they went on their own there right,
And then over the next Over the subsequent weeks, there
were lots of demonstrations at the studios, like I remember
going to Universal Studios. There was a big one on
the Avenue of the Stars, like they took over the
whole that whole block in Century in Century City, the
Giant March. But that was a crazy, crazy time. Yeah,
(20:17):
I remember. It was all very confusing because ultimately the
actors supported what the writers were doing, and the writers
were in a way they were fighting the fight for
all artists. But at the same time, I remember talking
to my representation and going like, what you know, and
(20:39):
they said, well, you know, you have to show up,
like you can't not show up. And you know some
of the writers have talked about it was Steve not
showing up, and apparently he got calls from the network
executives and lawyers and was told you have to show up,
(21:01):
show up to work, to work, not to the picking,
to show up to work, and he just said, no,
you're gonna do. How long the strike was three hundred days.
Three months, a little over three months. Yeah, I it's
you know, since then, I've been in so many different
(21:25):
parts of this industry now, on different sides of things,
and and you know, unions are complicated, but they are
so necessary. They're just the ultimate bulwark against exploitation. Not
to get political here, but it just like being on
the front lines of that, and and that there were
(21:46):
a handful of show runners that really led the charge
and took strong positions, and Greg was super inspirational through
all that. Greg's a soft spoken guy, but he is huff,
you know, like he's he's tough. He fights for and
(22:10):
stands by what he believes. And in the case of
the writer strike, that was about principle and what was
right or wrong. And yeah, it's good to be on
Greg's side. Always good to be on correct side. Yes, Um,
do you remember your impression when you heard Steve was leaving?
(22:34):
I guess maybe more were you afraid that the show
couldn't survive or were you confident that it could go forward?
I think I felt pretty confident that the show could
morph into a different thing. And I just had so
much confidence in Greg and in the writing staff. And
(22:55):
there had been that there were so many experiments that
we all kind of went through it narratively on the
show that sometimes they worked and sometimes it didn't, and
if they didn't, you just would kind of it would
veer away from that thing, and it seemed like there
would be like, if anybody can do it, it's the
Office writing staff, right, you know. I mean that's not
(23:18):
to diminish the unimaginably massive blow that his departure is was,
but I I think that the show felt bigger than
any one person at that point, if that's if that
makes sense, Yeah, it is, though a credit to you.
(23:40):
I mean, much like Steve with forty year old Virgin,
part of the way into your time on the Office,
you became a giant movie star too with the Hangover,
and I think you deserve a lot of credit for
that for not only staying around but be energized and
(24:01):
continue to work on your character and on the show
with great integrity. Thanks. That's very very kind of you. Um.
I just love The Office and I kind of never
wanted it to end, and I loved I think loving
The Office really is about just loving the people and
(24:22):
loving that cast and crew, and it's really feeling like
a family and just wanting to step up and deliver
for everybody's sake all the time. You know, shooting those
movies was often exhausting because it was concurrent with the Office.
(24:45):
I don't think a lot of people know or understand
quite how crazy some of that was. But I was
shooting crossboarded episodes, meaning like I would do two days
on the Office, I was shooting the Office Monday and Tuesday,
and then the hang Over Wednesday through Sunday. It's insane.
I mean, that was crazy. And then a lot of
(25:06):
that hangover stuff was nighttime, so I just was like
a zombie. Um. But it was so fun and no
one ever, I never felt kind of judged or or
slighted by anyone. I felt fully supported, And I just
I knew that if I slipped or or didn't wasn't
(25:29):
there for everybody else, then I had no right to
be doing going off and doing these movies. I had
to show up for the Office and still be fully present.
And and it helped that that I that it's so fun.
I mean, I keep going back to that. It was
just the only way I could do that was because
(25:52):
the Hangover was fun, but the Office was fun. And
the Office was the thing that I knew and I loved,
and I knew I wanted to do right by the
Office always. Yeah, did you feel like it was the
right time to end after season nine? I think so. Um.
(26:20):
I mean at that point, I think my my disposition
had shifted a little bit. I was starting to look
the bigger picture of my life and career and and
my personal goals. And I think, you know, candidly, there
were some ways that Andy There's just some storylines there
(26:43):
towards the end that that confused me a little bit,
and I wasn't as I just didn't feel like this
is the same thing that I loved as much, if
that makes sense, Not the show, but just sort of
what in particular kind of some of what Andy was
was doing or going through. And um, I just there
(27:04):
was sort of a shift happening, I think in my
life and then my my emotional state at the time,
and so I felt it actually felt like a a
reasonable place to wrap up. I think in it it's
hard to remember how exactly how I felt, but it's
been a long time. Yeah. Hi, I'm Glory Adam, host
(27:34):
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(27:58):
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(28:19):
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(30:21):
trying to unpack like why is The Office the most
watched show in television now five years later? Like what,
what are the reasons? And I think that there's a chance.
I recently went back and watched it the whole series,
whole series, and it doesn't feel dated, And I started
(30:42):
thinking like why, and I the only answer that I
can come up with is a documentary can never feel
dated because it's taking a snapshot of what was actually happening.
You don't look at a documentary about the seventies and go, oh, well,
that's dated, right, You're just looking at that time. And
(31:04):
that also the subject matter being an office that is
not at the forefront of fashion or technology, all those things.
You know, Like a movie like devilwas Product, which is
so stylish and it's an amazing movie, but it will
you'll feel when it was made because of all those cues.
(31:27):
But you take up a world like under Mifflin, and
those people and those props and those sets like there,
those are things that would not change in that space
for twenty years, right right, Like it would look the
same over a long period of time. Why do you
(31:48):
think the show We kind of talked about this, but
why young people have responded so much to the show,
given that it has to do with basically middle aged
office workers. What m Well, you know, we can ask
this question all the time, any talk show, whatever. It's
the most common and and and or dinner party wherever
(32:09):
I am. I feel like people ask me this all
the time, and I'm like, I don't know, ask the kids.
They're the ones who love it. Um so, but it
were left to just speculate and um, and I have
lots of theories. I'm sure like you do. UM. I
think the simplest version is the same reason that I
(32:31):
loved Saturday Night Live when I was a kid and
I wanted to be on it. That that was like
the thing that drove my entire life, was wanting to
be on Saturday Night Live as a as a young person.
And the reason I loved it so much from such
a young age. I started watching it when I was eight.
And what was so intoxicating to me, even though I
(32:54):
didn't even get the jokes half the time, they clearly
we're having so how much fun? There was something you
could tell Eddie Murphy was in the zone right and
I just loved that, and I that was something that
I sought my whole career. And still do and and
(33:16):
I and I think the office is one of those
rare places where a lot of the time that whole
cast is in the zone. Right, there's even the even
when the scenes are small and there's and the performances
are small and the the dialogue is intimate or whatever,
it felt it felt so fun and special to be
(33:40):
there and be a part of it. And at some
level that comes across, right. There's some way that I
think audiences just clock that in the same way that
I did as a little kid watching Saturday Night Live.
And I I think that's a huge part of it.
I also think that there are some contextual things ings
like it's a fish bowl, it's a it's a bullpen.
(34:05):
It's mundane, it's gettable, it's understandable. It's like and the
people in that office go through so many things, but
you never question whether or not they're going to be
there the next day. You know, a question whether or
not they kind of love each other still. You know
there's something, there's something I think that makes people want
(34:26):
to be a part of that dunder Mifflin family when
they watch it, because it's it's just comfortable, um as
awkward as the dialogue is and as as much tension
as there was at different times in the stories. There
there's a sense of belonging that everyone in that space
had and everyone had a role, and it was predictable
(34:49):
and character's behavior was predictable and understandable. And I just
I think that's. Um. It takes a long time for
a show to get there and think the office had
that breathing room to find that. But when a show does,
like Cheers or Taxi, you just love to hang out
(35:10):
with it and be in that space. Yeah, what are
you most thankful for? Mm hm and um it's yeah,
it's so abstract, but it's like, um m um, I
(35:42):
don't know the whole thing. Yeah, um yeah, the my
last line that I said on the show, Um, it
(36:08):
really resonates, you know. It's like those were those were
good old days for sure. Yeah, it's crazy. I Um,
I don't remember how long ago it was now, but
I saw you post a photo of me and you
(36:33):
and John and Rain. I think it a golden globes.
We're all like in our Texas and you put that
quote and it's hard to describe or put yourself back there,
but it was just like it's just one of those
instantly like hits you in the chest in a way. Yeah,
(36:58):
they're just so few times in life when when you
just feel un burdened by a lot, and when there
are so many times during the office that I just
remember driving to work at five in the morning with
a cup of coffee so psyched, right, and that that
(37:23):
feeling of just being psyched to go to work, being
psyched to go to events with my cast mates, to
go hang out, get drinks with some writers, whatever. I
just was psyched a lot during that whole time. And
(37:44):
and that's an elusive thing in life. You know, life's complicated,
and there are ups and downs, and most of the
time we're kind of in the middle somewhere, and there's
things were psyched about, but there's things were we're burdened by,
scared of that are going on all the time. And
at that time, I just remember being psyched a lot,
(38:09):
you know, like a lot of the time, and hanging
out at base camp and our trailers, just playing tunes
with Creed or just like hanging out with you just
whatever gossip was going on, whatever it was. It's rare
(38:30):
to feel like you're part of something special. And but
boys are awesome when you do have that feeling, and
that's I think what defined that whole time for me.
I just felt special. Well Ed, thank you so much.
Oh my god, I'm talking and I just appreciate so much. Obviously,
(38:53):
you and I have the longest history, you know, um
on the show, and I you know, I love you,
and I just I so appreciate you coming in and
talking about it for a little bit. Oh man, it's awesome.
You yanked some heart strings here that I wasn't expecting.
But I'm grateful for it. I love it, and I
(39:16):
love you too. And that's Ed. That is Ed. And
although on the day I didn't say to Ed that
(39:36):
he yanked my heart strings, ah, he did, and he
always does. I remember when I called Ed about sitting
down with me, and Ed was working on another project
at the time. He was incredibly busy, and he didn't.
He not only said yes, when would you like me
(39:56):
to come in? But he said yes, when would you
like me to come in? And then we started talking stories.
At one point I had to say, no, Ed, stop, no, wait,
I want to I don't have this, I'm not recording
this right now, and I want to hear this spontaneously
as you're remembering it. So let's I love talking to you,
but I'm going to stop talking to you now because
I want to talk to you when I have a
(40:17):
camera or when I have a microphone in front of you. Um.
But his generosity, his heart, his spirit. Um. Well, I
hope you saw it because it's true. So thank you
Ed for joining me, and thank all of you for
listening to me, to me, to me and ed uh,
(40:40):
thank you. And now for the second big announcement. All right, So,
as you know, I have been interviewing the cast and
crew of the Office, my office family for the last
couple of years now, and let me tell you, I
never thought that I would be doing it this long, right.
(41:02):
My original intention was to do the oral history and
write the book and that's it. But sharing these interviews
with you has been truly the greatest joy of my life.
Letting you get to know these actors and writers and
(41:24):
makeup artists and stand ins and directors that that have
so much to give and so much to tell. Introducing
you to the people who have inspired me, that for
me is what it's all about, all right. So I
keep getting questions like Brian when can you bring this
(41:45):
guest on, Brian? When are you going to do this
for other shows? Well, guess what, baby, We're coming back
in two, and it is going to be bigger and
better than ever. We're gonna start at the top of
(42:05):
two with guest stars from the office, people who are
on just a few episodes, like the Will Ferrell's and
the Kathy Bates is Is and and then we're going
to expand and we're gonna start talking about some of
your other favorite shows. Think Modern Family, Think Cheers, think
(42:25):
Fresh Prince of bel Air, because those shows, well they
need love to So stay with me here, same time,
same place, same host, same feed, just more guests, and
I promise you this, You're gonna have a fantastic time,
because when I have a good time, you have a
(42:48):
good time. Now. As for the name, it's going to
be called Off the Beat. And here's the story behind that.
I had a a French director that I worked with
for many years, Dominique Serrant, shout out and and he
taught me something that that comedy happens off the beat.
(43:12):
And that's exactly the kind of conversation that I'm going
to strive to have one that happens off of the beat,
about what happens off camera in the moments between the stories,
because that's the kind of stuff that I want to
know about. So starting next year, you're gonna hear a
(43:33):
new iteration of this podcast. Let's call it version two
point oh, because that's what everybody names things two point oh.
It'll be everything you loved about the Office, deep Dive,
and so much more. But before the new year, I
want to hear from all of you. All right, I'm
gonna be doing a couple of very special call in
(43:54):
episodes where you get to guide the conversation. That's right.
I want to hear your stories. How has the Office
changed your life? Is there anything that you have been
dying to let me know? Do you have any spectacular
or spectacularly funny stories tied in with the show, or
(44:15):
run ins with the cast, or anything. Really, sky's the limit.
I just want to hear what you have to say.
You know, when I'm out in public, I often have
people come up to me and tell me very, very
hilarious or moving stories about their experience with the show.
(44:35):
This is your opportunity to share those stories, not just
with me, but well with everyone. So The best way
to be featured on one of our call in episodes
is to use use the voice Memo app on your phone,
record your question or comment and then email it to
us at the Office deep Dive at gmail dot com.
(45:00):
That is the Office deep Dive at gmail dot com.
Make sure to include your name, where you're from, and
then your question or comment, and don't forget to leave
your number two because yes, I am going to call
a few of you back and have you on this show.
All right, that's it. I've announced just about everything there
(45:24):
is to announce, So with that I will say goodbye,
thank you so much again for listening, and have a
great one everyone. The Office Deep Dive is hosted and
executive produced by me Brian bum Gartner, alongside our executive
(45:48):
producer Langley. Our senior producer is Tessa Kramer. Our producers
are Liz Hayes and Diego Tapia. My main man in
the booth is Alec Moore. Our theme song Bubble and Squeak,
performed by my great friend Creed Bratton, and the episode
was mixed by seth Olanski. I'm Joe Piazza, host of
(46:28):
the podcast Under the Influence. If you tuned into our
last season. You know that the world of mom influencers
on Instagram contains multitudes. Yes, there are pretty pictures and
gorgeous kids, and yes there's lots of money behind a
lot of those pictures. But there's also something much more
dark and complicated going on in the background, and that
(46:49):
speaks to everything that is wrong with how we treat
women in the world. On season two Under the Influence,
we're advocating for the women who make content and the
women who consume it. We're going into some of the
darkest corners of the social media universe, and we might
just have a plan to shut it all the hell down.
Listen to Season two of Under the Influence with Joe
(47:10):
Piazza on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or
wherever you get your podcasts. Look for your children's eyes
and you will discover the true magic of a forest.
Find a forest near you and start exploring it. Discover
the Forest dot Org. Brought to you by the United
States Forest Service and the AD Council. Hi. I'm Arden
(47:32):
Marine from Insatiable and then will you accept this Rose Podcast?
And I'm Julianne Robinson, an Emmy nominated director of Bridgeton
and we are the hosts of Lady of the Road,
a funny and inspiring podcast where we have conversations with
influential women about their lives and we get self help
advice because we are always looking to improve ourselves. True story.
We talk about money, health, relationships, you name it, from
(47:54):
inspiring women like Joan Jet, Nicole Buyer, Lauren lapiz Raetta
and more. Listen and subscribe to Lady of the Road
on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever
you get your podcasts.
What's up? Guys have a Shop Aloud and I am
Troy Millions and we are the host of the Earnier
Leisure podcast, where we break down business models and examine
the latest trends and finance. We hold court and have
exclusive interviews with some of the biggest names of business, sport,
and entertainment, from DJ Khaled to Mark Cuban, Rick Ross
and Shaquille O'Neil. I mean, our alumni list is expansive.
Listen to as our guests reveal their business models, hardships
(00:21):
and triumphs and their respective fields. The knowledge is in
death and the questions are always delivered from your standpoint.
We want to know what you want to know. We
talk to the legends of business, sports and entertainment about
how they got their start and most importantly, how they
make their money. Earn your Leisia is a college business
class mixed with pop culture. I want to learn about
the real estate game, unclears, how the stock market works.
(00:41):
We got you interested in starting a truck and company
or vendor machine business. Not really sure about how taxes
or credit work. We got it all covered. The Earnier
Leisure Podcast is available now. Listen to Earnier Leisure on
the Black Effect podcast Network, I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, and welcome to
(01:04):
our show. I'm Zoe de Chanelle and I'm so excited
to be joined by my friends and cast mates Hanta
Simone and Lamour and Morris to recap our hit television series,
New Girl. Join us every Monday on the Welcome to
Our Show podcast, where we'll share behind the scenes stories
of your favorite New Girl episodes. Each week, we answer
all your burning questions like is there really a bear
(01:24):
in every episode of New Girl? Plus you'll hear hilarious
stories like this that was one of your things you
brought back from ya because all professional basketball players. Yeah.
Listen to the Welcome to Our Show podcast on the
I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get
your podcasts. Hi. I'm Glory Adam, host of Well Read
(01:50):
Black Girl. Each week, we journey together through the cultural
moment where our culture and literature collide and pay homage
to the women books we grew up reading. It's a
literary kickback you never knew you needed. Listen to a
Well Read Black Girl on the I Heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is
(02:19):
Ed Helms and I played Andy Bernard on The Office.
All right, hello everybody, and welcome back. This is the
Office Deep Dive and as always I'm your host, Brian Baumgartner.
(02:39):
And guess what that was my mouth? Today is the day? Actually,
today is actually the day for a few things. But
first up, I, oh my gosh, I'm so excited to
tell you that my new book that I know I've
been talking about for weeks now is finally out. And
(03:03):
how about that just in time for the holidays. Who
could have guessed that? So head on over to Amazon
or Barnes and Noble or Books a Million, wherever it
is that you get your books and grab your very
own copy of Welcome to dunder Mifflin. And while you're
at it, grab a copy for your mother, your sister,
(03:27):
all your friends, anyone in your contacts list. You will
not regret it all right now, I also have another
big announcement to tell you about at the end of
this episode, so make sure you stay tuned after the
interview and and find out what in the world that
could be. Trust me, it is good. And lastly, what
(03:49):
you all came here for my very special guest that
is returning for part two of our conversation, the Nord
Dog himself, Ed Helms. Now, if you haven't all already,
make sure you go and listen to part one, but
then come right back here, because I've been saving the
best for last. Yes, that's right, the last. I'm starting
(04:13):
to wrap up the interviews, which I know is very
bitter sweet. But the good news is over the next
few weeks you're going to hear a few of my
very favorite episodes with some of my favorite guests, and
you also may hear some of yourself. But that being said,
today's interview truly is it is. It's one of my
(04:36):
favorites because you get to see Ed in a different way.
Right Ed is known for playing these kind of loud, bumbling,
I mean hilarious but maybe slightly obnoxious characters. Right but
Ed himself, he's just he is so not that. I mean,
(05:00):
he is hilarious and and he's a comedy nerd. We
talked about that, but today what you're going to get
to see is a very sweet, thoughtful side of Ed
because that's who he is, and I'm not gonna lie.
Things get a little emotional so here he is the
(05:23):
incomparable Mr ed Helms. Bubble and Squeak. I love it
Bubble and squeak on Bubble and Squeaker cookie every month.
Left over from the night before you said you were
(05:52):
a comedy nerd. What what was it about The Office
when you started initially watching it that you felt like
you were seeing something different? What? What? What was that? Well?
I don't know why I didn't. I didn't even I
wasn't able to sort of understand what I liked about it.
But what I do think is kind of hilarious is
(06:15):
that all of the awkwardness and the tension that we
think is so funny our parents generation, especially as Southern parents,
like you know, repression is a very powerful force in
Southern families, and and that the awkwardness is is so intolerable.
And even on the Daily Show, especially with the field pieces,
(06:38):
the correspondent field pieces, it was all about finding extremely
tense moments and you know, you read we would revel
in the awkwardness and try to foster awkwardness with people,
um because that tension is funny. Uh, And that that's
sort of my postmortem aun Hoss, Like I didn't quite
(07:01):
I didn't never understood that at the time, and I
couldn't understand why, why why our parents generation didn't think
The Office was funny, Like, well, how do you not
get this? But I understand now that that um because
I think I've seen more extreme versions of it that
make me uncomfortable at times, and I can see like, oh,
it's just it's like calibrating, like what's right here. Well,
(07:23):
there's a number of fans who come up to me,
huge fan, I'm the biggest fan of the show. I
can't watch Scott's Taughts like Scott's Taughts somehow puts it
over the line. Dinner party is sort of like the
straddling the straddling of the line, but Scott's Taughts too,
people are like no, And so I started to analyze, like, well,
(07:44):
why is that? And I think it's kind of what
you were talking about about the Daily Show, which was
most of the cringing moments were happening to us, right,
the office workers, ourselves, whereas Scott's Taughts suddenly was about
these kids and that that's rough. That's rough. Yeah, it's
(08:06):
fun to see, like if your heroes are low status,
the heroes of the show are low status, it's fun
to see them squirm. But when you see like regular
people squirm, and and that's on the Daily Show, you know,
we would try to make the bad guy squirm, right,
whoever the villain of a piece of a field piece was.
(08:28):
But I don't know why is that funny? Why is
squirming so funny? I mean, the most extreme versions were
all of Sasha Cohen's stuff, right, the borat and the
alleg It's it's a powerful it's it's it's an incredible
mechanism for satire, but it is it can be polarizing
for sure. Yeah. Um, when well, let me ask you this,
(08:53):
had had you done much physical comedy before the Office?
Did you feel like that was something that you did well?
I did. I had done a lot of improv, which
is obviously a lot of um, you know, very broad
physical stuff on stage. And I you know, I started
by doing stand up in New York City, and I
actually knew John Krasinski from that. He started by going
(09:16):
to New York and kind of dipping his toe in
the stand up world. But we we were acquaintances back
back then. But that's just a funny side note. What
was I saying before, oh, physical comedy. So in my
stand up I kind of fancied myself like I don't know,
(09:37):
like a sort of sand Luri or Brian Reagan, like
a perform like someone who acted out his my bits.
And so there was a lot of physicality there. And
then the Daily Show. I think part of what was
fun about that was being a very stuffy reporter but
breaking that mold and ridiculous ways sometimes physical. And so
(10:00):
I don't write, oh, did you really sing acapella at Oberlin? Um?
I did. There was a group called the Oberlin Overtones.
That there is, I should say a group called the
Oberlin Overtones, and I was in that group for one
semester my freshman year. I don't know, maybe it was
my it was spring of my freshman year and fall
of my sophomore year and then and then I didn't
(10:23):
do it anymore. Was that a joke that you pitched
them on, Andy, or that was just going that's yeah?
That was that I think was something that you know,
there was a little bit of Harvard writers like using
Cornell as a punching bag, right, That's that's a little
bit of what was going on with Andy Greg being
Harvard and Mike Schuer and a couple others. But I
(10:47):
had no baggage with Cornell, but I still just loved
the I don't know, it seemed like a fun thing
to make fun of. And so the acapella character trait
was that just was he was endowed with that in
the writing process. And but it is something that I
understood implicitly and I got Acapella is sided. It is
(11:08):
such an interesting art form because it is so fun
to do, but it is kind of excruciating to watch
or listen to. And I mean no disrespect to acapella
aficionados out there, I just because my own relationship with
it is complex. I have a love hate thing, and
(11:31):
I think especially in college acapella groups, there's a strong
association with kind of a a very clicky, smug, arrogant vibe. Right.
It's almost like a like certain preppy fraternities or something.
And even though the Oberlin overtones were actually not like
that at all. There's really no part of Oberlin that's preppy.
(11:51):
And um, it's something that made sense and it really
informed Andy in lots of ways that the creation of
Andy profile was one of the most thrilling creative endeavors
of my life, because you know, if it was the
acapella thing, I would just start singing on set at
wrong times and then the writers would see that and
(12:13):
be like, Oh, that's fun, and then they'd write in
more singing. And that's just one example. There were so
many little details that started to kind of slot in,
like a Tetris game about who Andy was, and it
was this feedback loop, and Mike Scher in particular had
a real shine for Andy and we just had so
(12:33):
much fun. Like I would go to the writer's room
and just joke around with Mike about who Andy is
and what made us laugh about him. And that was
another thing that I think made the office so special
is that the collaboration between the writers and the cast
was next level, right. I Mean, there were cast members
that were writers to begin with, but then I always
(12:54):
felt like the writer's room was an open door and
that when the writers were on set, it was always
a conversation and like what, like, how do we have
more fun with this character or what what can we
come up with? And everyone was open minded and that
it's that kind of best idea wins mentality that leads
to great stuff yeah, I agree with you a thousand percent.
(13:20):
And Greg told me that he wanted that opened up
as a workshop for the writers actually because he believed
that the comedy in the show was so much about behavior,
and you can't write behavior and so well in the beginning,
(13:41):
you can't until you get to know a character, right,
But yeah, you're so right. There's a famous episode of
Friends in which they start making fun of the way
that Chandler talks, like the cadence of his speech, and
it's one it's a favorite episode. It's extremely funny, but
it is it. It's something that could not have been
(14:01):
written in season one. It's something that everyone started to
understand implicitly, and it took a writer being like, that's funny,
Like that's a really specific funny thing about Chandler, and
if the other characters clock it, we can write to it.
But that's really cool to hear. I didn't know that.
(14:22):
But you're you're so right. I mean, for Greg to
be ahead of that. Writing always gets better on a
TV show as the writers learned the behavior of characters.
But to start with that ethos of like we are
behavior forward, that's awesome. Yeah, Greg's awesome. That's awesome. It's
(14:48):
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Need to hire you need Indeed. What's Up? Guys. I'm
a Shop Aloud and I am Troy Millions and we
are the host of the Earn Your Leisure podcast where
we break down business models and examine the latest trends
and finance. We hold court and have exclusive interviews with
some of the biggest names of business, sport, and entertainment,
from DJ Khaled to Mark Cuban, Rick Ross and Shaquille O'Neil.
I mean our alumni lists expansive. Listen in as our
(16:43):
guests reveal their business models, hardships and triumphs and their
respective fields. The knowledge is in death and the questions
are always delivered from your standpoint. We want to know
what you want to know. We talk to the legends
of business, sports and entertainment about how they got their
start and most importantly, how they make their money. Earn
Alicia is college business class mixed for pop culture. I
want to learn about the real estate game. Unclear as
(17:04):
how the stock market works. We got you interested in
starting a trucking company or vendor machine business. Not really
sure about how taxes or credit work. We got it
all covered. The Earnie Leisure podcast is available now. Listen
to Ernie Leisure on the Black Effect Podcast Network, I
Heart Radio, app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
(17:29):
From the creator of The Bright Sessions, comes a new
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maxim Miles as she starts high school in the picturess
town of Hastings, New Hampshire. Fall is the season in
which this small town shines apple cider, pumpkin patches farmers markets.
It's idyllic for adults and boring for Max. But suddenly
(17:51):
Max's school year starts to look a bit more interesting.
When a fellow student vanishes with the help of her
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This new y a Mystery from writer director Lorn Chippen
is an audio drama with heart and wit that involves
(18:13):
the audience in a way no fiction podcast ever has.
Listen to Maxi Miles and the I Heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your favorite shows, Changing
(18:38):
gears a little bit. Mike Sure talked specifically about you
during the writer's strike and coming out to the picket
line that was happening and what a difference that made
for them as they were having a difficult emotional time
picketing their own show. Do you recall anything about that? Yeah? Absolutely, Um,
(19:06):
I just remember everyone felt a lot of tension, like
am I a part of this fight? Or am I?
You know, obviously I support the writers, but I'm there's
some it's scary a little bit like it just felt
so baffling, and I think in hindsight, I've I really
appreciate what how courageous that was. And yeah, there were
(19:29):
a bunch of there were a bunch of picket lines
that I remember going to the first day was on
our little lot up in van Nis, right. It was
just our writing staff and um, they said they were
confused about what where they should go, and there were
things about going to Paramount or going to Universal. Right,
they thought, well, that's not where we work. This is
(19:51):
where we work. So they went on their own there right,
And then over the next Over the subsequent weeks, there
were lots of demonstrations at the studios, like I remember
going to Universal Studios. There was a big one on
the Avenue of the Stars, like they took over the
whole that whole block in Century in Century City, the
Giant March. But that was a crazy, crazy time. Yeah,
(20:17):
I remember. It was all very confusing because ultimately the
actors supported what the writers were doing, and the writers
were in a way they were fighting the fight for
all artists. But at the same time, I remember talking
to my representation and going like, what you know, and
(20:39):
they said, well, you know, you have to show up,
like you can't not show up. And you know some
of the writers have talked about it was Steve not
showing up, and apparently he got calls from the network
executives and lawyers and was told you have to show up,
(21:01):
show up to work, to work, not to the picking,
to show up to work, and he just said, no,
you're gonna do. How long the strike was three hundred days.
Three months, a little over three months. Yeah, I it's
you know, since then, I've been in so many different
(21:25):
parts of this industry now, on different sides of things,
and and you know, unions are complicated, but they are
so necessary. They're just the ultimate bulwark against exploitation. Not
to get political here, but it just like being on
the front lines of that, and and that there were
(21:46):
a handful of show runners that really led the charge
and took strong positions, and Greg was super inspirational through
all that. Greg's a soft spoken guy, but he is huff,
you know, like he's he's tough. He fights for and
(22:10):
stands by what he believes. And in the case of
the writer strike, that was about principle and what was
right or wrong. And yeah, it's good to be on
Greg's side. Always good to be on correct side. Yes, Um,
do you remember your impression when you heard Steve was leaving?
(22:34):
I guess maybe more were you afraid that the show
couldn't survive or were you confident that it could go forward?
I think I felt pretty confident that the show could
morph into a different thing. And I just had so
much confidence in Greg and in the writing staff. And
(22:55):
there had been that there were so many experiments that
we all kind of went through it narratively on the
show that sometimes they worked and sometimes it didn't, and
if they didn't, you just would kind of it would
veer away from that thing, and it seemed like there
would be like, if anybody can do it, it's the
Office writing staff, right, you know. I mean that's not
(23:18):
to diminish the unimaginably massive blow that his departure is was,
but I I think that the show felt bigger than
any one person at that point, if that's if that
makes sense, Yeah, it is, though a credit to you.
(23:40):
I mean, much like Steve with forty year old Virgin,
part of the way into your time on the Office,
you became a giant movie star too with the Hangover,
and I think you deserve a lot of credit for
that for not only staying around but be energized and
(24:01):
continue to work on your character and on the show
with great integrity. Thanks. That's very very kind of you. Um.
I just love The Office and I kind of never
wanted it to end, and I loved I think loving
The Office really is about just loving the people and
(24:22):
loving that cast and crew, and it's really feeling like
a family and just wanting to step up and deliver
for everybody's sake all the time. You know, shooting those
movies was often exhausting because it was concurrent with the Office.
(24:45):
I don't think a lot of people know or understand
quite how crazy some of that was. But I was
shooting crossboarded episodes, meaning like I would do two days
on the Office, I was shooting the Office Monday and Tuesday,
and then the hang Over Wednesday through Sunday. It's insane.
I mean, that was crazy. And then a lot of
(25:06):
that hangover stuff was nighttime, so I just was like
a zombie. Um. But it was so fun and no
one ever, I never felt kind of judged or or
slighted by anyone. I felt fully supported, And I just
I knew that if I slipped or or didn't wasn't
(25:29):
there for everybody else, then I had no right to
be doing going off and doing these movies. I had
to show up for the Office and still be fully present.
And and it helped that that I that it's so fun.
I mean, I keep going back to that. It was
just the only way I could do that was because
(25:52):
the Hangover was fun, but the Office was fun. And
the Office was the thing that I knew and I loved,
and I knew I wanted to do right by the
Office always. Yeah, did you feel like it was the
right time to end after season nine? I think so. Um.
(26:20):
I mean at that point, I think my my disposition
had shifted a little bit. I was starting to look
the bigger picture of my life and career and and
my personal goals. And I think, you know, candidly, there
were some ways that Andy There's just some storylines there
(26:43):
towards the end that that confused me a little bit,
and I wasn't as I just didn't feel like this
is the same thing that I loved as much, if
that makes sense, Not the show, but just sort of
what in particular kind of some of what Andy was
was doing or going through. And um, I just there
(27:04):
was sort of a shift happening, I think in my
life and then my my emotional state at the time,
and so I felt it actually felt like a a
reasonable place to wrap up. I think in it it's
hard to remember how exactly how I felt, but it's
been a long time. Yeah. Hi, I'm Glory Adam, host
(27:34):
of Well Read Black Girl. Each week I sit in
close conversation with one of my favorite authors of color
and share stories about how they found their voice, hone
their craft, and navigated the publishing world, and composed some
of the most beautiful and meaningful words I've ever read.
We journey together through the cultural moment where art, culture
(27:58):
and literature collide and pay homage to the women whose
books we grew up reading. And of course, I check
in with members of the Well Read Black Girl book Club.
It's a literary kickback you never knew you needed, and
you're all invited to join the club. So tell your
friends to tell their friends so we can be friends
(28:19):
who love books. Listen to Well Read Black Girl on
the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you
get your podcasts. I'm Emilia on this podcast. I'm taking
you on a search, a search for love. Hard working
Latina seeks cool, down to earth guy. Swipe swipe, slipe.
(28:44):
It's hard out there for a girl to find Mr Right.
I have to meet a lot of Mr Wrong's. He'd
invite me over to have dinner with his family. I
knew he didn't tell them that it was transgender. Dating
as a trans woman can be complicated, but there were
of reasons I felt like I couldn't always beat myself.
And he's asking me things about my family, like my
(29:05):
mom's in prison, my grandmother was arrested for working with
the Mexican drug cartel. This Crumbs my love story. It's
a show about the things we set up for and
the bits of ourselves that make us who we are.
Listen to Crumbs as part of the Michael Luta podcast Network,
available on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
(29:27):
wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Jake Halpern here.
If you've ever wondered what it's like to make a
true crime podcast like deep Cover, well, now's your chance
to find out. Join me and my friend Dana Goodyear,
who's the host of Pushkin's Lost Hills podcast, on March
sixteen for a digital conversation on true crime storytelling. We'll
(29:51):
talk about how we make our stories dramatic and accurate,
and how we navigate all the ethical dilemmas that we
face in the process. Get your tickets now at moment
house dot com backslash d c l H. That's moment
house dot com slash d c l H. I am
(30:21):
trying to unpack like why is The Office the most
watched show in television now five years later? Like what,
what are the reasons? And I think that there's a chance.
I recently went back and watched it the whole series,
whole series, and it doesn't feel dated, And I started
(30:42):
thinking like why, and I the only answer that I
can come up with is a documentary can never feel
dated because it's taking a snapshot of what was actually happening.
You don't look at a documentary about the seventies and go, oh, well,
that's dated, right, You're just looking at that time. And
(31:04):
that also the subject matter being an office that is
not at the forefront of fashion or technology, all those things.
You know, Like a movie like devilwas Product, which is
so stylish and it's an amazing movie, but it will
you'll feel when it was made because of all those cues.
(31:27):
But you take up a world like under Mifflin, and
those people and those props and those sets like there,
those are things that would not change in that space
for twenty years, right right, Like it would look the
same over a long period of time. Why do you
(31:48):
think the show We kind of talked about this, but
why young people have responded so much to the show,
given that it has to do with basically middle aged
office workers. What m Well, you know, we can ask
this question all the time, any talk show, whatever. It's
the most common and and and or dinner party wherever
(32:09):
I am. I feel like people ask me this all
the time, and I'm like, I don't know, ask the kids.
They're the ones who love it. Um so, but it
were left to just speculate and um, and I have
lots of theories. I'm sure like you do. UM. I
think the simplest version is the same reason that I
(32:31):
loved Saturday Night Live when I was a kid and
I wanted to be on it. That that was like
the thing that drove my entire life, was wanting to
be on Saturday Night Live as a as a young person.
And the reason I loved it so much from such
a young age. I started watching it when I was eight.
And what was so intoxicating to me, even though I
(32:54):
didn't even get the jokes half the time, they clearly
we're having so how much fun? There was something you
could tell Eddie Murphy was in the zone right and
I just loved that, and I that was something that
I sought my whole career. And still do and and
(33:16):
I and I think the office is one of those
rare places where a lot of the time that whole
cast is in the zone. Right, there's even the even
when the scenes are small and there's and the performances
are small and the the dialogue is intimate or whatever,
it felt it felt so fun and special to be
(33:40):
there and be a part of it. And at some
level that comes across, right. There's some way that I
think audiences just clock that in the same way that
I did as a little kid watching Saturday Night Live.
And I I think that's a huge part of it.
I also think that there are some contextual things ings
like it's a fish bowl, it's a it's a bullpen.
(34:05):
It's mundane, it's gettable, it's understandable. It's like and the
people in that office go through so many things, but
you never question whether or not they're going to be
there the next day. You know, a question whether or
not they kind of love each other still. You know
there's something, there's something I think that makes people want
(34:26):
to be a part of that dunder Mifflin family when
they watch it, because it's it's just comfortable, um as
awkward as the dialogue is and as as much tension
as there was at different times in the stories. There
there's a sense of belonging that everyone in that space
had and everyone had a role, and it was predictable
(34:49):
and character's behavior was predictable and understandable. And I just
I think that's. Um. It takes a long time for
a show to get there and think the office had
that breathing room to find that. But when a show does,
like Cheers or Taxi, you just love to hang out
(35:10):
with it and be in that space. Yeah, what are
you most thankful for? Mm hm and um it's yeah,
it's so abstract, but it's like, um m um, I
(35:42):
don't know the whole thing. Yeah, um yeah, the my
last line that I said on the show, Um, it
(36:08):
really resonates, you know. It's like those were those were
good old days for sure. Yeah, it's crazy. I Um,
I don't remember how long ago it was now, but
I saw you post a photo of me and you
(36:33):
and John and Rain. I think it a golden globes.
We're all like in our Texas and you put that
quote and it's hard to describe or put yourself back there,
but it was just like it's just one of those
instantly like hits you in the chest in a way. Yeah,
(36:58):
they're just so few times in life when when you
just feel un burdened by a lot, and when there
are so many times during the office that I just
remember driving to work at five in the morning with
a cup of coffee so psyched, right, and that that
(37:23):
feeling of just being psyched to go to work, being
psyched to go to events with my cast mates, to
go hang out, get drinks with some writers, whatever. I
just was psyched a lot during that whole time. And
(37:44):
and that's an elusive thing in life. You know, life's complicated,
and there are ups and downs, and most of the
time we're kind of in the middle somewhere, and there's
things were psyched about, but there's things were we're burdened by,
scared of that are going on all the time. And
at that time, I just remember being psyched a lot,
(38:09):
you know, like a lot of the time, and hanging
out at base camp and our trailers, just playing tunes
with Creed or just like hanging out with you just
whatever gossip was going on, whatever it was. It's rare
(38:30):
to feel like you're part of something special. And but
boys are awesome when you do have that feeling, and
that's I think what defined that whole time for me.
I just felt special. Well Ed, thank you so much.
Oh my god, I'm talking and I just appreciate so much. Obviously,
(38:53):
you and I have the longest history, you know, um
on the show, and I you know, I love you,
and I just I so appreciate you coming in and
talking about it for a little bit. Oh man, it's awesome.
You yanked some heart strings here that I wasn't expecting.
But I'm grateful for it. I love it, and I
(39:16):
love you too. And that's Ed. That is Ed. And
although on the day I didn't say to Ed that
(39:36):
he yanked my heart strings, ah, he did, and he
always does. I remember when I called Ed about sitting
down with me, and Ed was working on another project
at the time. He was incredibly busy, and he didn't.
He not only said yes, when would you like me
(39:56):
to come in? But he said yes, when would you
like me to come in? And then we started talking stories.
At one point I had to say, no, Ed, stop, no, wait,
I want to I don't have this, I'm not recording
this right now, and I want to hear this spontaneously
as you're remembering it. So let's I love talking to you,
but I'm going to stop talking to you now because
I want to talk to you when I have a
(40:17):
camera or when I have a microphone in front of you. Um.
But his generosity, his heart, his spirit. Um. Well, I
hope you saw it because it's true. So thank you
Ed for joining me, and thank all of you for
listening to me, to me, to me and ed uh,
(40:40):
thank you. And now for the second big announcement. All right, So,
as you know, I have been interviewing the cast and
crew of the Office, my office family for the last
couple of years now, and let me tell you, I
never thought that I would be doing it this long, right.
(41:02):
My original intention was to do the oral history and
write the book and that's it. But sharing these interviews
with you has been truly the greatest joy of my life.
Letting you get to know these actors and writers and
(41:24):
makeup artists and stand ins and directors that that have
so much to give and so much to tell. Introducing
you to the people who have inspired me, that for
me is what it's all about, all right. So I
keep getting questions like Brian when can you bring this
(41:45):
guest on, Brian? When are you going to do this
for other shows? Well, guess what, baby, We're coming back
in two, and it is going to be bigger and
better than ever. We're gonna start at the top of
(42:05):
two with guest stars from the office, people who are
on just a few episodes, like the Will Ferrell's and
the Kathy Bates is Is and and then we're going
to expand and we're gonna start talking about some of
your other favorite shows. Think Modern Family, Think Cheers, think
(42:25):
Fresh Prince of bel Air, because those shows, well they
need love to So stay with me here, same time,
same place, same host, same feed, just more guests, and
I promise you this, You're gonna have a fantastic time,
because when I have a good time, you have a
(42:48):
good time. Now. As for the name, it's going to
be called Off the Beat. And here's the story behind that.
I had a a French director that I worked with
for many years, Dominique Serrant, shout out and and he
taught me something that that comedy happens off the beat.
(43:12):
And that's exactly the kind of conversation that I'm going
to strive to have one that happens off of the beat,
about what happens off camera in the moments between the stories,
because that's the kind of stuff that I want to
know about. So starting next year, you're gonna hear a
(43:33):
new iteration of this podcast. Let's call it version two
point oh, because that's what everybody names things two point oh.
It'll be everything you loved about the Office, deep Dive,
and so much more. But before the new year, I
want to hear from all of you. All right, I'm
gonna be doing a couple of very special call in
(43:54):
episodes where you get to guide the conversation. That's right.
I want to hear your stories. How has the Office
changed your life? Is there anything that you have been
dying to let me know? Do you have any spectacular
or spectacularly funny stories tied in with the show, or
(44:15):
run ins with the cast, or anything. Really, sky's the limit.
I just want to hear what you have to say.
You know, when I'm out in public, I often have
people come up to me and tell me very, very
hilarious or moving stories about their experience with the show.
(44:35):
This is your opportunity to share those stories, not just
with me, but well with everyone. So The best way
to be featured on one of our call in episodes
is to use use the voice Memo app on your phone,
record your question or comment and then email it to
us at the Office deep Dive at gmail dot com.
(45:00):
That is the Office deep Dive at gmail dot com.
Make sure to include your name, where you're from, and
then your question or comment, and don't forget to leave
your number two because yes, I am going to call
a few of you back and have you on this show.
All right, that's it. I've announced just about everything there
(45:24):
is to announce, So with that I will say goodbye,
thank you so much again for listening, and have a
great one everyone. The Office Deep Dive is hosted and
executive produced by me Brian bum Gartner, alongside our executive
(45:48):
producer Langley. Our senior producer is Tessa Kramer. Our producers
are Liz Hayes and Diego Tapia. My main man in
the booth is Alec Moore. Our theme song Bubble and Squeak,
performed by my great friend Creed Bratton, and the episode
was mixed by seth Olanski. I'm Joe Piazza, host of
(46:28):
the podcast Under the Influence. If you tuned into our
last season. You know that the world of mom influencers
on Instagram contains multitudes. Yes, there are pretty pictures and
gorgeous kids, and yes there's lots of money behind a
lot of those pictures. But there's also something much more
dark and complicated going on in the background, and that
(46:49):
speaks to everything that is wrong with how we treat
women in the world. On season two Under the Influence,
we're advocating for the women who make content and the
women who consume it. We're going into some of the
darkest corners of the social media universe, and we might
just have a plan to shut it all the hell down.
Listen to Season two of Under the Influence with Joe
(47:10):
Piazza on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or
wherever you get your podcasts. Look for your children's eyes
and you will discover the true magic of a forest.
Find a forest near you and start exploring it. Discover
the Forest dot Org. Brought to you by the United
States Forest Service and the AD Council. Hi. I'm Arden
(47:32):
Marine from Insatiable and then will you accept this Rose Podcast?
And I'm Julianne Robinson, an Emmy nominated director of Bridgeton
and we are the hosts of Lady of the Road,
a funny and inspiring podcast where we have conversations with
influential women about their lives and we get self help
advice because we are always looking to improve ourselves. True story.
We talk about money, health, relationships, you name it, from
(47:54):
inspiring women like Joan Jet, Nicole Buyer, Lauren lapiz Raetta
and more. Listen and subscribe to Lady of the Road
on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever
you get your podcasts.
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