December 28, 2021 • 66 mins
Brian brings it back to the fans in part two of this special call-in edition of the podcast. He takes calls from listeners to talk all things The Office, from Kevin’s evolution throughout the series to what it’s been like to grow up alongside the show. Then, the fans do their own deep dive into why young people respond so well to the show.
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(01:43):
in the podcast universe or pod verse as I just
now named it, Welcome to another episode of the Office
Deep Dive. As always, it's me, that's right, your host,
Brian Baumgartner, coming at you with a very special end
of the year edition of the podcast. Because we did it, guys,
(02:08):
we made it through another year, and as a new
Year's treat today, I've got another call in episode lined
up for you, because look, I'll admit it, I can't
get enough of you. That's what she said. Uh, but
I mean that truly. It has been so incredible to
(02:29):
hear from you and talk to you. So thank you
all of you who reached out. We got so many calls.
Thank you for taking the time to connect with us.
And you know what, I'm just gonna go right into it. Yeah,
So I would like to welcome right now you my listeners,
to the very last episode of one an episode starring
(02:56):
well you. So let's see who do we have calling
in today? Bubble and Squeak. I love it, Bubble and
Squeak on Bubble and Squeaker cooking at every month, left
(03:18):
over from the night before. How's it going, Brian? Thank
you for having me on this show. This is very nice.
It's lovely to see you. Anyways, I have a question
about Kevin here. Throughout the whole show, Kevin got way dumber.
(03:45):
You know, in the first one episode, not one episodes,
one season, second season he was stupid, yes, slow, yeah,
but he seemed to morph into this borderline mentally disabled person.
And and I was just curious because that you not
you call it out, but what Oscar and Angela called
(04:05):
out when you're talking with the you know, why use
big word when small word d trick? You know, he's
gotten worse over the years. But I was just curious
if that is it was an intentional thing done by
either you or the writing staff, or if it just
morphed over the nine years that you guys were on
air into that, and if that was a conscious decision
(04:26):
that you made to make him done more slowly, or
if it just you kind of got more into the
character as a story went on, and that was actually
how the character was supposed to be played the entire time.
Uh yeah, thanks for having me on almost shake your hand, now,
shake Jake, Jake, We just shook hands. Can you believe it? Mom?
All right bye, we just shook hands. Nick. Thank you
(04:47):
for your question. Look, this has been brought up a lot,
especially if you go onto the deep dark web that
is read it um. The original character description of Kevin
when they were casting. The casting notice said, the only
thing remarkable about Kevin is that he is remarkably unremarkable.
(05:13):
So that's where we started from, and I think we
found over time that there were, in fact some remarkable
things about Kevin. So yes, Kevin morphs. Really it was
the writing the writer's fell in love with, let's just
call it Kevin's childlike sensibility. And so my nerdy I've
(05:37):
talked about this before, but my nerdy actory justification for
this was when the camera crew. When the documentary crew
began to film dunder Mifflin, Kevin was very nervous and
much more reserved. And then as he became more comfortable
with the cameras being in the office, maybe he went
(06:00):
out with a beer or two with some of the
crew guys, more of his true personality came out. Now
that's my justification. I think the reality was the writer's
fell in love with that sort of childlike sensibility and
leaned into it. Also, Kevin was used as one of
(06:21):
the characters for physical comedy, which has a tendency to
let's just say dumb up a character. Uh. And in fact,
when Steve Carrell left, I was told by Paul Lieberstein
and some of the other writers that they were going
to even more lean into Kevin and physical comedy because
Steve Carrell was gone, who was helming a lot of
(06:45):
the physical comedy. So there's the answer. Nick. It wasn't
really conscious, but it did evolve because of how the
writers were writing the role. So he started as remarkably
unremarkable and I think he ended, um, well, something quite different.
But thanks Nick, and here's here's your handshake back. Hi, Brian,
(07:07):
my name is Randy. I live in Santa Rosa, California.
Big fan of the Office. Of course, I wanted to
tell you my three grandsons are also their ages twelve, fifteen,
and eighteen. They also love the show. And Um, I
was wondering how many takes typical scene would would be done,
and I guess it would depend on the different directors. Um,
(07:29):
there seems to be so much going on in a scene,
so many different people involved in a given scene, that
to do very many takes would be kind of hard.
So what would you say the average number of takes
was from scene? Well, thanks, Randy, And let me tell
you on a personal note, the fact that you're a
grandfather and you're a fan of the show, and you
(07:52):
have grandkids that are fans of the show. I think
that is well to quote Kevin awesome. You know, that's
an impossible question to answer. It really depended upon the
complexity of the scene. And as you said, the number
of people, and actually the number of people that were
in a scene increased the number of takes that would
(08:14):
be required to shoot it because they needed to make
sure that everybody was covered. Um. Largely it depended on
two factors. One, how many takes were lost because people
were laughing. That is just that is just the truth.
And I my mind goes to the conference room scenes
(08:37):
and Steve Correll, Michael Scott at the front scenes like
prison Mike, those were incredibly difficult. The more improv that
he and others did that caught the rest of us
off balance. The smiles and the laughs came. So that
was one and to how much improv was done. So
(08:57):
because we were shooting the show for NBC, mega conglomerate corporation,
you know, everything we said had to be approved. So
the script as written was always shot because if it
if it wasn't on the page, we may not get
approval for it, and then we would be in trouble.
So everything as written was shot because it was had
(09:18):
been approved by the network and this band of people
called standards and practices which ensure that nothing naughty gets
on the air, or at least not too naughty. Um.
But then we were always every scene we were given
a free pass, a pass to play and improv. And
(09:38):
depending on how successful the scene was working, depending on
how successful actors were able to improvise or writers were
able to pitch new jokes, the scene would happen more.
But you know, because of that, that's why on the
DVD s and now on Peacock, there are so many
additional scenes that were that were cut. Our first assembly
(10:03):
they called it was about forty five minutes, and when
you think about running time on NBC, that was twenty
two minutes. So on average we had a double episode
shot and then they had to cut it down to
twenty two. I know that's not an answer, Randy exactly
how many takes? Just remember this the chili scene. One take.
(10:28):
That's really all you need to know. Hi, Brian, this
is Steve Schrader listening to your podcast today. I heard about,
um your request here from listeners, So this is my
first I'd like to say, I guess is one. UM.
I love your podcast, big fan, obviously, big fan of
the Office. UM you were also I've already pre um
(10:49):
bought the book, re ordered the book, and UM, you're
kind of enough to do a cameo for my wife
for her birthday, I want to say, a couple of
years ago now, UM with chili, So thank you. So
I'm a big fan. UM my question is to you,
and there is no certainly no one besides you that
could play Kevin. But I'm always interested in what the
(11:11):
actor themselves think of who would they like to see
try to play that character if it wasn't them, So
that's my question to you, UM, if if it wasn't
you playing Kevin? Hard to even think of anybody else
playing it? Who would you think you would like to see?
Or who you know? Maybe several people you would like
to see like Kevin? Thank you, bye, Hey, Steve, thank
(11:36):
you for your question. By the way, you hit the
triumvirent all right, you're a fan of the podcast, which
I can't thank you enough for. You now have the book.
I hope you enjoy it. By the way, as I
speak right now, four weeks in a row on the
New York Times bestseller list. So I want to thank
not just you, but everybody who has supported the book.
(11:57):
It's so exciting to me per personally that so many
people are are reading it, are reading what I wrote.
And then of course cameo, thank you for your support
there as well. So who else would I like to
see play Kevin? George Clooney, I think would be my answer,
(12:18):
But I don't know, Steve, that's so difficult. But I
will tell you a story. I don't know if you
know this. When Steve Carrell left the show, we had
a big party and Alison Jones, are amazing casting director,
came up to me and she said, well, you know,
I was looking for some mementos to give Steve, you
(12:38):
know now that he's he's leaving. I didn't find something
that great, but I thought you would be interested in this.
And it was a single sheet of paper with three names.
It said Kevin Malone and then it was the three
actors that in the end they were considering for the role,
and it was myself, it was Eric stone Street, and
(13:00):
it was Jorge Garcia. Eric stone Street obviously went on
to Modern Family. Jorge Garcia went on to Lost, amongst
other things. Um, and I framed that piece of paper
and it is it is. It is in my office
because I think it's so cool and I'm such a
fan of both of them. So who knows? You could
(13:24):
have had Eric stone Street or Jorge Garcia as Kevin
Malone on the Office. Um, but that's who could have
done it. Who I want, who I would have wanted
to do it? Yeah, Yeah, George Clooney, Hello Office Deep Dive,
And hello Brian, So good to talk to you. I'm
(13:44):
a huge fan of the podcast, obviously a huge fan
of the Office. My name is Kendrick, and I just
had a question that I've always been wondering ever since
listening to the podcast, and that question is how do
the actors and I guess anybody working on the set
de stress after stressful moments during filming? Because I bet
(14:04):
there was a lot of stressful times during filming the
show and moments that people would feel stressed, you know,
including you or any other actor. And I just want
to know what your methods were, what other actors methods
are when these times are stressful. I mean, do you
just go to your trailer and meditate or do you
do exercise? Like what do you do on set there
when you start to feel stressed? Thank you so much, Kendrick,
(14:26):
great question, Thank you for listening. Look, I might be
a little different. I'll tell you this. How I d
stress in my normal life now is I play golf.
There's been a lot of discussion about me and golf,
and I play as much golf as I can. Unfortunately
it's not as much as I would like. But but
(14:48):
I always say that for the four hours or whatever
that I'm out there, for me, I become singularly focused
on one thing, which is getting the ball in the hole.
That's what she said. I don't know that wasn't even intentional, um,
but that's all I think about. So everything else that's
(15:11):
going on in work or in personal life or whatever else,
it goes away for the time that I'm out there,
and then as soon as I'm done, I'm sort of
back to it. So I tell you that because similarly,
on the office, it wasn't about going and being alone
or meditating, because I think my feeble brain would just
(15:32):
ruminate on whatever was stressing me out. And and look,
we were there twelve to fourteen hours a day for
five days, which is a long time, and it becomes
difficult to get anything else done. The fatigue sets in
at times because of our schedule. We were doing twelve
(15:52):
thirteen episodes in a row, which is very rare in television.
It stresses everybody out. You know, you have to find
ops for the next episode, the writers have to keep
up with scripts. All of those things have to happen.
But to answer your question, I played Madden Football. That's
what I did. I played John Madden Football with John
(16:13):
Krasinski over lunch. And that doesn't seem like a d stressor.
But again for me, during that thirty minutes, thirty to
forty five minutes, my focus was just on beating John.
That's it beating John and not there was nothing else
(16:34):
going on in my head. So there's your answer. John
Madden Football the greatest d stressor for this actor on
the Office. Try. Thank you so much for doing the
Office Deep Dive. It was fantastic hearing all the interviews,
and I'm stoked to hear that you're coming out with
a new podcast. Well, the Office meant so much to
(16:54):
me because during my darkest times, with times when I
was feeling down, the Office was my happy place. I've
watched The Office all the way through, probably nine or
ten times. I got to the points where I've stopped counting.
But the one funny story or a really interesting thing
that I really wanted to bring up is that for
my thirtieth birthday, the Dirty thirty, I had no idea
(17:15):
that this was happening, but I happened to be wearing
my dunder Mifflin T shirt and my wife brought me
over to my friend's house, who I thought was a
party for somebody else, and it turned out that it
was a surprise birthday party that was Office themed, had
the banner that says it is your birthday. All the
food was Office themed pizza, by Alfredo and all that stuff,
you know, and it was fantastic. But the coolest thing,
(17:38):
the icing on the cake, was that I had no
idea that cameo was a thing. And my wife said, hey,
we've got something for you, and they turned on the
TV and it was a cameo video of you sending
me a birthday message. And I don't know, I'm getting
emotional thinking about it, but it was so cool. I
(17:58):
had no idea that that was happening. And just to uh,
to see your face and tell me happy birthday, Happy
dirty thirty. That was fantastic and it really was a
highlight of my life, really and I just want to
say thank you for that. And um, I enjoy the podcast.
Thanks Sam, thank you so much. It means a lot
(18:20):
for you to tell me that story. You know, people
ask me about the work I do on Cameo all
the time, and it's stories like that that that makes
me keep doing it. Um, I appreciate it. Look, I
what I try to do is is not making about me,
(18:40):
but it's it's about It's about you, Sam. It's it's
your birthday, it's your graduation, it's your wedding. And if
that brings you to a moment in time that you
remember the show, that you have fond memories about Kevin
Malone nor any of the other actors or scenes or
(19:03):
moments on the show. If that brings you to a
happy place, well, Sam, then I'm happy. So thanks for
telling me that story. My best to you, and thank
you so much for listening. And yeah, we're gonna We're
gonna be back baby in two with even more podcast fun.
(19:33):
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I'm Hillary Clinton and I'm excited to be back with
a new season of you and me both. You know,
when we started this podcast, we were going through some
tough times, and let's face it, we still are. But
I am a firm believer we're stronger together, So please
(21:27):
join me for more conversations with people who will make
you think, make you laugh, and help us find a
path forward. Listen to you and me both on the
I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get
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(21:52):
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(22:15):
are available now. Listen on the I Heart Radio app,
Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, Brian, So,
I had a situation at work that arose the day
(22:40):
after I listened to your Part three episode with Greg Daniels,
and in that episode, Greg mentioned a situation that arose
when Chili's said they would not let you produce the
episode O if Pam was was drunk and intoxicated and
(23:05):
I guess threw up in the episode. They said they
would not let you produce that episode, and um, Greg
turned to Steve, and Steve basically figured it out as
a creative improv person. He said, Okay, we can do this,
we can figure this out. So at my job, I
(23:25):
am a theater artist and actually a dance teacher and
a theater artist. And so we are putting together a
dance concert for the weekend and we get some props
from our technical director that just don't work, and we
have a couple of days before the show opens and
not a lot of time to rehearse with them. So
I was starting to get very frustrated, and instead of
(23:48):
letting myself get super frustrated, that that episode just clicked
into my brain. It's like I had just listened to
it and it went I thought, be Steve Carrell in
this moment, figure out how to make this work? How
can you make this work? So I said that out loud.
I said, Okay, guys, we have to go with the
(24:08):
flow here. How can we make this work? And so
my students and I came up with an option that
actually worked better than our original option. We we modified
the props ourselves, and we made it work. So I
wanted to thank you for that interview, and the whole podcast,
(24:29):
of course, is just amazing. I listened to it all
the time, but that interview especially just made me a
little less stressed that day. So I appreciate it, and
I'm going to carry that with me. Thanks, Alyssa, between
you and I and everybody listening, we could all be
a little bit more like Steve Carrell every day and
(24:52):
we'd be we'd be better off to remind people or
let people know what Alyssa's talking about. Yes, were two
three days into full production, days from shooting the first
Dundee's episode at Chili's. The script had been written, the
script was not altered, but there were some executives from
(25:14):
Chili's who were there and did not like Pam getting
drunk at Chili's and basically we're told you can't do that,
And the entire episode, of course, with Pam getting a
little tipsy and eventually kissing Jim, was a central central
(25:35):
part of that episode. So yeah, Steve in the moment said, okay,
let's absolve Chili's. Let's shoot a couple of times where
she's not over served, but where she's stealing drinks, and
let's have her be banned for life for doing that.
And that ended up appeasing the good folks at Chili's,
(25:57):
and um, obviously we ended up going to chile Is
a couple of more times throughout the run of the show,
so that all worked out yeah, you know, listen, Steve
is to me the greatest improviser of all time. And
that's why right there he does it when he's acting,
his creative mind is always on story, in character and
(26:24):
and better than what anyone else can come up with.
And yeah, he saved that episode for sure, So I'm
glad you were able to use that lesson. And I
said it as a joke, but I really mean it.
Watching Steve Correll, if you're an artistic person do what
he does will make you a better artist or creative thinker.
(26:47):
There is absolutely no doubt about that. Hi, Brian, this
is Tom Elliott Oven UK with some thoughts for your
listener feedback show. Now, you always ask your guests why
they think that The Office is more popular now than ever,
and I can't answer that question for the US, but
I can maybe answer that question for a section of
(27:11):
that audience over here in the UK, because my experience
with becoming a fan of your show is an experience
that I've had echoed over and over again by other
British people in the last year or two. Because the
UK version of the Office, it was a game changer
over here, you know, it really changed the face of
(27:32):
British comedy and pretty much everyone loved that show. So
when I heard that there was going to be a
US version, I, like a lot of other people over here,
rolled my eyes and thought, oh, here we go. You know,
we didn't have high hopes for it, so I wasn't
expecting good things, but I thought, you know what, I'll
watch the pilot and see how they do. And then
(27:54):
I watched the pilot. Now I learned on your podcast
why Greg chose to remake the British pilot to stop
the network given notes. But unfortunately, as a British viewer
watching one of our crown jewels of television being remade
in that way, it instantly turned me off because no
(28:15):
disrespect to anyone involved, but I think when something was
so seminal and so perfectly done the first time round,
whoever tries to then recreate that just as a huge
mountain to climb in terms of winning an audience over,
no matter how talented they are. So I, like a
lot of my compatriots, turned off the American office at
(28:38):
that point and didn't look back, and then promptly just
forgot about it. So one day I put Netflix on
my TV and I see that they've put the American
Office on there, and I noticed that there's nine seasons,
and I'm asking myself, how could they have made nine
seasons of this thing? How is that even possible? But
(28:59):
also my curiosity has peaked at this point because, as
you know, the British show has twelve episodes and two specials,
So what could they have been doing for nine years
on the U S show? I guess they must have
been doing something right. So I watched the pilot again,
and you know, it was what it was, But it
(29:20):
also been twenty years now since the UK Office, so
I'm a little less precious about it, and I decided
to just carry on. And I find that the fair
that out I get from that pilot, the more and
warm into this show and these characters. And now it
wasn't so much about making a negative comparison to the
(29:41):
British show. It was actually interesting to see where you
guys would take it, to see your show evolve and
take on its own identity until we're actually at the
point where each version justifies its own existence because they
are the same but different. But that original question, why
is the American Office more popular now than ever? And
(30:05):
as your guests have said there are many, many reasons
for that, but I think from my corner of the world,
one of the reasons why it's popular here now is
that we almost had to forget about it two then
rediscover it, and I guess we also had to get
over ourselves a bit as well, because the existence of
one takes nothing away from the other. And instead of
(30:26):
having one classic show in the British version, we now
have two classic shows because the American version is a
classic too, so everybody wins. There's just there's just more
of it to love now, and what's wrong with that,
you know? So anyway, that's my thoughts on it. Thanks
for a great show, Brian, and I look forward to
many more episodes to come. Tom thank you so much
(30:49):
for your thought for comments. Truly, I wish I had
interviewed you before the book came out, and before that
I did all of these interviews for the podcast. You're very,
very insightful, you know. Look, we've talked about it quite
a bit, but I think what you say is probably
(31:10):
a spot on. I mean, you cannot believe and those
of you who we're not watching the show are aware
of what was going on back in two thousand four five.
Maybe you weren't born yet. The amount of hate and
vitriol for our show and the fact that it even existed.
(31:31):
I mean not to bring up the sexiest man alive,
Paul Rudd, but yes, Steve told me that when he
told Paul he was coming in to read for it,
Paul said, don't do it. Don't do it, and that's
that wasn't rare. I mean, now it seems silly, but
at the time there were people who would not do
the show because of the British version and how loved
(31:53):
and beloved it had become, not just in the UK,
but over here in the States by the time our
show was on the air. So I think it's very
interesting Tom that that you talk about that distance. And
I also think it's interesting your response to to the
pilot episode, and that makes a lot of sense to me.
(32:16):
You know, now I go on a variety television show
or you know, some program. It happened this week. Actually
for me, I appeared on a show and so often
people want me to recreate a scene from the office,
(32:38):
and what I say to them is no, no, we
we can't do that. What we what we have to
do is if you want to nod towards it, let's
nod lightly. People will get the joke, but let's do
our own interpretation of that joke, be it sitting on
Santa's lap or spilling chillle. For me to attempt to
(33:02):
recreate that moment that exists is always going to pale
in comparison, and so I think it's very interesting what
you say, being so familiar, being such a huge fan
in the UK of the British version to see us,
for lack of a better term, try to just imitate that. Yeah,
(33:24):
I'm sure for you it would pale in comparison. So
thank you for your comments. I still haven't discovered quite
the reason why I think we've got a lot of
great answers. It's probably a combination of many things, but
your perspective from the folks in the UK are very
very interesting. So thanks Tom for your comments and and
(33:46):
thank you so much for listening. Hey, Brian, my name
is Selmia from New York City. I'm a huge fan
of the podcast, and I have to say that during
the pandemic and during work from home, I'm pretty much
have the office on in the background while I'm doing work.
So in many ways, I feel like I work at
dunder Mifflin. UM. I wanted to shout out the episodes
(34:08):
you had with the hair and makeup team. I thought
that was such a unique perspective and it was great
to hear from some really empowering female voices that the
fans don't get to hear from a lot. So I
thought their stories were really touching and it's great to
see how close they were with the cast. UM. My
question for you is what's kind of next for this podcast?
(34:28):
I know a lot of these interviews are going to
be featured in your upcoming book. UM, but now that
the book is coming out, like, what's next do you
see the podcast continuing? Are you going to pivot into
something else? Um? I know you have that sweet sweet
cameo money, so you know you don't really need the
day job. But what's kind of next for you? And
you know, Kevin Malone in two thanks so much. Hey, SEMMYA,
(34:51):
thank you so much shouting me out from New York City,
which I've been in a lot recently, so it's becoming
my second home. In fact, thanks for your comments about Laverne,
Debbie Kim, the hair and makeup people. They were some
of my favorite conversations. And you know, look the hours
(35:13):
that we spent together and the intense times that we had.
As as they said they were, they were part therapist,
part part confidante, part everything. It was great to be
able to sit down and spend some time with them
and hear their perspective on the show. What's next for two, Well,
(35:35):
I guess, I guess that's simple. Off the Beat a
new podcast right here. You can still find it right
here on the Office Deep Dive feed. But as you know,
we've talked to so many folks from the Office, and
we'll continue to talk to some more. But really we're
going to expand and talk about television, all of television,
(35:58):
other shows in television Class six shows will start with
some folks who had appearances on the Office, but focus
on some of their other work. I'm interested in focusing
on the moments that happened off the Beat, not the
moments that everyone else has heard about two and fifty
seven thousand times, but moments in their career or on
(36:20):
their shows that we haven't heard about before. Because as
a French director I once worked with told me that
comedy happens off the beat. It's the unexpected moments that
are often the most pleasurable and the most important. So
we will be back right here, same bat channel, same
(36:40):
bad time. I guess there's no time in podcasts, but
we're gonna keep talking to folks in television and maybe
some sports as well about the moments that happened for
these people that you know and love that well maybe
you've never heard before. Gree is Mr Bumgarner. My name
is Marcus and I am a longtime fan of the Office.
(37:01):
I actually stumbled across the show because when it was premiered,
I already had the habit of watching must must sy
TV on Thursdays back since Seinfeld was on, so I
was a mediate fan. But one thing to do is
you often ask your guests what makes The Office even
more popular today than it was back then when it
originally aired. Well, I was one of those people who
bought the seasons on iTunes when they dropped back into
(37:22):
two thousand's. I was in the U. S. Navy and
I was in and out of the country quite a lot.
I did miss big chunks of some of the earliest seasons,
so I would often binge them over and over again
on my laptop or or whatever I had access to.
But even more important, when I was deployed to Iraq
and Afghanistan multiple times between two thousand seven and two
thousand twelve, I didn't have reliable internet and streaming wasn't
(37:44):
a thing. Um, I didn't have Netflix streaming anything like that,
and I'd watch entire seasons on my laptop straight through,
just from start to beginning, and then repeat every time
I wasn't actually working. Imagine a dark tent, some dusty place, dirty, hot,
miserable me lying on a cot, you know, or sometimes
just a piece of plywood tucked in my sleeping bag,
(38:05):
laptop resting all my stomach, headphones on, so hopefully I
went and disturbed my neighbors sleeping only a few feet away,
you know, watching Brian go for the records stuffing Eminem's
in his mouth, or Stanley yelling. Did I stutter at
Michael or Pam holding her first art show. I can't
count how many times I stifled a tear or I'll
definitely a laugh to not again not wake up the
(38:27):
person next to me. But also, you know, watching these
shows actually kept me saying, and a lot of it
has to do with that whole. I think you've talked
about a lot that office environment that just normal people.
That's what I wanted to fill was normal. So thank
you forgive us a peep behind the curtain through your podcast.
And I have to admit your sibling podcasts as well,
Office Ladies. Both of your shows have really introduced us
(38:49):
to all the creative masterminds that came together like a
perfect chilly recipe to make the office. Before I go,
I wanted to say the two of my favorite episodes
of yours where the conversations with Ben Silverman and the
one especially with Debbie Pierce and Kim Ferry. Both are
examples of how deep you really dove. Mr Silverman haven't
been there at the beginning, and it was really great
(39:10):
to hear his side of the story and how things
really came together. But even more where else and who
else would give equal time to make up and hair.
I would just love to learn how their department was
organized and the challenges they face, as well as their
personal stories. You are a fantastic human being for sharing
them with us. Thank you, sir, and I look forward
to your next chapter. Marcus, you horror fantastic human being.
(39:34):
Thank you one for your service. It's incredible to me
knowing you were stationed abroad Iraq, Afghanistan fighting for all
of us back home. And the visual image you paint
of lying there on your cot in a hot and
(39:55):
dusty place getting some degree of joy out of our show,
it is moving to me. It is incre incredible. It
makes me so incredibly humbled and grateful to have been
a part of a show that was able to give you,
(40:16):
specifically Marcus, a respite for what you were, what you
were enduring at that time. So thank you so much
for your call. And yeah, Ben Silverman is the man,
there is no doubt about that. But you know what,
Debbie Pierce is the man, and Kim Ferry and Laverne
(40:42):
Karacus Milazzo and everyone was important. And that is what
we have tried to show on this show, what we
wanted to have you experience. All of the good people
in every position down the line. Everybody had a part
to play. And so thank you. The fact that those
two episodes are what you called out. I love that.
(41:05):
That gives me such incredible joy you can't even imagine.
So Marcus, God bless you. Thank you again, and uh
and thanks for listening. And keep listening. And by the way,
whenever we do this again, Marcus, you have the bat
phone whenever you want to call if you have anything
to say. Uh, you're on my friend. God bless and
(41:28):
be well and happy, happy ist of New Year's to you. Hi,
I'm Elizabeth Dutton and I'm Elizabeth Dutton. Wait, sorry, Zaron,
do you want to say your name? Good? Good, Go ahead.
(41:49):
We're the hosts of Ridiculous Crime. People love true crime, right,
the mystery, the intrigue, the human frailty. But what a
lot of us don't like is the blood and the
guts and the main Wait wait, wait, wait, some of
us do like the mayhem. Okay, let's be real, there's
nothing funny about murder. Okay, that's our show gives you
stories like the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr. And the
(42:10):
Max Headrooms signal hijacking. Oh so you mean ridiculous stories
like the UK cat Shaver and Pablo Escobar's cocaine hippos. Yeah,
stories like the dudes who stole Buzzy, the animatronic whatever
he was from Disney World, and the woman whose husband
tried to kill her but came back from the dead.
And surprised him at her own funeral. Yeah, that does
sound good. You can find this new podcast, Ridiculous Crime
(42:32):
all over the place, the I Heart Radio app, the
Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. I don't
know how you live. Ridiculous Crime from Cavalry Audio, the
studio that brought you The Devil Within and The Shadow
Grows comes a new true crime podcast, The Pink Moon Murders.
(42:53):
The local sheriff believes there maybe more than one killer.
It's been four days since those bodies were found, and
there's no read does it this morning? They were afraid
it's facial out in that area, what if they come
back or whatever. It scared me to death, Like it
scared me. I was very, very intimidating to live here.
Crazy to think you go to sleep one night, maybe
snuggling with your loved one and never wake up, or
(43:14):
maybe you wake up in the struggle for your life,
which you lose. Joint host David Raderman as he explores
one fateful night when evil descended upon small town, Ohio
killed eight members of an Ohio family in a pre
planned execution. The family was targeted, most of them targeted
while they were Sleeping. The Pink Moon Murders is available
on February twenty second, and you can follow The Pink
(43:35):
Moon Murders on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts
or wherever you get your podcasts. Give us the over attention.
We need everything you've got fast Waiting on Reparations, we'd
beat the podcast. Tune in every Thursday politics and word play.
We fight for the people because they got us in
the worst way. From the Hill Cooper, the Bob bay
to cut from the left enclave to what the neo
(43:57):
kase every Thursday Cop the head he cop say to
them to break us off with some break because we're waiting.
Listen to Waiting on Reparations on I Heart radio app,
Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, Brian
(44:23):
and Teen, I really love your show and look forward
to it every week. In listening to the Ed Helms
Part two episode, he mentioned that the most common question
he gets about The Office is why he thinks the
show is so popular with kids and young people. His
response was to ask them, I think it's a great idea.
I wonder if you could do an episode where you
talk to young fans about the show and explore why
(44:44):
they like it so much and why it resonates with them.
Thanks for doing the podcast. Well, well, well ask and
you shall receive. Thank you, Elizabeth. Honestly, so many of
you called in to talk about just that why the
Office resonates so much with young people, which, by the way,
(45:07):
it warms my heart that the question that I asked
so many of my guests is one that you all
have thought about too, So I guess, um, well, I'm
gonna give you a little taste of some of the
theories that came my way. Brian bom Gardener, Oh my goodness, hello,
(45:28):
everybody at the Office Deep Dive Team. I'm I'm a
teenager and you often ask your guests on the show
why they think young people watch it. I feel like,
not only is it an obviously an amazing comedy with
jokes that hold up, but I feel like it is
set up like the lives that the current kids today live.
(45:50):
Children today constantly have cameras in their faces and are
talking to cameras um and I feel like The Office
is relatable to their generation. For this, it almost runs
like a YouTube show where you have so many doing
silly things and then performing for a camera, which is
also what kids, I feel like, deal with in their
own homes. It's medicine. There are so many times that
(46:13):
I've watched The Office when I've needed a laugh, or
I have anxiety, or I'm sick, or there's just nothing
else that sounds good on TV. I have been watching
The Office since I was six years old. The Office
has meant so much to me um over the years.
(46:36):
Any time that I was going through something really hard
and I could not bring myself to smile, I could
always put on the Office and it was just so
familiar and comforting and safe and pleasant. And even moments
(46:57):
where I was in deep depression shin or sadness or
pain and nothing could make me smile, I could sit
down and watch The Office and get at least one
little grin out of me. And I think it's because
it's so real. A lot of these times these days,
people just want that real connection. It's hard to find
(47:18):
that with social media and everything, and the Office They're
just they're just real people, and people really connect to
that and also like really romanticize his office life the show.
It does. I feel like I didn't picture myself working
in office before, but now I do, But even I
wouldn't even know what I would do with that office.
(47:39):
I just pictured myself. They're just because of the office.
I think that kids are whatever varying age, identify with
that because it's kind of like what growing up is
like that you don't always have a say in what
you're subjected to, and you don't always have control over
your life, and you feel like even how if it
right or wrong, who knows, but that you you just
(48:00):
know you're ryan what you want and need in that
moment is right, and that you can't help the situation
the outcome, regardless of your position or desire, whatever it
is at the moment. So I think that's why kids
like it and and and identify with Jim having to
roll his eyes at Michael's ridiculous nous or the insanity
that is Robert California's you know who knows what he's
(48:23):
pulling out at the moment. Anyway, Thanks lovely podcast. It's
been absolutely fantastic and huge fan um and yeah go Braves,
Wow you guys. Thank you so much to all of you.
Thank you, Zeffie, thank you, Katie av thank you Kayla Cela.
(48:45):
I appreciate you and Tyler, Go Dodgers. But thank you
for calling in and well for giving me your thoughts
as to why the show is so relatable to young people.
You're all, well, you're always smarter than I am. Hi, Brian,
my name is Sarah Atkinson, and I'm sharing with you
(49:06):
my answer for a question that you often asked your guests.
Why do these young children really love The Office so much?
What is it about it that makes them love it?
And my answer is pretty simple. It's straight up indoctrination.
Let me explain. I watched The Office what was airing
(49:28):
on TV, and I was in junior high, high school,
and then college. By the time it wraps, The Office
just became my go to show. Much like Billie Eilish.
I always have it on. It's on in the background
while I worked during the day. I listened to it
while I clean or while I'm out exercising. It's something
(49:49):
that I can always depend on for a laugh and
to make me feel good. That means that when I
was pregnant with my children, I watched a lot of
the Office, and in utero, Sty did too, so all
of my babies were born knowing the theme song. They
would respond they recognized it. When we would be holding
him and watching the show, the theme song would play
(50:11):
and they would perk up and they knew the song.
And all those late nights and late night feedings, I
would pop on the Office. Why I fed my kids?
And I think that we really just from the start
gave them a reason to associate the Office with comfort
and peace and safety and laughter and enjoy. And now
(50:35):
my three year old knows the Office. She announces when
anyone comes over that we're watching the Office because we're
always watching. And my one year old, when the theme
song comes on, immediately begins to smile and dance. And
they don't understand the jokes, but they know the characters.
But yeah, it's brainwashing. We've indoctrinated them. That's definitely why
(50:58):
all these young kids like the Office now. And I
do have one question, Brian on Peacock the home of
the Office now. Uh, They've started releasing the super Fan episodes,
which are longer cuts, putting in deleted scenes, and I'm
curious if you've watched the Superfan episodes and if you
(51:18):
have any thoughts some of them. The deleted scenes inform
or maybe even shift storylines a little bit. And I'm
curious if you have an opinion on breaking Cannon or
if that's just an addition and giving us more light
and insight into all of these characters. Thank you for
what to do, and I'm gonna go and watch more
of the office. Uh, Sarah, I love your indoctrination theory. Um,
(51:46):
let's go with it. I love it. Uh. The in
utero late night feedings that they associate with comfort and happiness,
that is well, that's awesome. So then you have a
really great question about the extended episodes. So look, the
short answer is no, I have not gone to Peacock now.
(52:06):
So in doing all this preparation for the podcast, for
writing the book, I went back and watched everything in order.
I watched the run in order and then watched uh
some episodes. When I was about to talk to somebody,
I would I would watch some of their sort of
signature episodes again, either episodes they've written or directed, or
(52:32):
or important acting episodes for them. So I watched it
quite a bit. I have not gone back, but I
have seen on the DVDs they released a lot of
deleted scenes and some extended episodes. Your question about the canon, though,
is where I'm going to focus because Greg Daniels had
the same question as we were shooting. Does a webisode
(52:55):
does does information that you get from a webisode? Does
that become part of the cannon? Does a scene that
was shot but never aired? Does that become a part
of the cannon? Now, I think in some cases scenes
that were shot, and I would say this is a
(53:18):
rare exception, But in some cases a scene that were
was shot maybe didn't make it because we weren't sure
we wanted that information to come out about the character,
or we we didn't want the character to necessarily go
in that direction, or maybe it felt sort of inconsistent
with the character that that had been created it, or
(53:40):
that was going to come up in the future, Uh,
something different for that character. So, um, that doesn't really
answer the question. But I will tell you that there
was a bible, a show bible that had the answers
to all of those things up in the writer's room,
and when they had a question about something, they would
go back and one find out where a character may
(54:03):
have stood on a particular issue in the past, or
you know, what a character's arc or journey had been
from the beginning of the show. And there were mentions
as to whether or not that information had gotten actually aired.
It may have been written, it may have been shot,
it may have been even in the first cut, but
(54:25):
it was impossible for me, by the way to even
remember for Kevin if something had actually aired or not.
So I tended to. I think Greg tended to for
the most part, fall on the side of if it
was shot, then it's part of the Bible. So I'd
be interested though, to know if you or any others
(54:48):
have found moments that have been added back in that
now bring up inconsistencies. That would be interesting for me.
Thanks Sarah Brian. My name is Maggie. I'm a high
schooler and I'm from Fairport, New York. UM. The Office
means so much to me. I really think it's one
of the comfort shows I go to, and it got
(55:09):
me through COVID, and I'm probably one of the biggest
fans I know. I love the show. I know everything
about the characters, and I just love it so much.
My question for you is, when Michael leaves, he shows
Kevin the poster of the chair. Do you still have
that poster and if so, where did you put it? Anyways,
(55:29):
I would love to be featured on your podcast. And
I'm just such a huge, huge fan and it would
make my world if I got a chance to speak
with you, Maggie, thank you so much. I do have
a poster, um I haven't, I will admit to you.
I have a box of some memorabilia that has not
(55:50):
actually been framed or hung on a wall as of
yet that falls into that category. But I know I
have it because I remember the discussion that I had
when I took it, which was someone asked if I
wanted a copy of the poster, and I said, no,
I want that copy of the poster. And it was
(56:14):
the poster that Steve Well, that Michael Slash Steve had
had ripped in half. And they didn't want to give
it to me because see, the prop people, they believe
that any prop that's ever used will have to be
used again. So there are warehouses. I mean maybe now
they've gotten rid of it, or maybe it's in the
(56:36):
office experience in Chicago there where any prop that was
used in an episode. They thought, well, maybe we'll need
it again, and so they didn't want to give it up.
I convinced them, in this particular case that they could
rip another one similarly enough if for some reason it
ever had to make an appearance on the show. But yes,
(56:57):
I have the chair of poster. I have the Cheryl poster.
Thanks for listening, Maggie. Hey Brian. My name is Adeline
and I'm from Rochester, New York. And We're going on
maybe the fourth time trying this, just because I'm terrible
at recording things like this. Um, I'm twenty four and
I started watching The Office um as it aired, so
(57:20):
at the time, I was probably in fourth grade, and um,
I'll never forget watching the finale. I put it off
for a long time. Um. It wasn't the same year
that I graduated high school, but I think it was
maybe getting close to when I was going to be
graduating and just a big change and knowing I'm going
to go away to college, and feeling like a chapter
(57:41):
of my life was ending, and feeling like I grew
up with the Office and grew up with it by
my side, and I had it there for everything, you know,
and when I knew it was coming to an end,
it almost felt like I was going off on my own,
um and starting starting my own you know, life, and
(58:03):
I'm not going to have the office to lean back
on almost in a way, and you know, you are
trying to answer the question, and you know, why is
it so popular right now and why do people love it?
And the obvious answers the fact that it's more popular
now because it's more accessible on Netflix, and well, I mean,
now it's not on Netflix, but it was on Netflix,
(58:23):
and now it's on Peacock and you can watch it
and you can binge it. But I think, you know,
the real, kind of deeper answer is that it makes
you feel like you're a part of something and you
go to it because you know what you're gonna get,
and you get that comfort, and you get that stability
of feeling like it's always going to be there for you. Um,
(58:46):
it's your support system if you need to cry, you
know which episode to watch obviously, if you need a
laugh and you need to feel good. But yeah, just
I thank you for doing this podcast us because it
allows me to continue getting that same emotional connection that
(59:07):
I had with the show. It's just, you know, more
content in a different way. And I think it speaks
to me now being an adult and how I consume
the content, you know differently in this different part of
my life. So thank you. Um, you all mean the
world to me, more than you will ever know. Well, Adeline,
(59:28):
the third time was the charm. Thank you for your
incredibly thoughtful and moving message. I appreciate your thoughts and
I appreciate you telling me that the podcast has brought
you back in a way to experience the show in
a new way, in a deeper way, like it's the
(59:50):
first time again. So thank you so much. God blessed.
Happy New Year to you, Adeline, and here's uh, here's
for more in twenty twenty two. Hello, my name is
Cecilia Boyle and I'm from New Jersey. I am ten
years old and will probably one of the youngest kids
on this podcast. Um. My favorite scene with Kevin Innitt
(01:00:12):
is where he goes when Oscar comes back and after
Michael kisses him, and then Kevin goes, how is your
gay cation? Aw scoo And um my question to Kevin
slash Brian is if you could change anything with any
of Kevin's relationships with his coworkers, or even change something
(01:00:33):
about Kevin's backstory, what would it be. Well, Cecilia, thank
you for calling it. I think you've done it. I
think you broke the record. I think ten is the youngest.
Thank you for being such an articulate fan and uh,
such a big fan of the show. I appreciate that.
Is there anything that I would change about Kevin's backstory?
(01:00:58):
I don't know about his backstory story, but I wish
that I wish that Kevin had found a little more
loving and I'll just phrase it like that. I really
liked those episodes, particularly the storyline around Valentine's Day and
uh finding Lynn. I just feel really fortunate about the
(01:01:21):
moments that I was able to play where Kevin has
a small victory. So I wish that for him. I
don't know so much about backstory, but I wish that
for him. And my hope for him now is in
New Year's Eve one to two. I hope that he
(01:01:43):
is behind his bar, let's call it Malone's in Scranton,
and he's serving drinks, maybe having a few, and having
an absolutely great night. That's what I hope. Thanks Cecilia,
(01:02:10):
all right, everybody? That is that for today's call an episode? Now.
I don't want to be too cheesy, but when you
work on something, really on any creative project, all you
can hope is that one that people will see it
and that they will respond to it. But the way
(01:02:32):
that you fans have responded to the Office, I never
even dreamed that that was possible. Never in in mine
or any of our wildest dreams did we believe that
was possible. So thank you so much for sending in
your thoughts, your stories which are so moving, your comments,
and of course all of your love. Thank you. I
(01:02:54):
feel it, I feel the love, and I am sending
it right back to you. Having an incredible week, well,
have an incredible rest of the year. Really be safe
out there, and hey, guess what, guys, I will see
you next year in two The Office. Deep Dive is
(01:03:24):
hosted an executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside our
executive producer Langley. 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 o Landscape. Hi.
(01:04:02):
I'm Hillary Clinton and I'm so excited to be back
with a third season of You and Me both. When
I started this podcast, we were going through some tough times,
and let's face it, we still are. And here's what
I know. We cannot get through this alone. So please
join me for more conversations with people who will make
(01:04:22):
you think, make you laugh, and help us find a
path forward. This season, I'll be talking about the state
of our democracy with experts and with people organizing on
the ground. We'll draw inspiration from some amazing people like
Olympic star Alison Felix and Grammy Award winner Brandy Carlisle.
(01:04:43):
And we'll get into the hard stuff with writer Cheryl
Strait and my dear friend and colleague, Huma Aberdeen. So
join us. Listen to you and me both on the
I Heart radio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get
your podcasts. Did you know that on the day Dr
(01:05:08):
King was shot, the all black security detail normally assigned
to him was called off. They're the ones who would
not allow him to stay at any hotel with balconies?
Did you ever ask what this was all about? This
is the MLK tapes. The first episodes are available now.
(01:05:31):
Listen on the I Heart radio app, Apple podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. The art world it is
essentially a money laundering business. The best fakes are still
hanging on people's walls. You know they don't even know
or suspect that their fakes. I'm Alec Baldwin and this
is a podcast about deception, greed and forgery in the
(01:05:55):
art world. I just walked in and saw this great
red painting presuming to be a Rothko. Of course, art
forgeries only happen because there's money to be made, a
lot of money. I'm listening to how what they're paying
for each thing. It was an incredible amounts of money.
You knew the painting was fake. Um. Listen to Art
(01:06:20):
Fraud on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
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 talk about how we make our stories dramatic and accurate,
(00:23):
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. Hi, this
is Ali went Worth, host of Go Ask Ali. My
(00:44):
listeners want more, so we are digging in comedian Amy Schumer.
As far as cancel culture goes, I think that the
people who are the most afraid and complaining about cancel
culture are the ones who are in danger of pain canceled,
and they need to take a look at themselves. I
agree with you. You know I'm not worried about it
because I know my intentions and i know that I'm
open to evolving. Listen to Go ask Alli every Thursday
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(01:43):
in the podcast universe or pod verse as I just
now named it, Welcome to another episode of the Office
Deep Dive. As always, it's me, that's right, your host,
Brian Baumgartner, coming at you with a very special end
of the year edition of the podcast. Because we did it, guys,
(02:08):
we made it through another year, and as a new
Year's treat today, I've got another call in episode lined
up for you, because look, I'll admit it, I can't
get enough of you. That's what she said. Uh, but
I mean that truly. It has been so incredible to
(02:29):
hear from you and talk to you. So thank you
all of you who reached out. We got so many calls.
Thank you for taking the time to connect with us.
And you know what, I'm just gonna go right into it. Yeah,
So I would like to welcome right now you my listeners,
to the very last episode of one an episode starring
(02:56):
well you. So let's see who do we have calling
in today? Bubble and Squeak. I love it, Bubble and
Squeak on Bubble and Squeaker cooking at every month, left
(03:18):
over from the night before. How's it going, Brian? Thank
you for having me on this show. This is very nice.
It's lovely to see you. Anyways, I have a question
about Kevin here. Throughout the whole show, Kevin got way dumber.
(03:45):
You know, in the first one episode, not one episodes,
one season, second season he was stupid, yes, slow, yeah,
but he seemed to morph into this borderline mentally disabled person.
And and I was just curious because that you not
you call it out, but what Oscar and Angela called
(04:05):
out when you're talking with the you know, why use
big word when small word d trick? You know, he's
gotten worse over the years. But I was just curious
if that is it was an intentional thing done by
either you or the writing staff, or if it just
morphed over the nine years that you guys were on
air into that, and if that was a conscious decision
(04:26):
that you made to make him done more slowly, or
if it just you kind of got more into the
character as a story went on, and that was actually
how the character was supposed to be played the entire time.
Uh yeah, thanks for having me on almost shake your hand, now,
shake Jake, Jake, We just shook hands. Can you believe it? Mom?
All right bye, we just shook hands. Nick. Thank you
(04:47):
for your question. Look, this has been brought up a lot,
especially if you go onto the deep dark web that
is read it um. The original character description of Kevin
when they were casting. The casting notice said, the only
thing remarkable about Kevin is that he is remarkably unremarkable.
(05:13):
So that's where we started from, and I think we
found over time that there were, in fact some remarkable
things about Kevin. So yes, Kevin morphs. Really it was
the writing the writer's fell in love with, let's just
call it Kevin's childlike sensibility. And so my nerdy I've
(05:37):
talked about this before, but my nerdy actory justification for
this was when the camera crew. When the documentary crew
began to film dunder Mifflin, Kevin was very nervous and
much more reserved. And then as he became more comfortable
with the cameras being in the office, maybe he went
(06:00):
out with a beer or two with some of the
crew guys, more of his true personality came out. Now
that's my justification. I think the reality was the writer's
fell in love with that sort of childlike sensibility and
leaned into it. Also, Kevin was used as one of
(06:21):
the characters for physical comedy, which has a tendency to
let's just say dumb up a character. Uh. And in fact,
when Steve Carrell left, I was told by Paul Lieberstein
and some of the other writers that they were going
to even more lean into Kevin and physical comedy because
Steve Carrell was gone, who was helming a lot of
(06:45):
the physical comedy. So there's the answer. Nick. It wasn't
really conscious, but it did evolve because of how the
writers were writing the role. So he started as remarkably
unremarkable and I think he ended, um, well, something quite different.
But thanks Nick, and here's here's your handshake back. Hi, Brian,
(07:07):
my name is Randy. I live in Santa Rosa, California.
Big fan of the Office. Of course, I wanted to
tell you my three grandsons are also their ages twelve, fifteen,
and eighteen. They also love the show. And Um, I
was wondering how many takes typical scene would would be done,
and I guess it would depend on the different directors. Um,
(07:29):
there seems to be so much going on in a scene,
so many different people involved in a given scene, that
to do very many takes would be kind of hard.
So what would you say the average number of takes
was from scene? Well, thanks, Randy, And let me tell
you on a personal note, the fact that you're a
grandfather and you're a fan of the show, and you
(07:52):
have grandkids that are fans of the show. I think
that is well to quote Kevin awesome. You know, that's
an impossible question to answer. It really depended upon the
complexity of the scene. And as you said, the number
of people, and actually the number of people that were
in a scene increased the number of takes that would
(08:14):
be required to shoot it because they needed to make
sure that everybody was covered. Um. Largely it depended on
two factors. One, how many takes were lost because people
were laughing. That is just that is just the truth.
And I my mind goes to the conference room scenes
(08:37):
and Steve Correll, Michael Scott at the front scenes like
prison Mike, those were incredibly difficult. The more improv that
he and others did that caught the rest of us
off balance. The smiles and the laughs came. So that
was one and to how much improv was done. So
(08:57):
because we were shooting the show for NBC, mega conglomerate corporation,
you know, everything we said had to be approved. So
the script as written was always shot because if it
if it wasn't on the page, we may not get
approval for it, and then we would be in trouble.
So everything as written was shot because it was had
(09:18):
been approved by the network and this band of people
called standards and practices which ensure that nothing naughty gets
on the air, or at least not too naughty. Um.
But then we were always every scene we were given
a free pass, a pass to play and improv. And
(09:38):
depending on how successful the scene was working, depending on
how successful actors were able to improvise or writers were
able to pitch new jokes, the scene would happen more.
But you know, because of that, that's why on the
DVD s and now on Peacock, there are so many
additional scenes that were that were cut. Our first assembly
(10:03):
they called it was about forty five minutes, and when
you think about running time on NBC, that was twenty
two minutes. So on average we had a double episode
shot and then they had to cut it down to
twenty two. I know that's not an answer, Randy exactly
how many takes? Just remember this the chili scene. One take.
(10:28):
That's really all you need to know. Hi, Brian, this
is Steve Schrader listening to your podcast today. I heard about,
um your request here from listeners, So this is my
first I'd like to say, I guess is one. UM.
I love your podcast, big fan, obviously, big fan of
the Office. UM you were also I've already pre um
(10:49):
bought the book, re ordered the book, and UM, you're
kind of enough to do a cameo for my wife
for her birthday, I want to say, a couple of
years ago now, UM with chili, So thank you. So
I'm a big fan. UM my question is to you,
and there is no certainly no one besides you that
could play Kevin. But I'm always interested in what the
(11:11):
actor themselves think of who would they like to see
try to play that character if it wasn't them, So
that's my question to you, UM, if if it wasn't
you playing Kevin? Hard to even think of anybody else
playing it? Who would you think you would like to see?
Or who you know? Maybe several people you would like
to see like Kevin? Thank you, bye, Hey, Steve, thank
(11:36):
you for your question. By the way, you hit the
triumvirent all right, you're a fan of the podcast, which
I can't thank you enough for. You now have the book.
I hope you enjoy it. By the way, as I
speak right now, four weeks in a row on the
New York Times bestseller list. So I want to thank
not just you, but everybody who has supported the book.
(11:57):
It's so exciting to me per personally that so many
people are are reading it, are reading what I wrote.
And then of course cameo, thank you for your support
there as well. So who else would I like to
see play Kevin? George Clooney, I think would be my answer,
(12:18):
But I don't know, Steve, that's so difficult. But I
will tell you a story. I don't know if you
know this. When Steve Carrell left the show, we had
a big party and Alison Jones, are amazing casting director,
came up to me and she said, well, you know,
I was looking for some mementos to give Steve, you
(12:38):
know now that he's he's leaving. I didn't find something
that great, but I thought you would be interested in this.
And it was a single sheet of paper with three names.
It said Kevin Malone and then it was the three
actors that in the end they were considering for the role,
and it was myself, it was Eric stone Street, and
(13:00):
it was Jorge Garcia. Eric stone Street obviously went on
to Modern Family. Jorge Garcia went on to Lost, amongst
other things. Um, and I framed that piece of paper
and it is it is. It is in my office
because I think it's so cool and I'm such a
fan of both of them. So who knows? You could
(13:24):
have had Eric stone Street or Jorge Garcia as Kevin
Malone on the Office. Um, but that's who could have
done it. Who I want, who I would have wanted
to do it? Yeah, Yeah, George Clooney, Hello Office Deep Dive,
And hello Brian, So good to talk to you. I'm
(13:44):
a huge fan of the podcast, obviously a huge fan
of the Office. My name is Kendrick, and I just
had a question that I've always been wondering ever since
listening to the podcast, and that question is how do
the actors and I guess anybody working on the set
de stress after stressful moments during filming? Because I bet
(14:04):
there was a lot of stressful times during filming the
show and moments that people would feel stressed, you know,
including you or any other actor. And I just want
to know what your methods were, what other actors methods
are when these times are stressful. I mean, do you
just go to your trailer and meditate or do you
do exercise? Like what do you do on set there
when you start to feel stressed? Thank you so much, Kendrick,
(14:26):
great question, Thank you for listening. Look, I might be
a little different. I'll tell you this. How I d
stress in my normal life now is I play golf.
There's been a lot of discussion about me and golf,
and I play as much golf as I can. Unfortunately
it's not as much as I would like. But but
(14:48):
I always say that for the four hours or whatever
that I'm out there, for me, I become singularly focused
on one thing, which is getting the ball in the hole.
That's what she said. I don't know that wasn't even intentional, um,
but that's all I think about. So everything else that's
(15:11):
going on in work or in personal life or whatever else,
it goes away for the time that I'm out there,
and then as soon as I'm done, I'm sort of
back to it. So I tell you that because similarly,
on the office, it wasn't about going and being alone
or meditating, because I think my feeble brain would just
(15:32):
ruminate on whatever was stressing me out. And and look,
we were there twelve to fourteen hours a day for
five days, which is a long time, and it becomes
difficult to get anything else done. The fatigue sets in
at times because of our schedule. We were doing twelve
(15:52):
thirteen episodes in a row, which is very rare in television.
It stresses everybody out. You know, you have to find
ops for the next episode, the writers have to keep
up with scripts. All of those things have to happen.
But to answer your question, I played Madden Football. That's
what I did. I played John Madden Football with John
(16:13):
Krasinski over lunch. And that doesn't seem like a d stressor.
But again for me, during that thirty minutes, thirty to
forty five minutes, my focus was just on beating John.
That's it beating John and not there was nothing else
(16:34):
going on in my head. So there's your answer. John
Madden Football the greatest d stressor for this actor on
the Office. Try. Thank you so much for doing the
Office Deep Dive. It was fantastic hearing all the interviews,
and I'm stoked to hear that you're coming out with
a new podcast. Well, the Office meant so much to
(16:54):
me because during my darkest times, with times when I
was feeling down, the Office was my happy place. I've
watched The Office all the way through, probably nine or
ten times. I got to the points where I've stopped counting.
But the one funny story or a really interesting thing
that I really wanted to bring up is that for
my thirtieth birthday, the Dirty thirty, I had no idea
(17:15):
that this was happening, but I happened to be wearing
my dunder Mifflin T shirt and my wife brought me
over to my friend's house, who I thought was a
party for somebody else, and it turned out that it
was a surprise birthday party that was Office themed, had
the banner that says it is your birthday. All the
food was Office themed pizza, by Alfredo and all that stuff,
you know, and it was fantastic. But the coolest thing,
(17:38):
the icing on the cake, was that I had no
idea that cameo was a thing. And my wife said, hey,
we've got something for you, and they turned on the
TV and it was a cameo video of you sending
me a birthday message. And I don't know, I'm getting
emotional thinking about it, but it was so cool. I
(17:58):
had no idea that that was happening. And just to uh,
to see your face and tell me happy birthday, Happy
dirty thirty. That was fantastic and it really was a
highlight of my life, really and I just want to
say thank you for that. And um, I enjoy the podcast.
Thanks Sam, thank you so much. It means a lot
(18:20):
for you to tell me that story. You know, people
ask me about the work I do on Cameo all
the time, and it's stories like that that that makes
me keep doing it. Um, I appreciate it. Look, I
what I try to do is is not making about me,
(18:40):
but it's it's about It's about you, Sam. It's it's
your birthday, it's your graduation, it's your wedding. And if
that brings you to a moment in time that you
remember the show, that you have fond memories about Kevin
Malone nor any of the other actors or scenes or
(19:03):
moments on the show. If that brings you to a
happy place, well, Sam, then I'm happy. So thanks for
telling me that story. My best to you, and thank
you so much for listening. And yeah, we're gonna We're
gonna be back baby in two with even more podcast fun.
(19:33):
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terms and conditions apply. Need to hire you need Indeed. Hi.
I'm Hillary Clinton and I'm excited to be back with
a new season of you and me both. You know,
when we started this podcast, we were going through some
tough times, and let's face it, we still are. But
I am a firm believer we're stronger together, So please
(21:27):
join me for more conversations with people who will make
you think, make you laugh, and help us find a
path forward. Listen to you and me both on the
I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get
your podcasts. On the latest season of the Next Question
(21:52):
with Katie correct podcast, Katie dives into Well Katie Here,
exclusive podcast only conversations between Katie and the people who
made her memoir Going There Possible. We spent a lot
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in the city, and you know, it was a very
intense experienced. All episodes of Next Question with Katie Couric
(22:15):
are available now. Listen on the I Heart Radio app,
Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, Brian, So,
I had a situation at work that arose the day
(22:40):
after I listened to your Part three episode with Greg Daniels,
and in that episode, Greg mentioned a situation that arose
when Chili's said they would not let you produce the
episode O if Pam was was drunk and intoxicated and
(23:05):
I guess threw up in the episode. They said they
would not let you produce that episode, and um, Greg
turned to Steve, and Steve basically figured it out as
a creative improv person. He said, Okay, we can do this,
we can figure this out. So at my job, I
(23:25):
am a theater artist and actually a dance teacher and
a theater artist. And so we are putting together a
dance concert for the weekend and we get some props
from our technical director that just don't work, and we
have a couple of days before the show opens and
not a lot of time to rehearse with them. So
I was starting to get very frustrated, and instead of
(23:48):
letting myself get super frustrated, that that episode just clicked
into my brain. It's like I had just listened to
it and it went I thought, be Steve Carrell in
this moment, figure out how to make this work? How
can you make this work? So I said that out loud.
I said, Okay, guys, we have to go with the
(24:08):
flow here. How can we make this work? And so
my students and I came up with an option that
actually worked better than our original option. We we modified
the props ourselves, and we made it work. So I
wanted to thank you for that interview, and the whole podcast,
(24:29):
of course, is just amazing. I listened to it all
the time, but that interview especially just made me a
little less stressed that day. So I appreciate it, and
I'm going to carry that with me. Thanks, Alyssa, between
you and I and everybody listening, we could all be
a little bit more like Steve Carrell every day and
(24:52):
we'd be we'd be better off to remind people or
let people know what Alyssa's talking about. Yes, were two
three days into full production, days from shooting the first
Dundee's episode at Chili's. The script had been written, the
script was not altered, but there were some executives from
(25:14):
Chili's who were there and did not like Pam getting
drunk at Chili's and basically we're told you can't do that,
And the entire episode, of course, with Pam getting a
little tipsy and eventually kissing Jim, was a central central
(25:35):
part of that episode. So yeah, Steve in the moment said, okay,
let's absolve Chili's. Let's shoot a couple of times where
she's not over served, but where she's stealing drinks, and
let's have her be banned for life for doing that.
And that ended up appeasing the good folks at Chili's,
(25:57):
and um, obviously we ended up going to chile Is
a couple of more times throughout the run of the show,
so that all worked out yeah, you know, listen, Steve
is to me the greatest improviser of all time. And
that's why right there he does it when he's acting,
his creative mind is always on story, in character and
(26:24):
and better than what anyone else can come up with.
And yeah, he saved that episode for sure, So I'm
glad you were able to use that lesson. And I
said it as a joke, but I really mean it.
Watching Steve Correll, if you're an artistic person do what
he does will make you a better artist or creative thinker.
(26:47):
There is absolutely no doubt about that. Hi, Brian, this
is Tom Elliott Oven UK with some thoughts for your
listener feedback show. Now, you always ask your guests why
they think that The Office is more popular now than ever,
and I can't answer that question for the US, but
I can maybe answer that question for a section of
(27:11):
that audience over here in the UK, because my experience
with becoming a fan of your show is an experience
that I've had echoed over and over again by other
British people in the last year or two. Because the
UK version of the Office, it was a game changer
over here, you know, it really changed the face of
(27:32):
British comedy and pretty much everyone loved that show. So
when I heard that there was going to be a
US version, I, like a lot of other people over here,
rolled my eyes and thought, oh, here we go. You know,
we didn't have high hopes for it, so I wasn't
expecting good things, but I thought, you know what, I'll
watch the pilot and see how they do. And then
(27:54):
I watched the pilot. Now I learned on your podcast
why Greg chose to remake the British pilot to stop
the network given notes. But unfortunately, as a British viewer
watching one of our crown jewels of television being remade
in that way, it instantly turned me off because no
(28:15):
disrespect to anyone involved, but I think when something was
so seminal and so perfectly done the first time round,
whoever tries to then recreate that just as a huge
mountain to climb in terms of winning an audience over,
no matter how talented they are. So I, like a
lot of my compatriots, turned off the American office at
(28:38):
that point and didn't look back, and then promptly just
forgot about it. So one day I put Netflix on
my TV and I see that they've put the American
Office on there, and I noticed that there's nine seasons,
and I'm asking myself, how could they have made nine
seasons of this thing? How is that even possible? But
(28:59):
also my curiosity has peaked at this point because, as
you know, the British show has twelve episodes and two specials,
So what could they have been doing for nine years
on the U S show? I guess they must have
been doing something right. So I watched the pilot again,
and you know, it was what it was, But it
(29:20):
also been twenty years now since the UK Office, so
I'm a little less precious about it, and I decided
to just carry on. And I find that the fair
that out I get from that pilot, the more and
warm into this show and these characters. And now it
wasn't so much about making a negative comparison to the
(29:41):
British show. It was actually interesting to see where you
guys would take it, to see your show evolve and
take on its own identity until we're actually at the
point where each version justifies its own existence because they
are the same but different. But that original question, why
is the American Office more popular now than ever? And
(30:05):
as your guests have said there are many, many reasons
for that, but I think from my corner of the world,
one of the reasons why it's popular here now is
that we almost had to forget about it two then
rediscover it, and I guess we also had to get
over ourselves a bit as well, because the existence of
one takes nothing away from the other. And instead of
(30:26):
having one classic show in the British version, we now
have two classic shows because the American version is a
classic too, so everybody wins. There's just there's just more
of it to love now, and what's wrong with that,
you know? So anyway, that's my thoughts on it. Thanks
for a great show, Brian, and I look forward to
many more episodes to come. Tom thank you so much
(30:49):
for your thought for comments. Truly, I wish I had
interviewed you before the book came out, and before that
I did all of these interviews for the podcast. You're very,
very insightful, you know. Look, we've talked about it quite
a bit, but I think what you say is probably
(31:10):
a spot on. I mean, you cannot believe and those
of you who we're not watching the show are aware
of what was going on back in two thousand four five.
Maybe you weren't born yet. The amount of hate and
vitriol for our show and the fact that it even existed.
(31:31):
I mean not to bring up the sexiest man alive,
Paul Rudd, but yes, Steve told me that when he
told Paul he was coming in to read for it,
Paul said, don't do it. Don't do it, and that's
that wasn't rare. I mean, now it seems silly, but
at the time there were people who would not do
the show because of the British version and how loved
(31:53):
and beloved it had become, not just in the UK,
but over here in the States by the time our
show was on the air. So I think it's very
interesting Tom that that you talk about that distance. And
I also think it's interesting your response to to the
pilot episode, and that makes a lot of sense to me.
(32:16):
You know, now I go on a variety television show
or you know, some program. It happened this week. Actually
for me, I appeared on a show and so often
people want me to recreate a scene from the office,
(32:38):
and what I say to them is no, no, we
we can't do that. What we what we have to
do is if you want to nod towards it, let's
nod lightly. People will get the joke, but let's do
our own interpretation of that joke, be it sitting on
Santa's lap or spilling chillle. For me to attempt to
(33:02):
recreate that moment that exists is always going to pale
in comparison, and so I think it's very interesting what
you say, being so familiar, being such a huge fan
in the UK of the British version to see us,
for lack of a better term, try to just imitate that. Yeah,
(33:24):
I'm sure for you it would pale in comparison. So
thank you for your comments. I still haven't discovered quite
the reason why I think we've got a lot of
great answers. It's probably a combination of many things, but
your perspective from the folks in the UK are very
very interesting. So thanks Tom for your comments and and
(33:46):
thank you so much for listening. Hey, Brian, my name
is Selmia from New York City. I'm a huge fan
of the podcast, and I have to say that during
the pandemic and during work from home, I'm pretty much
have the office on in the background while I'm doing work.
So in many ways, I feel like I work at
dunder Mifflin. UM. I wanted to shout out the episodes
(34:08):
you had with the hair and makeup team. I thought
that was such a unique perspective and it was great
to hear from some really empowering female voices that the
fans don't get to hear from a lot. So I
thought their stories were really touching and it's great to
see how close they were with the cast. UM. My
question for you is what's kind of next for this podcast?
(34:28):
I know a lot of these interviews are going to
be featured in your upcoming book. UM, but now that
the book is coming out, like, what's next do you
see the podcast continuing? Are you going to pivot into
something else? Um? I know you have that sweet sweet
cameo money, so you know you don't really need the
day job. But what's kind of next for you? And
you know, Kevin Malone in two thanks so much. Hey, SEMMYA,
(34:51):
thank you so much shouting me out from New York City,
which I've been in a lot recently, so it's becoming
my second home. In fact, thanks for your comments about Laverne,
Debbie Kim, the hair and makeup people. They were some
of my favorite conversations. And you know, look the hours
(35:13):
that we spent together and the intense times that we had.
As as they said they were, they were part therapist,
part part confidante, part everything. It was great to be
able to sit down and spend some time with them
and hear their perspective on the show. What's next for two, Well,
(35:35):
I guess, I guess that's simple. Off the Beat a
new podcast right here. You can still find it right
here on the Office Deep Dive feed. But as you know,
we've talked to so many folks from the Office, and
we'll continue to talk to some more. But really we're
going to expand and talk about television, all of television,
(35:58):
other shows in television Class six shows will start with
some folks who had appearances on the Office, but focus
on some of their other work. I'm interested in focusing
on the moments that happened off the Beat, not the
moments that everyone else has heard about two and fifty
seven thousand times, but moments in their career or on
(36:20):
their shows that we haven't heard about before. Because as
a French director I once worked with told me that
comedy happens off the beat. It's the unexpected moments that
are often the most pleasurable and the most important. So
we will be back right here, same bat channel, same
(36:40):
bad time. I guess there's no time in podcasts, but
we're gonna keep talking to folks in television and maybe
some sports as well about the moments that happened for
these people that you know and love that well maybe
you've never heard before. Gree is Mr Bumgarner. My name
is Marcus and I am a longtime fan of the Office.
(37:01):
I actually stumbled across the show because when it was premiered,
I already had the habit of watching must must sy
TV on Thursdays back since Seinfeld was on, so I
was a mediate fan. But one thing to do is
you often ask your guests what makes The Office even
more popular today than it was back then when it
originally aired. Well, I was one of those people who
bought the seasons on iTunes when they dropped back into
(37:22):
two thousand's. I was in the U. S. Navy and
I was in and out of the country quite a lot.
I did miss big chunks of some of the earliest seasons,
so I would often binge them over and over again
on my laptop or or whatever I had access to.
But even more important, when I was deployed to Iraq
and Afghanistan multiple times between two thousand seven and two
thousand twelve, I didn't have reliable internet and streaming wasn't
(37:44):
a thing. Um, I didn't have Netflix streaming anything like that,
and I'd watch entire seasons on my laptop straight through,
just from start to beginning, and then repeat every time
I wasn't actually working. Imagine a dark tent, some dusty place, dirty, hot,
miserable me lying on a cot, you know, or sometimes
just a piece of plywood tucked in my sleeping bag,
(38:05):
laptop resting all my stomach, headphones on, so hopefully I
went and disturbed my neighbors sleeping only a few feet away,
you know, watching Brian go for the records stuffing Eminem's
in his mouth, or Stanley yelling. Did I stutter at
Michael or Pam holding her first art show. I can't
count how many times I stifled a tear or I'll
definitely a laugh to not again not wake up the
(38:27):
person next to me. But also, you know, watching these
shows actually kept me saying, and a lot of it
has to do with that whole. I think you've talked
about a lot that office environment that just normal people.
That's what I wanted to fill was normal. So thank
you forgive us a peep behind the curtain through your podcast.
And I have to admit your sibling podcasts as well,
Office Ladies. Both of your shows have really introduced us
(38:49):
to all the creative masterminds that came together like a
perfect chilly recipe to make the office. Before I go,
I wanted to say the two of my favorite episodes
of yours where the conversations with Ben Silverman and the
one especially with Debbie Pierce and Kim Ferry. Both are
examples of how deep you really dove. Mr Silverman haven't
been there at the beginning, and it was really great
(39:10):
to hear his side of the story and how things
really came together. But even more where else and who
else would give equal time to make up and hair.
I would just love to learn how their department was
organized and the challenges they face, as well as their
personal stories. You are a fantastic human being for sharing
them with us. Thank you, sir, and I look forward
to your next chapter. Marcus, you horror fantastic human being.
(39:34):
Thank you one for your service. It's incredible to me
knowing you were stationed abroad Iraq, Afghanistan fighting for all
of us back home. And the visual image you paint
of lying there on your cot in a hot and
(39:55):
dusty place getting some degree of joy out of our show,
it is moving to me. It is incre incredible. It
makes me so incredibly humbled and grateful to have been
a part of a show that was able to give you,
(40:16):
specifically Marcus, a respite for what you were, what you
were enduring at that time. So thank you so much
for your call. And yeah, Ben Silverman is the man,
there is no doubt about that. But you know what,
Debbie Pierce is the man, and Kim Ferry and Laverne
(40:42):
Karacus Milazzo and everyone was important. And that is what
we have tried to show on this show, what we
wanted to have you experience. All of the good people
in every position down the line. Everybody had a part
to play. And so thank you. The fact that those
two episodes are what you called out. I love that.
(41:05):
That gives me such incredible joy you can't even imagine.
So Marcus, God bless you. Thank you again, and uh
and thanks for listening. And keep listening. And by the way,
whenever we do this again, Marcus, you have the bat
phone whenever you want to call if you have anything
to say. Uh, you're on my friend. God bless and
(41:28):
be well and happy, happy ist of New Year's to you. Hi,
I'm Elizabeth Dutton and I'm Elizabeth Dutton. Wait, sorry, Zaron,
do you want to say your name? Good? Good, Go ahead.
(41:49):
We're the hosts of Ridiculous Crime. People love true crime, right,
the mystery, the intrigue, the human frailty. But what a
lot of us don't like is the blood and the
guts and the main Wait wait, wait, wait, some of
us do like the mayhem. Okay, let's be real, there's
nothing funny about murder. Okay, that's our show gives you
stories like the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr. And the
(42:10):
Max Headrooms signal hijacking. Oh so you mean ridiculous stories
like the UK cat Shaver and Pablo Escobar's cocaine hippos. Yeah,
stories like the dudes who stole Buzzy, the animatronic whatever
he was from Disney World, and the woman whose husband
tried to kill her but came back from the dead.
And surprised him at her own funeral. Yeah, that does
sound good. You can find this new podcast, Ridiculous Crime
(42:32):
all over the place, the I Heart Radio app, the
Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. I don't
know how you live. Ridiculous Crime from Cavalry Audio, the
studio that brought you The Devil Within and The Shadow
Grows comes a new true crime podcast, The Pink Moon Murders.
(42:53):
The local sheriff believes there maybe more than one killer.
It's been four days since those bodies were found, and
there's no read does it this morning? They were afraid
it's facial out in that area, what if they come
back or whatever. It scared me to death, Like it
scared me. I was very, very intimidating to live here.
Crazy to think you go to sleep one night, maybe
snuggling with your loved one and never wake up, or
(43:14):
maybe you wake up in the struggle for your life,
which you lose. Joint host David Raderman as he explores
one fateful night when evil descended upon small town, Ohio
killed eight members of an Ohio family in a pre
planned execution. The family was targeted, most of them targeted
while they were Sleeping. The Pink Moon Murders is available
on February twenty second, and you can follow The Pink
(43:35):
Moon Murders on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts
or wherever you get your podcasts. Give us the over attention.
We need everything you've got fast Waiting on Reparations, we'd
beat the podcast. Tune in every Thursday politics and word play.
We fight for the people because they got us in
the worst way. From the Hill Cooper, the Bob bay
to cut from the left enclave to what the neo
(43:57):
kase every Thursday Cop the head he cop say to
them to break us off with some break because we're waiting.
Listen to Waiting on Reparations on I Heart radio app,
Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, Brian
(44:23):
and Teen, I really love your show and look forward
to it every week. In listening to the Ed Helms
Part two episode, he mentioned that the most common question
he gets about The Office is why he thinks the
show is so popular with kids and young people. His
response was to ask them, I think it's a great idea.
I wonder if you could do an episode where you
talk to young fans about the show and explore why
(44:44):
they like it so much and why it resonates with them.
Thanks for doing the podcast. Well, well, well ask and
you shall receive. Thank you, Elizabeth. Honestly, so many of
you called in to talk about just that why the
Office resonates so much with young people, which, by the way,
(45:07):
it warms my heart that the question that I asked
so many of my guests is one that you all
have thought about too, So I guess, um, well, I'm
gonna give you a little taste of some of the
theories that came my way. Brian bom Gardener, Oh my goodness, hello,
(45:28):
everybody at the Office Deep Dive Team. I'm I'm a
teenager and you often ask your guests on the show
why they think young people watch it. I feel like,
not only is it an obviously an amazing comedy with
jokes that hold up, but I feel like it is
set up like the lives that the current kids today live.
(45:50):
Children today constantly have cameras in their faces and are
talking to cameras um and I feel like The Office
is relatable to their generation. For this, it almost runs
like a YouTube show where you have so many doing
silly things and then performing for a camera, which is
also what kids, I feel like, deal with in their
own homes. It's medicine. There are so many times that
(46:13):
I've watched The Office when I've needed a laugh, or
I have anxiety, or I'm sick, or there's just nothing
else that sounds good on TV. I have been watching
The Office since I was six years old. The Office
has meant so much to me um over the years.
(46:36):
Any time that I was going through something really hard
and I could not bring myself to smile, I could
always put on the Office and it was just so
familiar and comforting and safe and pleasant. And even moments
(46:57):
where I was in deep depression shin or sadness or
pain and nothing could make me smile, I could sit
down and watch The Office and get at least one
little grin out of me. And I think it's because
it's so real. A lot of these times these days,
people just want that real connection. It's hard to find
(47:18):
that with social media and everything, and the Office They're
just they're just real people, and people really connect to
that and also like really romanticize his office life the show.
It does. I feel like I didn't picture myself working
in office before, but now I do, But even I
wouldn't even know what I would do with that office.
(47:39):
I just pictured myself. They're just because of the office.
I think that kids are whatever varying age, identify with
that because it's kind of like what growing up is
like that you don't always have a say in what
you're subjected to, and you don't always have control over
your life, and you feel like even how if it
right or wrong, who knows, but that you you just
(48:00):
know you're ryan what you want and need in that
moment is right, and that you can't help the situation
the outcome, regardless of your position or desire, whatever it
is at the moment. So I think that's why kids
like it and and and identify with Jim having to
roll his eyes at Michael's ridiculous nous or the insanity
that is Robert California's you know who knows what he's
(48:23):
pulling out at the moment. Anyway, Thanks lovely podcast. It's
been absolutely fantastic and huge fan um and yeah go Braves,
Wow you guys. Thank you so much to all of you.
Thank you, Zeffie, thank you, Katie av thank you Kayla Cela.
(48:45):
I appreciate you and Tyler, Go Dodgers. But thank you
for calling in and well for giving me your thoughts
as to why the show is so relatable to young people.
You're all, well, you're always smarter than I am. Hi, Brian,
my name is Sarah Atkinson, and I'm sharing with you
(49:06):
my answer for a question that you often asked your guests.
Why do these young children really love The Office so much?
What is it about it that makes them love it?
And my answer is pretty simple. It's straight up indoctrination.
Let me explain. I watched The Office what was airing
(49:28):
on TV, and I was in junior high, high school,
and then college. By the time it wraps, The Office
just became my go to show. Much like Billie Eilish.
I always have it on. It's on in the background
while I worked during the day. I listened to it
while I clean or while I'm out exercising. It's something
(49:49):
that I can always depend on for a laugh and
to make me feel good. That means that when I
was pregnant with my children, I watched a lot of
the Office, and in utero, Sty did too, so all
of my babies were born knowing the theme song. They
would respond they recognized it. When we would be holding
him and watching the show, the theme song would play
(50:11):
and they would perk up and they knew the song.
And all those late nights and late night feedings, I
would pop on the Office. Why I fed my kids?
And I think that we really just from the start
gave them a reason to associate the Office with comfort
and peace and safety and laughter and enjoy. And now
(50:35):
my three year old knows the Office. She announces when
anyone comes over that we're watching the Office because we're
always watching. And my one year old, when the theme
song comes on, immediately begins to smile and dance. And
they don't understand the jokes, but they know the characters.
But yeah, it's brainwashing. We've indoctrinated them. That's definitely why
(50:58):
all these young kids like the Office now. And I
do have one question, Brian on Peacock the home of
the Office now. Uh, They've started releasing the super Fan episodes,
which are longer cuts, putting in deleted scenes, and I'm
curious if you've watched the Superfan episodes and if you
(51:18):
have any thoughts some of them. The deleted scenes inform
or maybe even shift storylines a little bit. And I'm
curious if you have an opinion on breaking Cannon or
if that's just an addition and giving us more light
and insight into all of these characters. Thank you for
what to do, and I'm gonna go and watch more
of the office. Uh, Sarah, I love your indoctrination theory. Um,
(51:46):
let's go with it. I love it. Uh. The in
utero late night feedings that they associate with comfort and happiness,
that is well, that's awesome. So then you have a
really great question about the extended episodes. So look, the
short answer is no, I have not gone to Peacock now.
(52:06):
So in doing all this preparation for the podcast, for
writing the book, I went back and watched everything in order.
I watched the run in order and then watched uh
some episodes. When I was about to talk to somebody,
I would I would watch some of their sort of
signature episodes again, either episodes they've written or directed, or
(52:32):
or important acting episodes for them. So I watched it
quite a bit. I have not gone back, but I
have seen on the DVDs they released a lot of
deleted scenes and some extended episodes. Your question about the canon, though,
is where I'm going to focus because Greg Daniels had
the same question as we were shooting. Does a webisode
(52:55):
does does information that you get from a webisode? Does
that become part of the cannon? Does a scene that
was shot but never aired? Does that become a part
of the cannon? Now, I think in some cases scenes
that were shot, and I would say this is a
(53:18):
rare exception, But in some cases a scene that were
was shot maybe didn't make it because we weren't sure
we wanted that information to come out about the character,
or we we didn't want the character to necessarily go
in that direction, or maybe it felt sort of inconsistent
with the character that that had been created it, or
(53:40):
that was going to come up in the future, Uh,
something different for that character. So, um, that doesn't really
answer the question. But I will tell you that there
was a bible, a show bible that had the answers
to all of those things up in the writer's room,
and when they had a question about something, they would
go back and one find out where a character may
(54:03):
have stood on a particular issue in the past, or
you know, what a character's arc or journey had been
from the beginning of the show. And there were mentions
as to whether or not that information had gotten actually aired.
It may have been written, it may have been shot,
it may have been even in the first cut, but
(54:25):
it was impossible for me, by the way to even
remember for Kevin if something had actually aired or not.
So I tended to. I think Greg tended to for
the most part, fall on the side of if it
was shot, then it's part of the Bible. So I'd
be interested though, to know if you or any others
(54:48):
have found moments that have been added back in that
now bring up inconsistencies. That would be interesting for me.
Thanks Sarah Brian. My name is Maggie. I'm a high
schooler and I'm from Fairport, New York. UM. The Office
means so much to me. I really think it's one
of the comfort shows I go to, and it got
(55:09):
me through COVID, and I'm probably one of the biggest
fans I know. I love the show. I know everything
about the characters, and I just love it so much.
My question for you is, when Michael leaves, he shows
Kevin the poster of the chair. Do you still have
that poster and if so, where did you put it? Anyways,
(55:29):
I would love to be featured on your podcast. And
I'm just such a huge, huge fan and it would
make my world if I got a chance to speak
with you, Maggie, thank you so much. I do have
a poster, um I haven't, I will admit to you.
I have a box of some memorabilia that has not
(55:50):
actually been framed or hung on a wall as of
yet that falls into that category. But I know I
have it because I remember the discussion that I had
when I took it, which was someone asked if I
wanted a copy of the poster, and I said, no,
I want that copy of the poster. And it was
(56:14):
the poster that Steve Well, that Michael Slash Steve had
had ripped in half. And they didn't want to give
it to me because see, the prop people, they believe
that any prop that's ever used will have to be
used again. So there are warehouses. I mean maybe now
they've gotten rid of it, or maybe it's in the
(56:36):
office experience in Chicago there where any prop that was
used in an episode. They thought, well, maybe we'll need
it again, and so they didn't want to give it up.
I convinced them, in this particular case that they could
rip another one similarly enough if for some reason it
ever had to make an appearance on the show. But yes,
(56:57):
I have the chair of poster. I have the Cheryl poster.
Thanks for listening, Maggie. Hey Brian. My name is Adeline
and I'm from Rochester, New York. And We're going on
maybe the fourth time trying this, just because I'm terrible
at recording things like this. Um, I'm twenty four and
I started watching The Office um as it aired, so
(57:20):
at the time, I was probably in fourth grade, and um,
I'll never forget watching the finale. I put it off
for a long time. Um. It wasn't the same year
that I graduated high school, but I think it was
maybe getting close to when I was going to be
graduating and just a big change and knowing I'm going
to go away to college, and feeling like a chapter
(57:41):
of my life was ending, and feeling like I grew
up with the Office and grew up with it by
my side, and I had it there for everything, you know,
and when I knew it was coming to an end,
it almost felt like I was going off on my own,
um and starting starting my own you know, life, and
(58:03):
I'm not going to have the office to lean back
on almost in a way, and you know, you are
trying to answer the question, and you know, why is
it so popular right now and why do people love it?
And the obvious answers the fact that it's more popular
now because it's more accessible on Netflix, and well, I mean,
now it's not on Netflix, but it was on Netflix,
(58:23):
and now it's on Peacock and you can watch it
and you can binge it. But I think, you know,
the real, kind of deeper answer is that it makes
you feel like you're a part of something and you
go to it because you know what you're gonna get,
and you get that comfort, and you get that stability
of feeling like it's always going to be there for you. Um,
(58:46):
it's your support system if you need to cry, you
know which episode to watch obviously, if you need a
laugh and you need to feel good. But yeah, just
I thank you for doing this podcast us because it
allows me to continue getting that same emotional connection that
(59:07):
I had with the show. It's just, you know, more
content in a different way. And I think it speaks
to me now being an adult and how I consume
the content, you know differently in this different part of
my life. So thank you. Um, you all mean the
world to me, more than you will ever know. Well, Adeline,
(59:28):
the third time was the charm. Thank you for your
incredibly thoughtful and moving message. I appreciate your thoughts and
I appreciate you telling me that the podcast has brought
you back in a way to experience the show in
a new way, in a deeper way, like it's the
(59:50):
first time again. So thank you so much. God blessed.
Happy New Year to you, Adeline, and here's uh, here's
for more in twenty twenty two. Hello, my name is
Cecilia Boyle and I'm from New Jersey. I am ten
years old and will probably one of the youngest kids
on this podcast. Um. My favorite scene with Kevin Innitt
(01:00:12):
is where he goes when Oscar comes back and after
Michael kisses him, and then Kevin goes, how is your
gay cation? Aw scoo And um my question to Kevin
slash Brian is if you could change anything with any
of Kevin's relationships with his coworkers, or even change something
(01:00:33):
about Kevin's backstory, what would it be. Well, Cecilia, thank
you for calling it. I think you've done it. I
think you broke the record. I think ten is the youngest.
Thank you for being such an articulate fan and uh,
such a big fan of the show. I appreciate that.
Is there anything that I would change about Kevin's backstory?
(01:00:58):
I don't know about his backstory story, but I wish
that I wish that Kevin had found a little more
loving and I'll just phrase it like that. I really
liked those episodes, particularly the storyline around Valentine's Day and
uh finding Lynn. I just feel really fortunate about the
(01:01:21):
moments that I was able to play where Kevin has
a small victory. So I wish that for him. I
don't know so much about backstory, but I wish that
for him. And my hope for him now is in
New Year's Eve one to two. I hope that he
(01:01:43):
is behind his bar, let's call it Malone's in Scranton,
and he's serving drinks, maybe having a few, and having
an absolutely great night. That's what I hope. Thanks Cecilia,
(01:02:10):
all right, everybody? That is that for today's call an episode? Now.
I don't want to be too cheesy, but when you
work on something, really on any creative project, all you
can hope is that one that people will see it
and that they will respond to it. But the way
(01:02:32):
that you fans have responded to the Office, I never
even dreamed that that was possible. Never in in mine
or any of our wildest dreams did we believe that
was possible. So thank you so much for sending in
your thoughts, your stories which are so moving, your comments,
and of course all of your love. Thank you. I
(01:02:54):
feel it, I feel the love, and I am sending
it right back to you. Having an incredible week, well,
have an incredible rest of the year. Really be safe
out there, and hey, guess what, guys, I will see
you next year in two The Office. Deep Dive is
(01:03:24):
hosted an executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside our
executive producer Langley. 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 o Landscape. Hi.
(01:04:02):
I'm Hillary Clinton and I'm so excited to be back
with a third season of You and Me both. When
I started this podcast, we were going through some tough times,
and let's face it, we still are. And here's what
I know. We cannot get through this alone. So please
join me for more conversations with people who will make
(01:04:22):
you think, make you laugh, and help us find a
path forward. This season, I'll be talking about the state
of our democracy with experts and with people organizing on
the ground. We'll draw inspiration from some amazing people like
Olympic star Alison Felix and Grammy Award winner Brandy Carlisle.
(01:04:43):
And we'll get into the hard stuff with writer Cheryl
Strait and my dear friend and colleague, Huma Aberdeen. So
join us. Listen to you and me both on the
I Heart radio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get
your podcasts. Did you know that on the day Dr
(01:05:08):
King was shot, the all black security detail normally assigned
to him was called off. They're the ones who would
not allow him to stay at any hotel with balconies?
Did you ever ask what this was all about? This
is the MLK tapes. The first episodes are available now.
(01:05:31):
Listen on the I Heart radio app, Apple podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. The art world it is
essentially a money laundering business. The best fakes are still
hanging on people's walls. You know they don't even know
or suspect that their fakes. I'm Alec Baldwin and this
is a podcast about deception, greed and forgery in the
(01:05:55):
art world. I just walked in and saw this great
red painting presuming to be a Rothko. Of course, art
forgeries only happen because there's money to be made, a
lot of money. I'm listening to how what they're paying
for each thing. It was an incredible amounts of money.
You knew the painting was fake. Um. Listen to Art
(01:06:20):
Fraud on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts.
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