Jenna Fischer, known for her role as Pam Beesley on The Office, recently expressed her shock at the show’s enduring legacy. As she explained in this wonderfully charming and informative podcast interview, she had spoken about this extensively. Fischer was a guest on the Fly on the Wall podcast with hosts Dana Carvey and David Spade. We asked Angela to take us behind the scenes of this unusual journey of rewatching all 201 episodes of The Office.
Fischer’s observations definitely go against the popular story that The Office went off the rails and wasn’t any good past its first few seasons. She firmly stated, “My biggest takeaway from having rewatched it was that it’s really good the whole time.” This take throws cold water on the standard myth that the show jumped the shark creatively. Most consider this dip to be most pronounced after Steve Carell’s departure in season seven.
During its nine-season run from 2005-2013 The Office employed Fischer as the character Pam Beesley. Humanizing her antagonistic character, she won the audience with her stunning display of character arc and emotional nuance. Even as she welcomed all the ambivalence around her, she still recognized shining accomplishments in subsequent seasons. And sometimes I watch it and I’m like, ‘I’ll never do work that good again.
