Two beloved characters from “The Office,” Angela Kinsey (who played Angela Martin) and Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly), have teamed up for a behind the scenes podcast.
The podcast, fittingly titled “Office Ladies” is a weekly breakdown of an episode of “The Office” from the perspective of two of its stars. With a trailer and three episodes out, the podcast has already revealed a lot about what went on when the cameras were not rolling at the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.
Listening to the podcast, a few things became clear. One, these women are real-life best friends and their dynamic is hilarious and contagious. Two, they are making serious bank on this venture. Every time I was drawn in the narrative, boom there’s an advertisement.
This is unsurprising given that people jump at almost every opportunity to capitalize on the monumental success of “The Office” and this podcast is no exception. If not for the continual advertisements, it really would just feel like two old friends reminiscing.
To be fair to the women, in the second episode they called for their listeners to tell them what sort of advertisements they most want to hear. This is a transparent way of considering the audience’s feelings when recording these product and service plugs, which I appreciated. In addition, it is free to listen to whereas streaming the actual ad-free show requires a Netflix account.
Aside from that, the content itself is exactly what fans were hoping it would be. The podcast has many ‘Steve Carell is such a nice guy’ comments and ‘we didn’t realize the show would be so successful’ remarks, as expected. We learn which lines were improvised, what scenes made the actors break character, what went on when the cameras stopped rolling and more. They still found ways to bring in unexpected bits and pieces that really make each episode feel like a full experience, worthy of the almost one hour it takes to listen.
For fans of “The Office,” the perspective from these two actresses is a treat to listen to. Unlike the morning news podcasts I find myself frequenting, this is a more relaxed listen. It is nice to be able to put on this podcast, and mindlessly do something like cooking or painting and listen to these women reminisce on their good ol’ days.
Much like the show itself, the podcast is a safe and lighthearted retreat for listeners.
The hosts take their job seriously, watching each episode and writing their thoughts on notecards beforehand. They have also reached out to cast members for more information and openly share it with their listeners, which gives a well-rounded, often hilarious, look at the inner workings of the show.
Since added to Netflix as a streaming option, “The Office’s” popularity skyrocketed. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal’s tech conference in October, “The Office” is the most streamed show on the platform by a margin of about 20 billion.
Given the wild success of the show, NBC reclaimed their hold on “The Office” and will pull it from Netflix in 2021, moving it to their new streaming service launching next year. When it makes its migration to the NBC streaming platform, at least fans will still have this podcast to listen to when they inevitably decline to pay for yet another streaming service.
Overall, the podcast feels like an exclusive look at one of the most successful shows in modern history, but comes across as just two women chatting over brunch. Really, it is something to behold.