The Office Deep Dive Call-In Edition - Pt. 1

decide what we talk about today. Get ready to laugh with me, to cry with me, and get mad with me. Well, maybe not get mad with me. But first I want to thank each and every one of you who sent in so many amazing messages. Truly, all of us here at the Office Deep Dive. We are at a total loss for words at how incredible and how open and how loving you have all been about the Office and

the podcast. I wish that I could answer each and every one of you today, but know that we listen to every single one of your messages and they brought us so much joy. So now it's my turn. I'm hoping this episode will bring a little joy to you this holiday season. So, without further adea, I would like to present to you my first call in episode featuring probably my favorite guests of all time, you, Bubble and Squeak. I love it Bubble and Squeak On Bubble and Squeaker

cook at every month. Left over from the night before Mr Bomb Gert Bob Taylor calling from the middle of nowhere, Saskatchewan, Canada, have a question for you. I was just wondering your iconic character, Kevin, as we all know and love. You know, I wouldn't want to change a thing, But if there's one thing you could change about Kevin Malone, what would it be? Enquiring Mines wants to know. Well, thanks Bob

for your question. You know, I think the one thing I've addressed this a little bit throughout the podcast, I wish that Kevin had found love. You know. I talked to Ellie Kemper a little bit. I had pitched Aaron and Kevin getting together before the start of the final season. That obviously did not happen. But I wish Kevin had had found love. I wish there had been a little more uh victory for him in terms of his relationship. I love the storyline with Lynn when we had that.

Obviously Stacy his fiance early on, she wasn't explored all that much. But yeah, I wish Kevin had had one of those small victories in finding love. Hi, Brian, my name is Logan Cortin's. I'm from Kansas City, Missouri. I'm a huge, huge fan of the Office. I loved all your interviews throughout the show. But, um, I have a story and I have a question for you. Um I

want to start with my story. So, when I was in college, I worked for a baseball team called the Omaha Storm Chasers through the Triple A affiliate of Kansas City Royals, and I was working on an off day. I worked in the clubhouse. I was a clubhouse assistant, and I was a bad boy. Um. But I was at the ballpark on one of our off days and Warren Buffett happened to be at our at our ball field and he was talking to a general manager. My general manager asked me if I told me I could

ask a question to Warren. And you know, Warren's this incredibly successful person, and all I can think about is that he had just aired or he had just been on an episode of the Office, like a couple of weeks before. So I go in, I sit down, and Warren's like, what's your question, young man? I go, yeah, what was the light to work with John Franciski and the cast of the Office. And he sits there for a second. He just laughed. He's like, Okay, well, not

the question I expected. It tells me how great it was. Told me it was a phenomenal experience. My general may manager is absolutely dying laughing. He's like, you could ask him anything, but of course you had to come around and talk about the Office. That was pretty cool. Um. The question I had for you O'Brien is, back in

the day when you guys were filming. In the episode Office the Olympics, we see all the different games that the characters played, But did you Oscar and Angela actually have games that you would play in accounting when you were like background characters first scene? I'd love to know more. Thank you well, Logan. First off, thank you for your story about Warren Buffett. I tell you the day that he and Charlie Munger came on set. That was amazing. I don't know how we pulled that off or who

pulled that off. But the fact that he left and you asked him that question is awesome. Now about games, you know, we get asked a lot about pranks, right because pranks were such a huge part of the show. Hers is a similar question in terms of games and relating to Office Olympics. You know, the boring answer is we didn't really. I mean, we played comedy games. I guess like our games would be about trying to make

each other laugh. That would be it would be about us in the deep background, attempting to make each other laugh. And and as we've discussed many times, we felt like there was a show within a show happening called The Accountants that we were the stars of. So we were always trying to make each other laugh and and pass notes, and in fact I have notes from Angela. Before the computers worked, we we would pass notes back and forth to each other, again in an attempt to make each

other laugh, but also in character. So famously I have an illustration, Oscar has an illustration. I think Jenna Fisher has an illustration from and Jela on a post it note which was an invitation to sprinkles her Cat's birthday party. Hello Brian my name is Brianna, and I live in Dallas, Texas. And I know that you know this area very well as you went to s m U. So I feel like we have a connection already known the same neck of the woods. So I'm gonna get personal really quick.

I have a funny office story I wanted to share. Sorry if it's a little bit t m I, but I think you'll you'll get how funny this is. So about four years ago, I had my oldest daughter, and after I had her, everything was going well and it

came time to meet with the lactation consultant. Right so so me being a very first time mom, never having done breastfeeding before, I am in front of all these nurses and nurses come in and lactaian consultant, and the lactation consultant says, do you know how to stimulate your nipple? And I said, absolutely I do, and I start aggressively flicking my nipple with my finger, to which they were both appalled and thought was hilarious. They stopped me and said, whoa, whoa, whoa, honey,

what are you doing? I said, stimulating the nipple and they said, who told you to do that? I said, um, I learned it from the office, right with Pam and her nation consultant. They thought that was the funniest thing. Couple nurses go out, grab some more nurses bring them and they say, Brianna, Brianna, tell us what you just did and how you learned it. I said, um, I was flicking my nipple because I learned it from the office.

They just thought that was the most hysterical thing they could ever see, and to which they taught me, no, honey, be sure to roll stop with the flicking. So I just think that is it just really speaks to me because The Office is such a special show to a my entire family. I just give so much credit to every single person on that show, from the casting all the way down to the acting, to the heart that was put into the editing, every single detail. I wish

I could have been there. I truly wish I could have been a fly on the wall to see what I think is the greatest show to ever hit television and my favorite show that I've ever seen in my life. So anyway, it was a pleasure sending in this video memo. I don't know if you'll ever hear it or not. But thank you Ryan for your last couple of years

of these incredibly special podcasts. I've listened to every single one, and thank you for your time and thank you for sharing your love of the show with all of us. All Right, thanks Brian, byebye. All right, Brianna, Well, first off, yes, I did hear your story. Uh, there's so much to unpack here. First off, Hail to the Red and the Blue, the Mustangs of SMU. Yes, I went to SMU there in Dallas, and maybe we'll into each other sometime when I am back. Now it feels as though you're trying

to get me in trouble. You you you said flicking my nipple several times. I don't know where to go exactly with that, but thank you for your story. You know, it reminds me of another story that I read about actually, where somebody learned something from the office. It wasn't about lactation,

let me be clear. But there was a guy by the name of Cross Scott, twenty one years of age, back in nineteen He was an auto technician in Arizona, and he was driving down the road and he saw a car that was pulled over and a woman who appeared to need some help. He pulled over to help her, and she was unconscious and he had to break her window and got in and was trying to help her.

He didn't have a cell phone, and he realized he needed to do CPR, but he didn't know CPR, and he thought to himself, well, the only point of reference that I have for CPR is the office the stress relief episode, and he remembered, uh uh uh uh, stay in alive, stay in alive, which apparently, according to the American Heart Association, is actually the correct beat for CPR. I looked that up. That is true, so at least that was accurate. So Cross did this version of CPR

on the woman. An ambulance arrived ten or fifteen minutes later, and the woman survived, and they told Cross that had he not performed this CPR on her, that things would not have turned out. Okay. She she recovered and it's fine as far as I know today. So you learned about nipple flicking. Uh, maybe that wasn't the right way to go, but Cross Scott used the office to save a woman's life. Unbelievable. Hey, Brian, I just want to let you know that your podcast, it's my absolute favorite podcast.

It makes Tuesday commutes tolerable, I guess, going through traffic all the way to working back. Um, so here here's my question. My question would be if you can pick any character in the Office to do a spinoff show about. Who would it be and what would it be about. I'm looking forward to answer. Thank you very much, Thanks

Alex for your question. You know, we haven't talked much about this throughout the podcast, mostly because it didn't happen, but Rain Wilson and Paul Lieberstein, who played Toby but was also showrunner of the Office, as you know, for a while, they actually developed a spin off in season eight and it was called The Farm and it was about Dwight and his Beat Farm. Now, remnants of that episode played as an episode of The Office called The Farm,

and that was going to be the title of the spinoff. Unfortunately, NBC decided not to pick up that show, and so we never got to see more exploits from Dwight and his family on the Beat Farm. So one, I think that's a spectacular idea and one that I certainly feel would be worth exploring in the future. And the other is what I mentioned before, The Accountants Oscar Angela and Kevin. I think those three disparate characters working together, I've called

it the perfect comedy triangle. Um the way the characters are drawn and how they interact with each other, I think they could work in almost any setting. So whether it was at dunder Mifflin or somewhere else, I guess my answer number two would be the Accountants. Hi, Brian, my name is Brian Rosier, and I live in Buffalo, New York. And this is the story of how The Office helped me graduate from high school. So in the year I was a senior in high school and all

the students had to complete what was called a senior project. Um. It was a semester long class the way that it was set up, but you basically spend nine weeks researching a topic of your choice and presenting an argument at the end of the year. And so um our teachers were encouraging us to pick something new, something they hadn't heard before. I thought, what do I really like right now? And at the time, I was obsessed with The Office.

I was finally discovering it, and I was just so amazed by how it was shot differently, how it was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. I thought it was so funny. Um So I decided that my topic would be why The Office is the greatest show of all time. My teachers loved it, and they fought over who got to be my advisor at the end of the year

because they all really wanted to see my project. And I spent the next semester researching and finding out more about what set the Office apart, why it was so popular. And this was before even the boom that it's in right now. Um So, I was doing my own deep dives for a grade for my diploma. Um and at the end of the year, I presented it and I had to have a visual aid, and I decided, naturally to put a stapler in Jello. It's a lot easier

than you might think. I learned. The secret is dental flaws, and I encourage people to try it if they want to. So that is the story of how The Office helped me graduate from high school. Well listen, first off, Brian, stay in your lane. Okay, I do the deep diving on the Office, and now to learn that you did it many years ago. I don't even I feel like I don't have a place right now. I don't know. This is very this is very humbling. Listen why the Office is the greatest show ever of all time? I

think is a very worthy senior project. I hope you convinced everyone of all of your classmates and teachers of it being so. I'm glad you graduated. Thank you for that. And I I didn't know about dental floss. I had no idea that that is how you suspended it. In fact, I have often wondered how you could suspend a stapler into jello. I didn't realize dental flaws, and even when you said dental flaws, I was like, how does that work? But now I get it. You suspend it while the

jello molds cools. I don't know. That's incredible. Can gratulations on your project, but just stay in your lane, all right, Brian, Stay stay in your lane. Hey, Brian, it is Keith Padine from Connecticut. You and I have a history that goes back a little bit that I remember, and I guarantee you do not. However, I was one of the blogger breakfasts at the original convention there in uh Scranton.

I had a website called the two Cents Dot com At the time, I was just like this twentysomething year old guy that lived in this little cottage on a farm where I worked a farm job. But I started covering the office and via my Space, uh it was Jenna and Angela and Laura Harden. I was able to get interviews via my Space with you guys and have them be exclusive to my site. I started interviewing all

the smaller characters like Evette. Nicole Brown might be one of my favorite ones ever when she paid Parish in Staples, the Staples episode with Dwight. You know, the office was something that connected to fans in such a way, but this like changed my life. By doing this, I started getting like press passes and I was able to be a v I p at the convention with you guys.

So I was able to be at casino night, which was the small part, and I played poker next to Ed Helms, watched Craig Robinson saying creep I remember with the band and the scrand Tones were there, you know, and then the big concert where you guys all kind of wet nuts and you guys were just having fun, and it led us all to believe that what we had hoped was true, was that you were people who were enjoying yourselves just as much as we were enjoy

watching you. You You were real people, You were normal, so so to speak, people who were able to communicate with us and just be excited about the show. Um. It led to so much for me from that little website. I became a member of the Broadcast Television Journalists Associated for several years, um you know, and covering all different shows. The two Cents got huge. I had like thirty something

writers for me for a while. But it all started because you guys were willing to communicate with your fans, and I was able to find that and write it up and do some podcasts. I did a long podcast once with Bobby Ray Schaefer and I remember, I mean, it was insane. I was in l A for about four days for one of my best friend's weddings, and I get a phone call and it was Bobby Ray saying, I heard you're in l A. And I was hoping that we could have lunch like I did lunch with

the office like. It was just crazy. We went out to sati Quoi and saw the building where you guys were. It was insane. The office totally changed my life. I'm now a data four out here in farm country in Connecticut, but the office, for that part of my life was

such a special thing. And now to be able to listen to this podcast and relive all that and think of all these memories and all those moments and the way that you've done it so beautifully through this podcast and talking to all these people, it's been really, really special. So thank you for what you've done. I believe your birthday was yesterday, so happy birthday to you, sir um And from a person who got to stand next to it the bloggers breakfast and thought that was probably one

of the biggest deals ever in my life. Thank you so much, Keith, Thank you so much for reaching out. I remember very well that bloggers breakfast. In fact, I was just back in Scratton a few weeks ago and drove by the Hilton where that bloggers breakfast took place and pointed out the window. It was like, that's where we had the bloggers breakfast one morning at the convention.

I think the only time I've ever been in that building. Listen, it's it's truly moving to me to hear your story and I'm so glad that your experience with everybody was so positive. I remember that convention and subsequent to that the Rap party as being um one of the best experiences of the show. We felt a special bond with the people who had such a love for the show, and that traveled to Scranton, Pennsylvania. It sounds like from even for you not that close by to come and

spend some time with us. We had so much fun. You know, I referenced it again because it sticks with me. Andy Bernard at Helm's line, I wish I knew we were in the good old days while they were happening that convention there certainly in retrospect now, those those were the good old days. So thank you for reconnecting. I'm so glad that the office and the connection you made with so many of us helped you at that time in your life. It truly was our our pleasure. And yeah,

you bring up my space. That was our first attempt when the show struggling mightily to find a couple of audience members. That was our attempt to try to connect to people in a new and different way. Uh, And I'm glad to know that it, Um, it worked for you, so God bless my friend. Congratulations on your four kids and your new life now in Connecticut. But thank you for reminding me of of those good old days. Hi Brian,

Hi everybody minding this. Karen. I'm from Bloomington, Illinois. I just wanted to share with the really quick how The Office has really influenced my life and my family. UM. We quote it all the time. My boyfriend and I started our relationship watching The Office together and we'll be celebrating our four year anniversary. We quote the Office all

the time. It comes up in conversation. UM, and I was wondering if you'd, guys, have any of your favorite quotes come up all the time, or if you have any little bit to the Office that show up from time to time in your daily life. Have a happy holidays,

I Kara, thanks so much for your question. Uh, listen, I don't know at this point if there's a day that goes by that I don't say, that's what she said, I mean, And and when I'm when I'm in a public setting, it feels weird, just like self reference the show in that way. But yes, it has become I don't I don't even know if daily is right hourly thrice daily reference for me as well. And you know, look,

I spend a lot of time talking about Chili. I don't know that there's a specific quote on that, but yes, and there is a a giant text chain. Is that what you call it? Text chain? Text group text between me and some of my other cohorts on the show. And yeah, I would say that's what she said. Is I mean, I don't know that anyone can say anything it without referencing that's what she said. So thank you, Kara.

I'm glad things are going well for you. Congratulations on almost four years together, and thank you for your comments about the Office and how it has impacted your life. Hi, Ryan and Office steep Dive crew. Having looked back on all the episodes listened to and the few I have waiting for me, I am reminded of all the moments where you discuss how we as fans feel so connected with the cast and characters because you have become such crucial, crucial pieces to the good, the bad, and the ugly

moments of our lives. And if we are to believe that The Office is an experience of connecting and growing close with the fictional characters, over thousands of minutes of watching I do believe, which I do believe, then I believe The Office Steep Dive podcast is the experience of getting to know the humans behind the characters and the production, only to remember that the smartest, most brilliant show has already been made and there will almost definitely never be

anything better. I come away from each podcast episode with a greater gratitude for each and every human that work to start the show and keep it running for nine years, all those who fought to make it the best it could be. And not only is the gratitude for a show that brings my family and I together, but for the wonderful, creative, smart humans who made it worth watching more than seven times through except for Scott's taughts, because well,

I don't think I need to say why. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you to each and every one of you for not only creating the world's best show, but for being such kind and genuine people who made something so magical just by being yourselves. Nico,

thank you. Look that for me was the point in this podcast in bringing everybody back together, is for all of you to be able to hear what good people that I had the opportunity to work with for decade and to hear our real and true interactions together as we relived that decade of our life. Look, I'm not

a reporter. That much is very very clear, but I what I wanted you all to be able to experience was our conversation, not about the show in an objective way, in a third person presentational way, but I wanted you to have the experience of of reliving the show through us having been there and the fact that you appreciate so many of these people Nico, Um, well you're you're dead on. You're dead on, and so thank you for your comments, thank you for for watching it now over

seven times. I want you to know that you're appreciated and uh and you are beautiful as well. Hey, Brian, my name is Tyler b from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and I am just gonna leave a comment really quick on how The Office changed my life. First off, the show started, uh roughly in two thousand five, and at that time I was nine years old and I remember, you know, every Thursday night as a kid growing up with my dad watching the Office on NBC, and it was just

something that we always bonded together over uh. The special

thing about The Office was for me. Uh. I came out when I was twenty one years old as a gay man, and The Office Provided was one of the first shows on network television, if not the first one, I can't remember exactly, but that had some sort of character that resembled or represented a gay man in uh network television show, and that was an auso here obviously, and you know the comedy involved and uh as a kid knowing at a young age about my life and

you know, who I was, but keeping it closeted to myself, it was a very uh, very special thing to see.

And even though that was in my younger years, you know, just keeping that in the back of my mind that you know, maybe one day that things could be better and then you know, kind of living I fear that if somebody figured out who I was, um, how that was going to affect and change my life, And the offer the Office was really that comfort for me, you know, every time I watched an episode, especially the Gay witch Hunt,

which I laughed just about every single time. But I think growing up I always had that fear of you know, That's how my coming out experience was going to be like so I I just I always tried to I remember the day when I first told somebody about who I was. I always feared that my my experience was going to run similar to what Oscar had to go through in the Gay Witch. So uh, you know, things like that. That's that's how it changed my life, and it gave me a lot of hope. Thank you very much,

have a good one, Tyler. Thank you for calling in. I'm glad it didn't go that way for you. Look, there's so much to unpack in this beautiful story that you've told. First off, just I hear all the time, and this is an example of you know, you were nine, one could argue a little young, but um of kids watching with their parents, sisters and brothers and family enjoying the show together multi generationally, So that's cool to me.

Number one. And look, I don't know if The Office was the first show to show a gay character on network television, but I'm so tremendously proud of one on the show. And to Oscar Nuniez and and his performance. You know, he's talked about this a lot. He didn't realize that Oscar Martinez was gay when the show started. I don't know if Greg Daniels had that in his mind, but Oscar Nuniez did not know that Oscar Martinez was gay.

And so when Gay witch Hunt was written and it became clear that Oscar Martinez was gay, I guess there were some people that that asked Oscar, well, how are you going to play the character now that you know this? And his response was always, well, the same, this is Oscar is Oscar, and the fact that now other people know that he's gay doesn't affect Oscar's behavior at all. He is who he is and who he always has been.

And I'm tremendously proud of that because I think that it would be typical for an actor or for a show to start making broad stereotypical adjustments to character based on that and the fact that that story helped you or gave you hope for your future. I mean, it's

a cliche, but that's that's what I'm talking about. That's why I'm I'm proud of the show and what we at times tried to look at in the world, truth and beauty, Truth and beauty, Truth and beauty, as Greg Daniels would say, and whether it be race, gender, sexuality, issues of health care. We tried to look at real topics in a real way, not in a stereotypical or general life way. So Tyler, thank you for calling in.

Thank you for telling that story, and and if it is true and if it helped you in any way deal with your coming out, well, God bless you, and thank you for having the courage to to tell not just me, but all of our listeners all best, my friend. So look, I am just blown away by how many of you called in to be a part of this show. But more than that, how many of you called in from abroad. I mean the amount and number of countries that we heard from. I I I'm touched, to say

the least. Um, So I'd like to share some of those submissions with you right now. Let's let's go overseas for a bit, shall we across the pond? Brian is Cola from Oslo, Norway. Here. Hi, I'm Nail Martin. I'm from Ireland. My name is Laura Power. I am from Melbourne, Australia. Hi, Brian, this is Tom Elliott over in UK. At first, like everyone, of course, I fell in love with the characters. I love team at Love Pain, I love to act, I love you. I wish I could work at dunder Men.

I know everyone says that, but um, yeah, it is true. We all want to work at this magnificent office. I never get sick of watching the Office. I've watched it probably over twenty times back to front now, and I never get sick of talking about it. So I guess that leads me into my question for you, which is, do you think there will ever come a day where you just don't want to talk about the US anymore? My friends and family will be the first to tell

you that that won't come for me. That day won't come for me, But I'm curious to see if you think it will come for you. Well. First of all, thank you to Ulah, to Nile, Tom Ramiro, thank you Kanako, thank you for calling in. And now to answer your question, Laura, do I do I think there will ever come a day where I don't want to talk about the Office anymore? Tomorrow? How's that for an answer? Tomorrow I won't want to

talk about it anymore. Now. I don't know if tomorrow will ever come, but tomorrow I won't want to look I have as you know I have deep dovin into the show now for two years. We have the podcast, we have the book. I've talked to everybody associated with the show. I don't know that I ever answered the question that I set out to answer, which is why is the show now bigger than it ever was when it was on NBC? Why is it now the most watch show in television? The exploration has been pretty damn

fun though, So yeah, I'm gonna stop talking about it tomorrow. Hi, Brian and team. My name is Leam. I'm coming to you all the way from sunny Scotland, so I apologize if you can't understand my Dulca accent. I just wanted to say that I love the podcast. That's amazing a lesson all these global superstars in my eyes sort of talk about how brilliant their time was making the show. He don't all these mad, funny stories and hearing how class are hearing? How close to us will we? I'm

a massive fan of the U S Office. Um. I remember when it was first announced it was going to be remade, and I was one of these skeptics that you get in Scotland and the UK as a whole that they're remaking Son for America. This isn't gonna work. But I think that it's got its own identity, it's got its own fuel to um. The characters are completely different. And yeah, absolutely love it. But my question is where you expecting But obviously it didn't seem like you were

expecting it to be a big hit in America. But after it was a hit in America, were you also expecting it to be such a massive hit across the world and in particular places like Scotland and the rest of the UK. Thank you very much, Speak Tason Liam Liam from Scotland over across the part that is the worst Scottish accent in the world. I apologize to that, Liam, I mean no disrespect. Listen who No, we were not expecting it to be uh, we were not expecting it,

as you said, to be a hit here. Of course, we were not expecting it to be a hit abroad. And I think you know what's interesting because like you, yes, we were hearing that in the United States. By the way, like now, we do live in in a global world. So when all of the articles and people talking over in the UK about how this was a disastrous choice for America to be re redoing this show. Just know this.

We were we were hearing all of those things, okay, and they they were not uh, they were not fun. And in part it was because I thought that the original office, the British Office, the English off was genius, and that Ricky Gervais was a genius. And I loved the show. But as my great friend and partner Ben Silverman would say, if you were going to remake something, would you want to remake a piece of ship or would you want to remake a great piece of art?

I think he has a point there, and I think that the key for us was finding what was uniquely American about the show and what was also uniquely universal about the setup and the characters. So no, I was not. And I will tell you that I took a trip actually with Ben Silverman, not to Scotland, but based on

my knowledge of geography, fairly close down in Ireland. We were down in Cork and I remember going into a little pub with Ben in Cork and having a number of people who were sitting at the bar turn and look at me and acknowledge that they knew who I was from our little show from across upon and how surprised and and delighted both Ben and I were with that reception. So cheers mate, and uh I hope to see you there in Scotland soon, maybe on a golf course.

Hey Brian, this is Eve from some follow Brazil. My question for you guys is if you could go back in time and shoot one episode all over again, which one would you pick? Maybe because you had so much fun shooting it, or because you would do something different about the episode, or just because you want to go back to that specific point in time. So tell me

which one. Eve. That is a spectacular question. I have thought about this answer more than any other question I was asked, because yes one, there are so many different ways that I can go with this. I think that where my answer settles in this moment would be Jim and Pam's wedding Niagara. First off, it was a mess. Let me just say that the shooting of that episode was very, very difficult because, as we've discussed throughout the podcast, the writing was changing up until basically we shot it.

We were going very very late, long hours on that shoot. But I don't know the joy of that episode and shooting shooting that Chris Brown walking into the chapel. Seen that's where I go. I don't know. And and maybe it's now seeing clips on YouTube or montages that fans have put together that typically include that scene, the look on all of our faces, the culmination of that story, and the joy we had in shooting it, as difficult

as it was. If we shoot it again, I'd like it to be easier and not quite so many hours or late at night. But yeah, that for me is it. And you know, I've told this story as well to those of you who haven't heard it in that we actually shot at the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls, and my parents happened to be there in New York vacationing with some friends and went and saw John and Jenna and some of the their crew members, and they

appear in that episode. They are the couple that are walking right behind Jim and Pam as they get their rain gear to walk onto the boat. So maybe I want to go back and shoot that episode again because I wish I'd gone there. I think next time I would go there and be there with my folks while we shot that scene. So that's my answer today. Hi Brian, my name is Kristen. I'm from Prince George, British Columbia,

and I just wanted to send in this story. Two years ago, I gave birth to my son his The labor and delivery with his birth was quite traumatic, and I struggled with postpartum depression afterwards, and I was thinking about ways that I could boost my spirits, and I remembered a family member had told me when they were ruggling with depression, a counselor many decades ago had told them to um, listen to funny things, watch funny things, just to boost their spirits. I was like, oh, I

might as well try it. So I um was on my Netflix and looking through and my husband suggested that I watched The Office. He knows that I love Dinner Party, but um, he doesn't have the same love for Dinner Party as I do. So he said, oh, I don't care what you watch. If it's going to make you laugh, then you should watch it. So I turned it on and I probably watched Dinner Party every day for five months. Even in my lowest days, it could still bring a

smile to my face. And I'm just really grateful for those tiny moment mints of just happiness that the Office had brought me in those really dark days. And I'm fully recovered from the depression now, but I still um watched the Office diligently and I'm just very thankful for it. So thank you for going through and interviewing everyone. It's just been wonderful to listen to and hear new stories. So just thank you for the the joy you brought to my life. Kristen, thank you for sharing your story

with me and with all of us. I've said now many times that the greatest gift that the Office has given me is well stories like that. You know, we we truly felt we were just a bunch of idiots, and we were, let's be clear, a bunch of idiots trying to make people laugh. And when I hear stories like that that this show, this band of idiots have brought comfort during a difficult time, well it it truly well, it clearly takes my my words away and my breath away.

I thank you for sharing your story. I am so glad that we marry a bunch of idiots were able to give you some comfort in a difficult and dark time. And I give credit mostly to Greg Daniels about this because look, this was a comedy meant to make people laugh. They say laughter is the best medicine, right. But I think that the depth of the show, which were relates to the central message of the show that Greg explains very clearly with the last line of the show that

there's beauty and ordinary things. Isn't that kind of the point and that hope, that idea I think is um it is comforting, right, it is for me. So thank you for your courage to to want to tell me that story. Thank you for that because I consider that a gift to me. We all consider that a gift to all of us. So thank you. And yes, I'm glad.

I'm glad that you're better now and still watching Hello Office deep dive, I know I'm not alone in the world, and saying that The Office has truly helped me through life. I'm twenty three years old and I grew up in foster or care in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I've never truly felt like there's a lot of representation of youth and

care and TV. Some of the trauma and hardships that take place while growing up in the foster care system manifest resilient and unique individuals that sometimes have a difficulty fitting in and feel like they can't relate to their peers. It means the world to have a character out there that has some shread of resemblance to compare to the writing of Aaron's character, and Ellie's performance felt accurate to

my experience and truly made me feel seen. Thank you for all that you do on your podcast, and for carrying the essence of beauty and the small things throughout your podcast from the show, and for being part of a show that brought so many people comfort. Seanna, thank you for calling in. You know, there's a phrase that you used that I wrote down, resilient and unique individuals who sometimes have difficulty fitting in. And you talk about that in terms of children who have gone through the

foster care system. But isn't that all of us? In a way, the world has a way of making resilient and unique individuals who sometimes have difficulty fitting in. I don't think that I could have described many of the characters on The Office any better than that. And maybe that after two years of searching for the answer of why the show resonates with people, now, maybe that maybe that's the answer. People feel seen because these characters in

the office are seen. I don't know, but thank you, Shanna, thank you for calling in. Wow, incredible, Thank you all so much. It got a little emotional there for a bit, but I want to thank you all well for sharing your lives with me, with us really, and the fact that this show has reached so many people from so

many places around the world, It's just incredible. Look, I'm a I'm a kid from Georgia, That's who I am, and so to start there and to now just be casually talking to people from Scotland and Brazil and the UK, Argentina, it is a dream come true for me. The world truly is a small place. Thank you so much for making my holidays so special. I hope that this show

has done the same for you. Look, I hope this week that you get to spend some time with your loved ones, or if not, at least spend some time with your office family. Happy holidays to one and all of you. The Office. Deep Dive is hosted and executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside our executive producer Langley. Our producers are Liz Hayes and Diego Topi. On 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 Olandski