#The office season 8 episode 3 series#

TheyвЂ™re the only ones really still left watching, right? This is for them. John Krasinski said to me, вЂBrent, this final season is for the ultra fans of the show. вЂњWe had to pull the ripcord on it because it was so painful to the fans of the show. Forester recalls how Krasinski came to him and implored him to get Jim and Pam back together ASAP: As a result, they had to rework the entire storyline in the middle of the season. We used to love the angst with their relationship.вЂ™вЂќД«ut fan response to the Brian twist was intense to say the least, and the plotline didnвЂ™t play out the way the writers and producers were hoping. They just hang out together and thereвЂ™s no angst. I mean there are people who in season eight were like, вЂTheyвЂ™re so boring.

It was just to introduce worry in the audience, which I think happened. вЂњUltimately, I didnвЂ™t think it was about actually going there.

Writer Owen Ellickson says there was even some talk of Pam and Brian вЂњmaybe hooking up a little bit,вЂќ but Daniels says he never intended for their relationship to get that far: But we also were like, вЂIf we break the fourth wall in season five, it feels like that might be the last season for the show.вЂ™ So we kept putting that off.вЂќ What if that character had been secretly there the entire time and predated the relationship with Jim and had been a shoulder that she cried on for years?вЂ™ It just seemed very intriguing. The idea was to introduce some romantic triangle with Jim when they were such soul mates that you had to say, вЂHow could she possibly be interested in somebody else?вЂ™ You think to yourself, вЂWell, I wouldnвЂ™t believe it if I just was introduced to the character.вЂ™ You had to see it happening from scratch. I think Mindy was the first or one of the first champions of it. вЂњ was something that came up in season five, I think. A plan that Daniels said had been in the offing since Season 5: Warren Lieberstein, who was a writer on the series, remembers that this idea вЂњwasnвЂ™t universally lovedвЂќ in the writers room but Greg had the final say, so they began enacting this plan. And there was going to be a reunion episode where you see that Jim and Pam have split up by this time, and they will have their reunion in the reunion episode.вЂќ вЂњGreg really wanted to do something extremely risky and high-stakes, which was the documentary airs and we see what effect it has had on these characters.

#The office season 8 episode 3 series#

Writer Brent Forrester reveals that they set out to actually have Jim and Pam break up in the middle of the season, with the idea being that in the series finaleвЂ™s reunion episode, they would rekindle their relationship: And I said to Greg, вЂIt would be really interesting to see how that split will affect two people that you know so well.вЂ™вЂќ вЂњMy whole pitch to Greg was that weвЂ™ve done so much with Jim and Pam, and now, after marriage and kids, there was a bit of a lull there, I think, for them about what they wanted to doвЂ¦ For me it was, вЂCan you have this perfect relationship go through a split and keep it the same?вЂ™ which of course you canвЂ™t. Daniels sat down with all the actors before starting Season 9 to discuss where their characters would go, and Krasinski lobbied to put Jim and PamвЂ™s relationship on shaky ground.

The idea was to show the camera crew for the first time in the showвЂ™s final season, but an added twist here was that Brian (played by Chris Diamantopoulos) was actually secretly in love with Pam, and their relationship threatened to drive a wedge even further between Jim and Pam.ДЄnd if you think you hate the Brian storyline now, just wait until you hear about how the show was supposed to actually split Jim and Pam up entirely, only for the two to reconcile during the series finale.ДЄs recounted in Andy GreeneвЂ™s new book The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s, the idea of shaking up Jim and PamвЂ™s relationship came from creator Greg Daniels, who resumed his role as showrunner in Season 9 for the first time since Season 5, when he stopped working full-time on The Office to co-create Parks and Recreation with fellow Office writer Michael Schur. Indeed, the Brian storyline was insanely divisive.