‘The Office’ Star Angela Kinsey Talks Reuniting With Co-Stars on ‘Office Ladies’ Podcast (Exclusive)

It’s been a banner year for fans of The Office, as Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer, who starred on the award-winning NBC show as Angela Martin and Pam Beesly, have taken their off-screen friendship to headphones everywhere with Office Ladies, their hit podcast in which the actresses share behind-the-scenes moments and answer fan questions about every episode of the beloved show. Kinsey opened up to PopCulture about reminiscing with The Office cast and crew years later, calling reunions with her former co-stars one of the “biggest blessings,” especially while recording in quarantine.

“It’s just a delight,” Kinsey told PopCulture of launching the podcast with Fischer. “It combined two things for me — it combined my best friend and getting to talk all about a show that we love so much.” Every episode they record, Kinsey said she is “blown away” by The Office’s fans, who point out details that even she missed over the years. “No one knows the show better than the true fans,” she said. “They have really raised the game.”

Office Ladies has also given Kinsey and Fischer a chance to reunite (virtually) with some of their co-stars, including John Krasinski, Mindy Kaling, Creed Bratton and Rashida Jones, who join the episodes to share their recollections of filming years later. “That has been truly amazing and just one of the biggest gifts about this whole process,” Kinsey told PopCulture. “I have to really focus not to cry when I see them for the first time.”

While The Office cast has a group text that helps everyone keep in touch, physical distance and other obligations make it hard for the co-stars to reunite regularly, making the podcast recordings such a special experience for Kinsey. “When I see their faces … I’m so moved and so appreciative that these people are in my life.” Her relationship with Fischer, whom she calls a “badass boss lady,” has only deepened as well. “We have loved being business partners,” the Haters Back Off actress gushed, adding that while she wasn’t sure how another podcast from the duo would “manifest” after they finish recapping The Office, “We certainly are having a great time.”

Kinsey has also spent her time in quarantine attempting to keep her and husband Joshua Snyder’s children on-task when it comes to online schooling, which has given her an even greater appreciation for educators than she already had as the sister of a teacher. “Just their ability to keep their students engaged, wanting to learn and focused — I think that was the hardest thing for us,” she told PopCulture. “I feel like our teachers do it and make it fun; meanwhile, I was trying so hard to keep them engaged, and it wasn’t as fun.”

That’s why the actress has partnered with Staples for the launch of their second annual Thank A Teacher program, which gives parents and students a chance to recognize a teacher who has gone above and beyond to make a positive impact on their lives and allow 20 stand-out teachers to win $5,000 in Staples gift cards to stock up on supplies for their classroom, whatever that looks like this year. Parents and students can nominate their teachers through Sept. 26 by sharing their personal stories on Twitter or Instagram and tagging @StaplesStores and using #ThankATeacher and #contest or at staples.com/thankateacher.

Kinsey’s sister always has to go out of pocket for her classroom, she noted, which is why she’s so happy to be part of the “wonderful tradition” of honoring some of the people making a “lifelong impact” on kids. “Our teachers just need our support, they do,” she told PopCulture. “I want to nominate all teachers, they’re all so amazing!”

UPDATE 12/9/2020

2020 Thank A Teacher Program Winners include:

Erin A., Westlake Hills Elementary School (Westlake Village, CA)
Diane B., Hastings Middle School (Hastings, NE)
Monica C., Edwin M. Wells Middle School (Houston, TX)
Stephanie C., Oakfield-Alabama Elementary School (Oakfield, NY)
Vanessa C., Alvina Elementary School (Caruthers, CA)
Melanie C., Girls Prep Bronx Elementary (Bronx, NY)
Deni D., Edison Regional Gifted Center (Chicago, IL)
Andre E., JP McCaskey High School (Lancaster, PA)
Ashley F., Brushton-Moira Central School (Brushton, NY)
Leticia G., Clemente Martinez Elementary (Houston, TX)
Cory Anne H., Hawthorn School (Salem, IL)
Danielle H., Dr. Owen L. Knox Elementary (Los Angeles, CA)
Peter M., Central Dauphin Middle School (Harrisburg, PA)
Shona M., Trinity Christian School (Concord, NH)
Sarah N., Saddlewood Elementary School (Albany, NY)
Jenna P., Oak Street Elementary (Franklin, MA)
Melissa R., Fontana High School (Fontana, CA)
Stephanie R., Academy of Excellence South (Milwaukee, WI)
Todd S., Quakertown Community School (Quakertown, PA)
Melanie T., Trenton’s Ninth Grade Academy (Trenton, NJ)

For more on their individual stories, visit staplesconnect.com/learning.