Jim and Pam’s endearing relationship on The Office was a huge part of the iconic sitcom, but actor John Krasinski recently revealed that he refused to film one proposed scene out of fear it would betray the characters. In Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office, a new book by series actor Brian Baumgartner — who played Kevin Malone — Krasinski shared that Office creator Greg Daniels pitched a scene wherein Jim (Krasinski) would cheat on Pam (Jenna Fischer) by kissing Cathy (Lindsey Broad). Cathy was Pam’s temporary replacement when she went on maternity leave in Season 8 of the NBC comedy.
“That’s the only time I remember putting my foot down,” Krasinksi told Baumgartner, in an excerpt from the book, as reported by The Wrap. “I remember saying things that I never thought I’d say before, like, ‘I’m not going to shoot it.’” Krasinski added, “There is a threshold with which you can push our audience. They are so dedicated. We have shown such great respect to them. But there’s a moment where if you push them too far, they’ll never come back. And I think that if you show Jim cheating, they’ll never come back.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
While he felt this specific direction was too far, Krasinski did believe it was possible to create conflict that would propel character development. This ultimately came in the form of Pam having an emotional connection to Brian the boom guy (Chris Diamantopoulos) in Season 9. “I said, ‘I think we should get borderline separated, and I think we can do it and then come back,’” Krasinski explained. “He was so on board with that.”
Reflecting on the decision to have Jim and Pam experience a rough patch in their relationship, Daniels added, “I feel like that kind of worry was good in terms of the fans’ engagement. I think they knew what was coming.” He went on to say, “They were very comfortable with the show they were getting, and I needed to worry them that maybe I was going to give them a bad ending so they were happy when they got a good ending.” Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office was released on Tuesday. It features a multitude of interviews that are taken from interviews Baumgartner did for his podcast, An Oral History of The Office. Fans can also rewatch the whole series anytime on Peacock.
