r/DunderMifflin • u/Temporary_Ad9362 • 3d ago
Just listened to some Office Ladies podcast episodes and thought…
Please don’t jump me. The general commentary is that it’s bland with irrelevant deep dives, but what also puts me off of it is the fact that it seems like sometimes they… don’t get why the office is funny? Like of course they know it’s a funny show, but at times I don’t even feel like they “get” the humor and the core appeal of the show.
Like, when Jenna talks about the healthcare episode, and how at the end when Michael just stands there after claiming he had a surprise for them, that she thinks the scene was just awkward and long for television and might not make the cut to the final episode. For ppl who like the office’s humor, that scene is simply hilarious—the show at its MOST hilarious, actually. One of the first few scenes that truly hooked me on the show. She didn’t say anything about it being funny, just that it was weird. Suggesting not having that scene is sort of like not understanding what makes this show funny, idk.
And also, skipping over the “offensive” humor or ignorant jokes & basically acting like they don’t exist, also gives me that impression as well that they don’t “get” them and the ironic style of them in the way I would’ve thought they would, seeing as they played their characters amazingly. Does anyone have any similar thoughts? No attacking pls
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u/heavyd52001 3d ago
Having the writers doing a re-watch podcast would be so much better.
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u/SuperbDonut2112 3d ago
It’s why the Always Sunny podcast is so good. The guys in the show also made and write it. Actors (no offense to Jenna, Angela or actors in general) aren’t very interesting. Writers are.
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u/RoderickThe13 Fool me twice... strike three. 3d ago
I liked the Always Sunny podcast, but that one was the worst case of "Let's talk about the show for 5 minutes, and about completely unrelated stuff for an hour". They even had episodes in which they didn't talk about the show at all, just because they got off-track. Still enjoyable, because the guys are funny, but as a rewatch podcast it was very inconsistent.
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u/Swampfoxxxxx 3d ago
I loved the ep where they all got drunk in Rob's cabin-den room.
And he wasnt terrible insightful but having Lin-Manuel on the musical ep was a pretty cool flex.
I stopped watching when they started doing in-podcast ads. They already seemed to be diverting from talking about the eps relatively quickly at that point.
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u/jacobartillery 3d ago
"The gang browns out" is one of my favorite podcast episodes of all time. Give Charlie an instrument and let the man cook.
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u/SuperbDonut2112 3d ago
Still miles better than the Scrubs one Zack and Donald did. Unlistenable.
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u/IHateTheLetterF 3d ago
That just made no sense. Every episode they are talking about current events that have nothing to do with the show. Listening to the episodes 4 years later, that whole segment is pointless.
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u/srcarruth 3d ago
I'm sure the producer and engineer are nice people but I didn't listen to a Scrubs podcast to hear about them!
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u/mymumthinksimpunny 3d ago
Totally agree with you. I stopped listening early on when they had a writer of the show on the podcast, but that writer was like hahahaha I don’t remember anything! What a waste of time.
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u/sililil 3d ago
My favorite show has a podcast with one of the writers (of the original books AND of the show) and one of the actors. Hearing the writer explain things to the actor is downright hilarious.
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u/FrstOfHsName 3d ago
Really? I though their pod was terrible imo and I love that show, the guys weren’t interested in talking about the episodes hardly at all lol
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u/wordnerdette 3d ago
Yes and no. The Parks and Rec podcast has an actor and a writer and I think that’s the best mix. You get both perspectives. Only writers and you miss out on some of the on-set shenanigans.
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u/SarcasticGamer 3d ago edited 3d ago
No it won't. Go listen to Parks and Recollection. Jim O'Heir hosts it with one of the writers and the writer is an absolute douche bag with a holier than thou complex. Jim would love nothing else but to talk about the behind the scenes moments as Jerry and what it was like filming the iconic scenes but the writer strictly wants to talk about the episode itself and nothing else and it gets fucking annoying really fast. The best episodes are when they have guests on because the douchebag writer can't tell the guest to move it along but when it's just the two of them then the podcast is so goddamn boring. They even made a segment called Jim's crap where they give him a literal minute to talk about stuff before moving it along, as if podcasts have some kind of time limit. Sure Jenna and Angela go on tangents but they at least talk about interesting stuff that went on into actually making the show. Parks and Recollection could be hosted by 2 random fans who were picked up off the street the morning of and it would get the same point across. I hate it.
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u/ForAlgalord 3d ago
My thoughts exactly and why I have avoided the podcast altogether. There's just only so much you can talk about without the writers' perspective before things get redundant or irrelevant. I don't blame them for trying to capitalize on the show's success given their lack of work since, but 🤷♀️ I'd rather hear from the writers or even directors.
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u/Acminvan 3d ago
But you do hear from the writers and directors. Jenna and Angela frequently share audio or written feedback and thoughts from them about the episode.
I don't really get why people are all trying to make the podcast into something it's not and I don't really understand all the little digs people have throw in all the time (they're just trying to "capitalize on the show's success given their lack of work")
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u/benttwig33 3d ago
Especially when both of them have been in movies and written a book since lol. They are multi-millionaires even if they never worked again.
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u/DirkNowitzkisWife 3d ago
Yeah, no offense to them but there’s a reason it’s not Steve, John, Rainn, Ed, BJ, Mindy, or Ellie doing it.
Same reason why Bryan Baumgartner has done his book (which is good!) and other things. Nothing wrong with cashing in on a beloved show that you were a supporting character for
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u/Acminvan 3d ago
The writers are more than welcome to do that if they want, even though there are dozens of different writers that have written episodes over the years plus others that contributed ideas in the "writers room" even if not credited for the episode. So, not sure who would host that
This is the type of podcast in the type of format that Jenna and Angela wanted to do, and it's been a top rated podcast for 5 years now.
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u/sxzcsu 3d ago
Have you ever suffered through the writers room podcast for And Just Like That? It’s absolutely torture to listen to. Just Michael Patrick King & the rest of the writers kissing each other’s asses talking about how hilarious and talented they all are. I’m not sure I’d like to go there, especially if it includes Mindy Kaling.
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u/multiinstrumentalism 3d ago
We got so tired of the “was that line improvised?” question we had to stop listening all together.
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u/colieolieravioli 3d ago
Honestly that question is just as much on the audience. They're the ones writing in!
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u/beanie0911 3d ago
Yes but I have to imagine they got thousands of interesting questions from fans… but always seemed to select the basic ones that simply moved the podcast episode along. “Was that on location or green screen?” “Was that a real Sharpie?” “Did Steve actually eat the pie?”
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u/livwritesstuff 3d ago
The way they respond to it every time is so funny too.
“Bill from Toledo wants to know, was this line improvised? And the truth is…(gasps) no!” like they think we’ll be surprised after the same answer to the same question fifty times.
I’m a fan of the pod, but this always seems silly to me. Just ignore those questions at that point.
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u/IHateTheLetterF 3d ago
'Meredith getting hit by the car. Was that improvised by Steve on the day?'
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u/Misdirected_Colors 3d ago
"It was improvised!" But in a much more real sense it was just the editors favorite of a ton of alternate takes.
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u/xBobSacamanox 3d ago
I listened to about 4 seasons worth, but every episode was the same. There’s only so many locations breakdowns I can take
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u/moesbeard 3d ago
I was ump-teen episodes deep and TRYING to like it but when they opened a show and talked about Target for 28 minutes I decided the podcast wasn't for me. It's more of a middle aged white lady podcast rather than a The Office pod cast.
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u/Wellgoodmornin 3d ago
I've never listened but that's absolutely hilarious. On some level they are just your average every day suburban moms.
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u/05110909 3d ago
For me it was Angela CONSTANTLY interrupting Jenna just to repeat her exact words back to her. It's some sort of bizarre verbal tic and it drives me crazy.
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u/Mrs_Feather_Bottom 3d ago
I am a middle age white lady who admittedly likes this podcast so I am biased, but I can guarantee you that there is no episode that starts with them talking about Target for 28 minutes
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u/Markus_314 2d ago
Are you sure that wasn’t just an ad? Because they have had ads for Target before
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u/DCNumberNerd 3d ago
I think for some discussions they're simply trying to give insider info - as in, viewers may not know that TV networks would usually never allow that much dead-air. For why they skip over the most offensive parts of the show - I get it, I'm the same demographic as the two hosts and there are parts of the show that absolutely aren't my taste. I think MoesBeard is right, the podcast is probably more enjoyed by middle aged women.
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u/the-peregrina 3d ago
Yeah, this was almost certainly not Fischer saying she didn't get it, but that they were surprised the network let them do it because they usually wouldn't think the audience would find it funny.
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u/NYY15TM I don't technically have a hearing problem 21h ago
For why they skip over the most offensive parts of the show
I think that they realize that the bounds of humor have changed in 15 years. If they verbally agree with an offensive joke they risk approbation but if they make a point of saying that a joke isn't funny they come across as scolds. The best solution is selective hearing.
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u/OutaTime76 3d ago
As the podcast goes on, they share a lot more insider tidbits as they started finding them. They've talked about redoing the first couple of seasons once they're finished with this run so they can share some of the new things they've gathered over the years.
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u/First_Time_Cal 3d ago
That would be interesting to give another go. I wasn't too happy with it initially and didn't move on to more episodes. With a redo I would be willing to give it another chance. Sounds like they're aware the early stuff wasn't as good as what they put out in later episodes.
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u/NYY15TM I don't technically have a hearing problem 21h ago
They've talked about redoing the first couple of seasons once they're finished with this run so they can share some of the new things they've gathered over the years.
Also, neither of them seem to be able to find work so they need to milk this cow for as long as they can
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u/Express-Olive6547 and I never got caught neitha 3d ago
Aww. As a big fan of the podcast, waiting every Wednesday for the newest episode to drop since 2019, this thread kinda breaks my heart! 😂 I didn’t expect to see so many people disliking it in the comments!
I actually do understand some of the reasons being posted here. But it’s just my comfort show - both tv and podcast :)
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u/Thneed1 3d ago
It’s still like one of the top 20 podcasts in the world. A lot of people like it just fine.
I think it’s hilarious when they are off topic.
Listening to two friends chatting with each other is fun.
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u/NalgeneCarrier 3d ago
I love most of their deep dives!! I've only skipped one and that was this week's Oxford comma. I just felt like we waited soooo long for an episode breakdown and they talked about that before any episode stuff really.
I love the show and I love the actors. Listening to two actors who met and became best friends on a show is fantastic!
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u/Express-Olive6547 and I never got caught neitha 3d ago
Totally agree with you! It’s fun, easy and light-hearted :) I relisten to old episodes all the time
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u/kevinhill92 2d ago
I had never listened to the podcast, but top 20 felt hard to believe for me so I went and looked at the Spotify charts. It's 194th.
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u/mofa90277 3d ago
I enjoy it immensely, and I love the behind-the-scene anecdotes. I like their irl relationship.
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u/StunningLeopard2429 3d ago
I absolutely love it. Hearing Angela and Jenna together makes my Wednesday.
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u/Enty-Ann 3d ago edited 3d ago
I love it, and I love them.
I just like the way they structure it. Sure, they go on tangents but they have a fixed frame for each episode with fast facts at the top, then an interview if there's a guest and then actually going through the episode pretty much scene by scene. I've tried listening to other rewatch podcasts where the hosts barely touch on the episode and just talk about random things. I think it was the Charmed rewatch where one of the hosts said he didn't even watch the episode they were supposed to be talking about🤷🏼♀️
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u/LemonCitron47 3d ago
I love it too. They are very relatable and it's like listening to friends talk.
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u/Markus_314 2d ago
I love The Office Ladies too! My Spotify wrapped told me that I listened to 500 hours of it last year
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u/Express-Olive6547 and I never got caught neitha 2d ago
Omg that’s almost 1,5 hours per day! Love this!!!
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u/Dizzzle13 I feel God in this Chili's tonight 3d ago
Same, it's my favorite podcast. I love their rants, deep-dives, digital clutter, all of it! And they still do such a good job getting interesting information from other cast and crew. I've tried other re-watch podcasts for shows I like and they don't even come close to this one.
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u/-FlyingAce- 2d ago
I love it and it annoys me to see some of the criticism, but you have to remember that there are way more people that like it than dislike it - the minority are always more vocal!
I love their deep dives and random off topic chats, that’s what makes it entertaining for me!
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u/Sad_Anything_3273 2d ago
I feel the same! But admittedly, I fit the demographics ppl are mentioning.
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u/gothands06 3d ago
Seems like a number of these type of podcasts flame out quickly. I was ok with office ladies early on but they quickly shifted to these rants and side stories that didn’t relate much to the show.Similar happens to the always sunny podcast. They keep giving less and less about the show and more about their own lives and gripes.
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u/RealSpritanium 3d ago
Anybody who does anything now thinks they automatically have Kevin Smith's podcasting powers. It turns out most celebrities aren't very interesting when they're just rattling off about rich hollywood problems
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u/NYY15TM I don't technically have a hearing problem 21h ago
they automatically have Kevin Smith's podcasting powers
It's funny that you mention him. When SModCast was brand new I literally never missed an episode. Then Zack and Miri Make a Porno came out and tanked. Smith quickly fell into self-loathing and self-medicating via marijuana. I stopped listening shortly after that.
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u/NalgeneCarrier 3d ago
I think something like The Office suffers from the set. There are 201 Office episodes, so there are some episodes that don't have that much to talk about! The proposal scenes or any requiring stunts are interesting to hear how they were staged, but that only happens every once in a while.
I love hearing about getting rights to songs and the standards and practices stuff, but again the show runners and producers knew what to expect and how to run smoothly. When an episode takes places entirely, or mostly, they don't really have anything new to talk about.
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u/05110909 3d ago
I gave up on the Always Sunny podcast when it was just them deliberately avoiding talking about the show or, Alternatively, constantly apologizing for being hilarious.
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u/SereneDreams03 3d ago edited 3d ago
For ppl who like the office’s humor, that scene is simply hilarious—the show at its MOST hilarious, actually.
The thing about the office that I enjoy is that it has many different types of humor. Maybe that scene is what you found most hilarious, but for me, it was Jim's pranks that really hooked me into the show and the great writing and characters that kept me coming back.
I actually avoided watching the show for years because my first couple attempts to watch it, I was always turned off by Michael's cringy awkwardness. It wasn't until seeing clips of Jim's pranks that I finally pushed through the way Michael was in that first season and then I was really able to enjoy the show.
I've come to appreciate those awkard and cringy moments more after rewatches, but I still don't consider them the funniest or best parts of the show.
I wouldn't say I have the same taste in comedy as Jenna and Angela, but I do enjoy hearing their perspective on things. They are pretty entertaining, and the podcast is well structured with some good guests to give their perspective.
The always sunny podcast is the only other show podcast I listen to, and I would say that one is definitely funnier, and they talk a lot more about the jokes than The Office Ladies do. They are not nearly as organized, though, and do not spend as much time talking about the actual episode.
I enjoy both pods, but I think no matter what, they are always going to leave you wanting a bit more. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
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u/SereneDreams03 2d ago
As I said, the always sunny podcast is the only other podcast about a show I've listened to, so it is literally my only point of comparison.
I agree that the Office Ladies is objectively better in a lot of ways and definitely reveals more about the shows production.
I did still like the always sunny pod, though. Those guys are hilarious, and I miss hearing them ramble on about the random things while occasionally spending a few minutes to talk about an episode each week. 😁
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u/Kmiarcslteeoedn 3d ago
I really enjoy the podcast but I have to agree. There's sometimes I'm yelling "That's the joke!" at them while they're talking. The one that comes to mind (it's not the most egregious example but just the one I can remember now)
In the show (paraphrasing cause I can't be bothered to look up exact dialogue) David: Send that to me Monday morning Michael: I will send it to you on Sunday David: okay... I'm not going to look at it until Monday Michael: Woah slow down! I'm going to put it in the post Sunday. You won't get it till Wednesday.
On the podcast Angela: Shouldn't he email it?
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u/Blastoise_R_Us "Scranton, y before that, La Philadelphia." 3d ago
Every person who writes to Office Ladies to ask if a scene was scripted or improvised deserves to be placed in a penal colony.
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u/HotSpicyTaco999 3d ago
It’s generally interesting to hear what lines or scenes were improvised, but the premise of “taking a listener’s question” only for the question to be if a specific line was improvised is infuriating, the answer 98% of the time is that the line was scripted.
Take more interesting listener questions, and just tell us if a particularly funny scene was improvised.
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u/RoderickThe13 Fool me twice... strike three. 3d ago
I think a lot of people who hate on this podcast just probably don't like rewatch podcasts in general. I've listened to a bunch of them, and I actually think Office Ladies is one of the best, if not the best, because the hosts are pretty close with all of the crew, which is why they have a lot of guests and voicemails from the other cast and people who worked on the show. Every episode they contact like at least six people that worked on that episode to ask them random questions that they or the fans had. That's a great amount of diligence for something like this. In most other rewatch podcasts, even when you have the actors or the writers hosting it, they'll be like "I wonder how they filmed this scene... Oh well, moving on", and that's how deep they go into it. They also got a lot better at podcasting over the course of it, so maybe a lot of your problems were from early on when they were going through season 1, but I can't confirm that.
I also like that Jenna and Angela are willing to criticize the show. I was worried at the beginning that they'd act as if the entire show was a masterpiece, but we all know that's not the case. They always mention when they didn't like a certain plot or storyline, and even then I think they're way too generous with other parts of the show that I'd criticize.
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u/Feefait 3d ago
They've only had about 3 criticisms in 8 seasons. They seem to just be ignoring the nonsense in S9. This is not an honest, critical assessment podcast.
*They praised the dump! Lol"
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u/RoderickThe13 Fool me twice... strike three. 3d ago
That's not my impression at all. They've repeatedly talked about how neither of them likes the Brian boom guy plot of season 9. They also didn't like the Erin and Andy pairing, plus a bunch of episodes in which they mentioned how they didn't like one or more of the especific plots. But of course their overall opinion of the show is positive. And even when they don't like something, it's not a thing that can be attributed to one person, like an actor's performance. Which is understandable, because they're friends.
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u/Murakami241 3d ago
The Scrubs one by Zach Braff and Donald Faison is good. Fake Doctors, Real Friends I think it’s called. Gave me similar vibes to The Office Ladies.
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u/TheHow55 3d ago
when making a list of celebrities who are 'passionately hated by the internet in way that is so overblown in comparison to what the celebrity has ever actually done or said'.. Jenna Fischer has to be near the top of the list. The pure venom ive seen spewed NONSTOP on r/OfficeLadiesPodcast since the literal first episode is truly unhinged, even more so when its the same people every single week, for literal years.
Ive enjoyed the podcast since the beginning and hope they find success with whatever they do once the rewatch is done! its a fun little show i enjoy while working and/or walking the dogs, and if its not your thing, thats also totally fine, but the hatred is so odd to me
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u/Dragon_Tea_Leaf 3d ago
Seemingly no one hates the podcast and hosts more than that subreddit, they’re seriously obnoxious over there about it. Jenna dares to every once in a while give an extremely mild feminist take and people lose their minds. Their hatred towards her is so gross.
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u/TheHow55 3d ago
your comment made me run a list in my head of the podcasts i listen to and the relationship the reddit community has with it, and off the top of my head it seems like if its purely a comedy podcast (comedy bang bang + CBB world shows, how did this get made, never not funny, JRVP, and a few others) then the people on the subreddit seem to be genuine fans and enjoy the output and share the fun they have with shows.... its when the show is specifically about something is when i notice the fans are highly negative and mean spirited (office ladies - the office , bill simmons/ the ringer - sports, pod save america - politics)
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u/whatthewhat3214 3d ago
I haven't listened to the podcast just bc I'm not a podcast person, but what in the world is wrong with people that if they hate it, they listen to it anyway? Just so they can go online and spew hate afterward and get some sort of rush of power, as if those women even know they exist? Yeah, I know, it's the internet, but these people must have pretty sad lives if they waste their time listening to something they hate just to get a charge off of going online to tear perfectly nice people down who they don't even know. As if these ladies are committing some kind of personal offense against them.
Sounds like if Jenna isn't even allowed to stand for women in a mild way, as you say, maybe there's some incels in that sub. I just don't get living life in outrage over things that don't even affect your life, like a celebrity podcast, and that you don't have to indulge in. Just go do something productive or that you do enjoy with your time - oh wait, for some reason people enjoy hating on other people they don't even know. So weird.
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u/Bluejay_Junior17 3d ago
I listened to the podcast when it first came out for the first couple seasons, maybe. The long ads got annoying quickly and they spent too much time talking about anything but the show. I really like Angela, but Jenna came across as kind of mean and snobby. She was always very dismissive of any interests that Angela had that she didn't. Like Sci-fi and fantasy. She became a little insufferable to me.
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u/Groundbreaking_Ad613 3d ago
Yeah, I tried. I do like some things about it, but I hate that they go on so many tangents that don't matter. I listen to it to hear inside stuff about the show, not random in-depth tangents about their friendship or whatever. So, yeah. Sometimes I'll look for certain episodes and listen to those, but generally, it's not for me.
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u/AtlasShrugged- its either pine or nordic cherry 3d ago
I listened pretty hardcore for while but between the repeat shows, weird deep dives and “fakey “ ( they never say prop or even fake, it’s always “fakey”) I am on a break. Lots of other podcasts :)
I’m glad they are doing it, glad it’s successful, I’m sure I’ll jump back in but not just yet.
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u/Shortcoolcloud 3d ago
I was so excited for this podcast and enjoyed it at first. But it got so repetitive and the deep dives drove me crazy. I feel like they missed the mark of what fans wanted.
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u/mofa90277 3d ago
They’re a mom & mom podcast; this is their perspective only. I love it for what it is, though it’s obviously limited by their perspective and intent. They want a family friendly podcast above all, and they focus on culture and BTS stuff. I love their cute anecdotes (e.g., Jenna and Kate Flannery creating a whole back story & fake work flow so that when they were in the background, they’d be sorting nonsensical records and bitching about Dunder Mifflin corporate managers), and I accept that when BJ Novak guests, he dials himself back to fit the family friendly vibe.
I think it would be great to have Novak, Mindy Kaling & Paul Lieberstein start a “here’s what we were really thinking” podcast from the writers’ perspectives, but Jenna & Angela were the ones with the time & inclination to do a full podcast series aimed at a mass audience. I’m basically happy that we have anything, as it’s more a labor of love than anything else.
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u/Depeche_Mood82 3d ago
They are nice ladies but it’s a very milquetoast podcast. Maybe they’re too close to their characters and can’t see the show as a whole. Hearing their opinions makes me see that their sense of humor is as bland as Pam’s motel art. Also, they shriek at the top of their lungs when they are excited. It blows out my speakers. And it’s always excitement about something mundane like finding the perfect throw pillows on sale.
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u/ResidentialEvil2016 3d ago
I think the podcast is fine for what it is. I like some of the stories and all they bring. If I had a criticism, I think they have been way too easy on the final 2 seasons and some of the writing. In the past they have have been pretty honest about some of the writing and how it wasn't great. But I've felt like once they got into Seasons 8 and 9 they've kind of just glossed over things.
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u/truckerslife 3d ago
I’m pretty sure peacock started back door sponsoring them about s3 if you listen you can hear them change tone about some stuff.
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u/nljgcj72317 3d ago
I listen to them as if they’re an audial version “Pop-up Video” for The Office. Only expecting pleasant conversation about the making of the show with random fun facts studded in.
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u/ravenrabit 3d ago
I haven't listened in a long time.
I kind of got overly annoyed that they didn't know the cat Andy gave to Angela was the cat Dwight had tried to give to her earlier. They corrected themselves but bc it was a bit I always loved, it annoyed me lol.
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u/JcThomas556 3d ago
I couldn't get into their podcast. They don't seem to understand the show. They confidently misremember bits of it and make statements that I thing conflict with material. And they frequently go on unrelated tangents for way too long. I'm glad others like it but it's not at all for me.
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u/Ok-Comedian-4571 3d ago
I tried to listen to some episodes but I just find both the ladies’ voices too grating on the ear. It’s a shame, as they have some useful information and insights on episodes.
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u/Bake-Full 3d ago
Yeah it's at best the most milquetoast meandering through the episodes with an occasional tiny morsel of something interesting. Early on they said Rainn was driven crazy by their constant talking about nothing and he nailed it. It's like hearing Yeardley Smith on a Simpsons commentary and realizing she really didn't understand a lot of the humor.
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u/juliosnoop1717 3d ago
Jenna makes it clear on numerous occasions that she has little understanding of what a real office job would be like, and that kind of annoys the hell out of me.
In the Search Committee episode, there’s the Will Arnett character interviewing for manager. He has the master plan he refuses to reveal except for “color code said document. TM.” Lol. And Jenna’s reaction to this is basicaly “that’s a real thing! In Hollywood if you pitch your story idea to a producer they might steal it! So I totally get why he didn’t want to shared anything!”
A plan for paper company profitability isn’t a show pitch. You’d want to actually lay out a plan and how you’d execute it given your experience and skills. It’s not some grand secret that anyone could use to strike gold in the manager’s chair. Jenna not getting this was totally bizarre to me.
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u/StaticCloud 3d ago
I imagine they skip over offensive jokes because of censorship or the fact they're far less acceptable now, rather than "not getting them"
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u/Temporary_Ad9362 3d ago
im gen z, and the office is incredibly popular with gen z. the humor is for the most part largely acceptable with the current newer generation in my experience, bc we understand that 95% of the jokes are making fun of ignorance or being ironic. which is why i dont understand the ladies skrrting around them so timidly
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u/Acminvan 3d ago
I don't think they need to comment on every joke or every line in the script, when you add in interviews, questions, behind the scenes discussions about specific scenes, there just isn't time, whether or not they are actively avoiding it.
For example Packer's homophobic jokes or Michael's Chinese "Ping" impression are examples from the show that wouldn't be acceptable today. But as they are also not really relevant to the episode, they either didn't have the time or interest to talk about minor details like that.
Maybe they don't want to throw the writers, many of whom they are still friends with, under the bus by criticizing humor that the ladies both find unacceptable in 2024.
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u/annaplantain 3d ago
I felt disappointed that they eventually ignored those kinds of jokes but I realized I’m not interested in what Jenna and Angela have to say about them. I’m not sure we need their perspective. When they did discuss the more offensive jokes in the beginning you could tell it was awkward for them. I’d rather hear from the writers or Ricky + Stephen.
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u/StaticCloud 3d ago
I'm pretty lefty millennial myself, but the Office is still acceptable to me for the same reasons. However, openly talking about those types of jokes is more frowned upon publicly now. 2000s were so much different compared to 2020s when it comes to social acceptance. The Podcaster I assume are not stand ups, maybe it takes major guts and lawyers to risk offending people like that.
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u/Temporary_Ad9362 3d ago
Okay, yeah I see what you’re saying. I guess I can definitely say being perfectly careful with your words is like walking on a minefield these days as a public figure, which is weird with the fact that shows like the office, rick & morty, the boys etc are so popular with the new gen
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u/hipSTARobot 3d ago
Podcast isn’t good imo.. quick cash grab for them jumping in when the office was somewhat revived by streaming.. great actors! But yeh have to agree.. I don’t think they get the show either.. also.. side note, i joined their fb group when I first started to listen to them.. wanted to ask a question.. but was denied because they thought it was being negative.. which leads me to think they can’t take any criticism.. I get it, you’d want to be to positive all the time, but that’s just not reality.. they can stay in their little bland bubble all they want lol
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u/Individual-Media-510 3d ago
I like the office, it’s a great show. But the office ladies podcast is (in my opinion) not good. They really like to pat themselves on the back too much for my liking. And you know what? I don’t care about “that little sticky note” on someone’s desk. The “fast facts” don’t really make sense since they ramble on and on about them sometimes. I tried to like the podcast, but I just can’t seem to not be annoyed when I listen 😂
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u/GetRealPrimrose 3d ago
I never hear people bitch about an optional podcast as I do with the office ladies on this sub
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u/Acminvan 3d ago
When it comes to the podcast, this and r/OfficeLadiesPodcast are incredibly nitpicky and whiny. Nothing they do is good enough. It's an entirely free and voluntary-to-listen-to podcast yet seems people continue to listen mainly for the purpose of complaining about it.
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u/estedavis 3d ago
For real though. Jenna and Angela are giving us a podcast, which is more than anyone else is doing, and people hate on it so hard lol
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u/Teheheman Hippity Hoppity, gimmie the zoppity 3d ago
The concept is interesting, in that these are 2 people from the show reliving their experience on the set and telling stories from when they were on, and some of the stuff like the research they do for the show, like talking to the writers, actors and behind the scenes crew for specific things they did for a specific episode as opposed to an episode talking to them about their overall experience is really good Also, some of their deep dives aren't bad, as in I never would have thought to look that up but I'm glad I don't have to kinda stuff. What I'm saying is that their research department is really good.
However, sometimes they go off on tangents that take you out of it, and the thing that bothers me most of all is when they do an interview with someone. They say "Oh we had a fun chat with ________. Let's take a break, and we'll get to it, " and I know they gotta pay the bills with commercials, but dude you JUST started the episode. You're 90 seconds in, including the fricken intro. Just play the start of the interview, and about 5 minutes in, you can have your commercials. You don't need to start the fricken episode and then go into a commercial that takes longer than you introing the interview you're doing.
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u/DezineTwoOhNine 3d ago
It's just something Jenna and Angela did to keep themselves relevant. The animation is pretty fun to look at. I've enjoyed Rainn Wilson's podcast more
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u/Stardatara 3d ago
she thinks the scene was just awkward and long for television and might not make the cut to the final episode
You completely missed what she was saying on that. She was saying how that kind of dead air time was almost never allowed on network TV before the office. The show was a trailblazer for that type of humor.
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u/Taken_Abroad_Book 2d ago
In this day and age of course they'll ignore any potential contraversial jokes.
Why would a celeb want to say they liked a certain joke about something spicy?
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u/Temporary_Ad9362 2d ago
“Michael gave Kelly the Spicy Curry Award, and that’s so hilariously stupid since there’s no real explanation of what that even means and is clearly only given to her because she’s the only Indian in the office. This is classic Michael Scott ignorance where he’s genuinely oblivious to how out of pocket he is and watching everyone roll their eyes at him is funny.”
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u/strawberrdies 2d ago
I was the biggest Office fan until I tortured myself with this podcast. I haven't been able to watch it since.
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u/Double-Ad-9621 FEAR 2d ago
I think you’re right — they aren’t the people who would have written the office! They don’t understand for instance that in the “Boys and Girls” episode, BJ Novak was writing a prescient satire of GirlBossery, and instead say some BS about how “women are the hardest on other women, I wonder if BJ knew that when he wrote this” like of course he did, and you two are so GirlBossy you can’t see it. Jenna also says “homosexual slur” when talking about Gay Witch Hunt not “homophobic slur” which I know is just a slip up but feels like an accurate summary of their limited understanding of what was “offensive.”
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u/saltthewater Michael 2d ago
And also, skipping over the “offensive” humor or ignorant jokes & basically acting like they don’t exist, also gives me that impression as well that they don’t “get” them and the ironic style of them in the way I would’ve thought they would, seeing as they played their characters amazingly.
This is basically why i stopped listening to their podcast. I'm sorry, but Michael not knowing which benihana waitress is which is hilarious. It played then and it would play now.
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u/aStonedTargaryen i am beyonce always 3d ago
To your second point, I think they skip over the more offensive jokes bc they simply don’t want to have to address the nuances of something being funny but also deeply problematic. The show walks that line quite often and there are a few jokes that have not aged well at all. So they conveniently gloss right over them. I don’t really love that they do this but I can understand why it seems like the safest play from their perspective.
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u/HipposAndBonobos 3d ago
I listened for a while when they started but fell off. They're entertaining enough, but I swear there were a number of episodes where they just ignored the episode they were allegedly discussing. I don't normally listen to this genre of podcast, so maybe I'm just spoiled by The West Wing Weekly?
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u/Kimpy78 3d ago
I can listen to it and make it through virtually any episode. I kind of like some of the minutia and I’ve probably watched the full series 4 times. With that said, sometimes the two of them can be so out of touch. On their episode about the series episode called Nepotism, there was a whole dialogue about Angela not being able to find a place to play Blu-rays to check out the deleted scenes and that sort of thing. She talked about Blu-rays like they were ancient history, and nobody had players to play them in. Including her family, the local school, and the local library. It devolved into teachers trying to load software on a computer to play Blu-rays in a regular DVD player, and it was just embarrassing. I know not everybody is technologically savvy, but it just made my head hurt.
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u/Sudden_Elephant_7080 3d ago
That is in short the difference between the writers and the actors, between the characters and the actual actor that portray those characters. Some of the actors that appear on the show were very good actors, some where not but had great writers behind them that made the show be so successful.
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u/HalfAgony_HalfHope little kid lover 3d ago
The way I think about it is, they have had this experience where they first read the script, did a table read, got a new script with things changed, filmed the scenes multiple times with different takes (different inflections, pauses, etc.), then watched the show live several months later after editors have shortened, cut and rearranged the episode. Now, almost ten years later they are rewatching the episodes. Their perspectives are going to be very different than ours. They may remember candy-bag alts that in their minds were funnier, certain scenes that had the cast laughing but that were chopped up in the editing room, they are applying tenets of filming and comedy that we don’t know about, etc.
It’s like when you cook food yourself and you realize you forgot a spice. When you taste it you can notice that spice is missing, but someone you are cooking for who doesn’t know you planned to add that spice doesn’t notice at all.
I also think that what they find funny is different between Jenna and Angela. Angela, with her improv background tends to enjoy absurd throwaway lines or lines that point out the humor that comes from differences in the “realities” two different characters. Jenna has more of an acting background, and I feel like enjoys lines and jokes that give more insights into who the character is and what they value. This isn’t true 100% of the time, but I do think Angela enjoys more improv-y humor and Jenna enjoys more actor-y humor.
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u/sxzcsu 3d ago
I agree with you. They rarely give constructive criticism of the show. And the deep dives are filler topics with flimsiest connection to the show. What annoys me the most is the fan questions they choose to answer. Usually it’s “was that scene improvised or scripted“ or “who was that actor with 1 line that only appeared in that 1 episode, tell me everything about them”. They were really scraping the barrel this week. They’re up to S9 Moving On P1 and there was a “fan flurry” of comments over Pam’s resume. What question do they decide to answer? Why doesn’t Pam use the Oxford comma and what do they think about the Oxford comma? I had to skip about 3 mins of Jenna Fischer telling Angela what an Oxford comma was 🫠.
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u/SensitiveFungus 3d ago
I only made it about 10 episodes in before I found them both completely insufferable. Just so high on themselves and their old show while simultaneously being completely cringeworthy and unlistenable. Hard pass
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u/pickameedummies 3d ago
I’m probably going to get downvoted for this, but the podcast made me really not like Jenna Fischer anymore. I’d probably have listened longer if it were Angela with anyone else.
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u/estedavis 3d ago
Out of curiosity, why?
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u/pickameedummies 3d ago
I guess it felt like she spoke with an air of superiority, even to Angela who is supposed to be her best friend.
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u/jeajea22 2d ago
Agreed. I started listening at first, but she seemed to mean to Angela. I just couldn’t stand it and stopped.
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u/boondoggle_ 3d ago
Angela and Jenna were ON The Office, but they don’t LIKE The Office. This is literally their first rewatch. I have at least 20. Most fans have five. They are not fans.
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u/baronas15 They're lithium! 3d ago
And that's okay, they've heard the original script, every single improvised deviation, rewrites.. they couldn't watch the show through the same eyes as us
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u/IHateTheLetterF 3d ago
Gatekeeping a tv show against people who were ON that tv show. Gatekeeping in general is lame and pointless, but this is a new low on this sub.
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u/crazyhotwheels 3d ago
Yeah but the point of rewatch podcasts like this is to get the perspective of people who were ON the show, and what they can offer that someone who just watched the show as a fan a bunch of times can’t.
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u/Strict-Dog-889 3d ago
I stop listening because of the ads
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u/OutaTime76 3d ago
So many podcast out there have worse ads that are longer and more often that the ones on this podcast don't bother me. I just press the skip ahead button 8-12 times and I skip them all.
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u/BrianAMartin221 3d ago
(Not just for this pod) but anytime someone makes a comment about ads people always say "Just skip a head" which is easy enough if your phone is in your hand when they start, but it seems like people don't realize that's not the only way to listen.
For me I AirPlay podcasts over Sonos speakers while working so most of the time what annoys me about an ad is the drastic shift in volume for pre-recorded ones.
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u/mofa90277 3d ago
My watch has a “skip ahead 30 seconds” button; I just press that ~6 times, and I’m usually through the commercials. If I had to take my phone out and do that using the scrubber, I’d probably feel differently.
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u/RaesMom11 3d ago
The deep dives and unnecessary banter made it awful to listen to! I once fast forwarded through all of the useless chatter and found that an hour long episode only had about 15 mins of actual Office information. Unless it’s an interview with a former cast mate, I skip it.
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u/Feefait 3d ago
IMO it's much better early on. They got stuck on a few very lame jokes and segments and got worse over time.
The most brilliant thing they've done is to make people feel like they are friends, like they actually know them and hang out. This creates a loyal base of fans if they buy in.
The actual show could and should have been over already.
Good luck, though. The mods here hate anything negative about the Show or affiliated content.
I've brought this up before and they always delete it. Lol
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u/throwaway_4it4 3d ago
I've been relatively faithfully listening to this podcast with my finger on the skip forward button, and it seems like I've been skipping forward more and more as the show nears its end. I still think it's a pretty good podcast, even if each episode is like 20 minutes long for me.
And as long as i don't compare it too closely to like that The Wire podcast that Jemele Hill and Van Lathan do. Those two are broadcast pros and it's obvious.
I do sometimes yell at my car radio like what are you even talking about
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u/FleaBarnacle 3d ago
I have a lot of little pet peeves about the podcast, the same with many I listen to regularly where I think I could improve things. But what really gets me is that they regularly let Jenna mispronounce words. There's Angela and two producers in there...perhaps a junior editor is listening as well, and they just let her go. Cut it and take it again. It's not a huge deal but it seems kinda of cruel.
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u/Loquacious_Llama 3d ago
Check out The Michael Scott Podcast Company podcast. Very good stuff they put out from a fan perspective.
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u/davedank66_v2 3d ago
Like pretty much anything, they aren't for everybody. Being sensible, they tailor their podcast to their fans, not their critics. I enjoy listening to them because they're just lovely people.
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u/Street_Pomelo4614 3d ago
So Jenna still thinks that scene shouldn’t have been included? Or that is just what she thought initially? I agree, the scene with Michael’s ‘surprise’ is absolutely hilarious, top 3 for me I loved it
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u/QueenMelle I can't stand being titillated 3d ago
It's a marketing tool to appeal to people who aren't already fans like we are, that's why we don't particularly like it.
There was one maybe 15ish years ago that was PHENOMENAL because it was produced by actual super fans. I hate that I can't remember the name of it.
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u/BigBlaisanGirl David Wallace 3d ago
The first few seasons are a little all over the place. Eventually, they get enough feedback from fans and listeners to get their format straightened out so the show becomes more informative and the commentary becomes relevant. So if you only listened to a few of them, it's understandable how you have that impression. It gets better, though.
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u/ShivvyMcFly 3d ago
I watch the Supefan episodes and then listen after to get some inside info. But a lot is awful.
Every episode is, "lady was that scripted? That was total John breaking and not Jim. Omg lady."
You also realize why Angela hasn't been in anything else. She's just a dorky theater kid who got lucky being on The Office.
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u/RamsLams 3d ago
Office Ladies isn’t for everyone, no podcast is.
Irrelevant deep dives isn’t inherently a bad thing. It’s EXACTLY what my ADHD brain is looking for while I’m working and listening. It’s not what you are looking for 🤷🏻♀️
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u/downforstargazing 2d ago
I get where you're coming from. I take it that they know we know which parts are funny, but what we don't know is what it was like filming those parts, and sometimes they call out things that may not be obvious to an outsider. It is also my road trip go-to! I find it charming and I love their friendship - that's part of the draw is just hearing them reminisce about that time of their lives. :) Thanks for sharing, OP!
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u/becausezoidfarb 2d ago
I listened to the first season or two of the podcast and liked it enough but I didn't really keep going with it for similar reasons (tbf I'm not good at keeping up with podcasts). I think a podcast from the writers would probably be more tuned in with the underlying story and humor of the jokes. Not to take anything away from the actors at all and I'm sure that's why they always have writers/directors/etc. on the podcast
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u/Zieeloo 2d ago
Well, being a psycho fan of the office I started to listen to their podcast as soon as I found out something like this exist. And I ended up turning it off after around ten minutes. Angela was more or less ok, but Jenna... Well, she sounded fake. Like if she was acting. And it was a very bad acting. I felt like if I was listening to a 1st grade teacher talking to her students. It was awful. Even her smile on the promo photo of the podcast looks really fake.
I might be wrong, the podcast probably is better than those 10 minutes that I was listening to, but Jenna sounds like she wasn't enjoying this, but someone told her it would be a good idea to create podcast like this and all she has to do is to be upbeat and cheerful.
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u/joe_smooth 2d ago
I quite like it but Michael was definitely right when he said Pam had a weird voice. She's very shrill.
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u/TheyMakeItLikeThat 2d ago
They don’t talk about the episode. They just tell you what each scene was. They’ve gotten lazy. They literally just do a play by play. I can just watch the show instead
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u/crazykewlaid 2d ago
Idk I agree with her based on what you're saying but I haven't seen that podcast, I've reweatched the show over 100 times and that scene is kind of excessive. Like Michael often gets carried away and extremely awkward but that scene is longer than most of those by a LOT and it's not particularly better than the other ones. It's better than some of the super quick ones but it's in the middle ground and it's probably the longest of his awkward silence/weird shitty improvs.
It appeals to a lot of people but I bet a bunch lost interest for a second.
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u/yeahwhatever9799 2d ago
I was surprised that they didn’t seem to get Andy’s eggnog and saki = Nagasaki. I wonder if they were ignoring it? But when I was listening to the episode where Creed says he was in an iron lung I remember thinking they don’t know what an iron lung is.
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u/Ender505 2d ago
I think when Jenna talked about Michael standing there at the end of the episode being "awkward", she meant that it was awkward to the characters in the universe of the office. Obviously it was funny for us. Jenna wasn't criticizing the humor at all, she was just describing the scene from the perspective of the characters.
As for the offensive humor, I think you'll find if you listen more that they definitely don't skip the offensive bits, and in fact they will sometimes play deleted scenes with more inappropriate jokes.
You remember that scene where Dwight tries to intimidate Danny Cordray by telling Jim about the Penis Museum? They spend a very long time in that episode talking about the actual penis museum in Iceland.
The show isn't for everyone. It's a lot of chatter from a couple friends, and they quite often go off on tangents which not everyone enjoys (but I do). If you don't like it, Brian Baumgartner has a podcast about the show too that you might like.
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u/aattanasio2014 2d ago
It’s weird because most of the office cast claim to absolutely worship the British office which is even more offensive and awkward.
So, subconsciously, they must appreciate that type of humor I would think?
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u/BiryaniReincarnated 2d ago
This is so SPOT ON! I was so stoked when I came across their podcast cause I thought it would be more of a comical deep dive/BTS of the show but boy was I disappointed. If I hadn't watched The Office and I accidentally listened to their pod I for sure would never have watched an episode. I feel like fans would thrive on such a pod cause they really get what the show is about. I mean, watching the show from a fans POV is way different as opposed to someone who was doing their deliverables. I'm such a huge fan of The Office but they absolutely butchered the show on that Pod.
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u/chillaban 3d ago
I think the podcast from Brian is more what you’re looking for.
For me, Office Ladies is mostly hearing Jenna and Angela chat about random stuff for an hour and a half while working in like a half hour worth of talking about the plot and tidbits. I get that isn’t for everyone. For me I like it for my long drives because hearing their voices kinda reminds me of rewatching The Office and they really haven’t been in much recently.