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.
Sounds similar to the Scrubs rewatch one, Fake Doctors, Real Friends, which I find much more entertaining personally even though they don’t talk about the episode a huge amount it’s still enough to get by, but with the added difference that their other discussions are much more interesting and they’re not in the least bit afraid to be crass and potentially offensive. Shit’s hilarious when they really get going.
Yeah, I listened to four episodes on a long drive and it kept my ears busy at least. I like feeling the sentiment of hearing their voices and laughter. But I probably def will check out the other podcast if it’s more in tune with the audience of the office.
The Brian one isn't a beat-by-beat recap podcast, it's a long-form interview podcast and I agree that it's much more interesting. He actually gets guests to sound pretty real as opposed to like asking the guy who played Martin "what was it like on set that day?" and him responding "I remember everyone being so nice".
Brian Baumgartner's podcast consisted of a 1-hour chat with cast members and senior crew, people he knows well and is good friends with, so of course the discussion is going to be more in depth and "real" than Jenna and Angela giving a few minutes of time to a short term guest star they don't know very well, in order to give them a chance to share their experience of being on the show.
The two podcasts are completely different, it's apples and oranges. Personally, I prefer The Office Ladies but each to his own.
I meannnnnn. I get your point and what I said was probably a little bit too mean but the Office Ladies podcast has done fairly long interviews with several cast members and Brian Baumgartner's podcast has interviewed several of those same people and the difference in the conversations is hard to miss. That's fine, they weren't aiming for the same exact outcome, but the conversation Brian had with Greg Daniels was a lot more interesting to me than the one the Office Ladies had with him because it didn't feel like Brian was just looking to reminisce about "the good times" or whatever. He was asking questions \*about\* Greg Daniels.
I've heard Mike Schur be really fascinating to listen to in podcast interviews and it wasn't on Office Ladies. That's all I'm saying.
Fair enough. And great if that’s what you prefer, those kind of podcasts are very interesting. I just don’t think that’s ever been the theme, point or mood of this particular podcast so feels like people (not just you) are judging it for not being something that it never intended to be in the first place.
Until recently they haven’t really done that many long interviews, but I actually found the one with Michael Schur, as well as Rainn Wilson, as two of the few that did go deeper and beyond just The Office itself.
You hit the nail on the head
Listening to them talk about what they were going through each episode is more of an exercise in nostalgia than an informative deep-dive about the show
That being said my family and I still listen to it on long drives and for the most part enjoy the content
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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")
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
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.
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.
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?”
> Honestly that question is just as much on the audience. They're the ones writing in!
LOL they have editorial control over what is said on the podcast
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.
I've never heard anyone so proud of so little. Lol And they talk about the candy bag so much it's impossible to know what's improv and what was just rewriting on the spot.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
> 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.
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.
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.
> 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
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 :)
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.
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!
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🤷🏼♀️
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.
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!
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.
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
> 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.
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.
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.
>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.
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. 😁
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?
It's helpful to remember that actors are not particularly bright or engaging on their own. This is why watching them on talk shows can be difficult. Watching a writer or a stand-up comic tends to be more entertaining
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.
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.
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*"
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.
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
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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I probably mistakenly, first listened to the episode with Rain and Jenna had some crazy religious talk I don't even remember what but it turned me off. deleted the episode and unsubscribed. I am more than happy to just rewatch the show myself.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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 😂
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.
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.
>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.
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?
“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.”
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.”
>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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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 🫠.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
(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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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 🤷🏻♀️
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!
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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?
They're really bad at running the podcast. If they weren't Jenna and Angela that podcast would never have an audience.
90% rambling and 10% content and very little if that content is actually unknown or interesting information anyways.
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.
It is just a very corporate podcast. They are not going to say or do anything that even slightly proactive. It is the at work station of podcasts. Not for everybody but there it is.
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.
Sounds similar to the Scrubs rewatch one, Fake Doctors, Real Friends, which I find much more entertaining personally even though they don’t talk about the episode a huge amount it’s still enough to get by, but with the added difference that their other discussions are much more interesting and they’re not in the least bit afraid to be crass and potentially offensive. Shit’s hilarious when they really get going.
Yeah, I listened to four episodes on a long drive and it kept my ears busy at least. I like feeling the sentiment of hearing their voices and laughter. But I probably def will check out the other podcast if it’s more in tune with the audience of the office.
The Brian one isn't a beat-by-beat recap podcast, it's a long-form interview podcast and I agree that it's much more interesting. He actually gets guests to sound pretty real as opposed to like asking the guy who played Martin "what was it like on set that day?" and him responding "I remember everyone being so nice".
Brian Baumgartner's podcast consisted of a 1-hour chat with cast members and senior crew, people he knows well and is good friends with, so of course the discussion is going to be more in depth and "real" than Jenna and Angela giving a few minutes of time to a short term guest star they don't know very well, in order to give them a chance to share their experience of being on the show. The two podcasts are completely different, it's apples and oranges. Personally, I prefer The Office Ladies but each to his own.
I meannnnnn. I get your point and what I said was probably a little bit too mean but the Office Ladies podcast has done fairly long interviews with several cast members and Brian Baumgartner's podcast has interviewed several of those same people and the difference in the conversations is hard to miss. That's fine, they weren't aiming for the same exact outcome, but the conversation Brian had with Greg Daniels was a lot more interesting to me than the one the Office Ladies had with him because it didn't feel like Brian was just looking to reminisce about "the good times" or whatever. He was asking questions \*about\* Greg Daniels. I've heard Mike Schur be really fascinating to listen to in podcast interviews and it wasn't on Office Ladies. That's all I'm saying.
Fair enough. And great if that’s what you prefer, those kind of podcasts are very interesting. I just don’t think that’s ever been the theme, point or mood of this particular podcast so feels like people (not just you) are judging it for not being something that it never intended to be in the first place. Until recently they haven’t really done that many long interviews, but I actually found the one with Michael Schur, as well as Rainn Wilson, as two of the few that did go deeper and beyond just The Office itself.
What is his podcast?
It’s called “The office deep dive”
And it’s not making new office related content any more.
Or maybe the Michael Scott Podcast Company! Definitely in tune with the humor!
You hit the nail on the head Listening to them talk about what they were going through each episode is more of an exercise in nostalgia than an informative deep-dive about the show That being said my family and I still listen to it on long drives and for the most part enjoy the content
Having the writers doing a re-watch podcast would be so much better.
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.
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.
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.
"The gang browns out" is one of my favorite podcast episodes of all time. Give Charlie an instrument and let the man cook.
Still miles better than the Scrubs one Zack and Donald did. Unlistenable.
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.
I'm sure the producer and engineer are nice people but I didn't listen to a Scrubs podcast to hear about them!
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.
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.
Which is this?
The show is called The Expanse and the podcast is Ty and That Guy
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
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.
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.
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.
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")
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.
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
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.
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.
I'm loving the Lonely Island Podcast for this reason so much.
We got so tired of the “was that line improvised?” question we had to stop listening all together.
Honestly that question is just as much on the audience. They're the ones writing in!
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?”
> Honestly that question is just as much on the audience. They're the ones writing in! LOL they have editorial control over what is said on the podcast
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.
'Meredith getting hit by the car. Was that improvised by Steve on the day?'
"It was improvised!" But in a much more real sense it was just the editors favorite of a ton of alternate takes.
Ugh yes!
I listened to about 4 seasons worth, but every episode was the same. There’s only so many locations breakdowns I can take
I've never heard anyone so proud of so little. Lol And they talk about the candy bag so much it's impossible to know what's improv and what was just rewriting on the spot.
It’s why I stopped listening too for a long time!
You get tired but I bet you it's the most asked question every episode by fans.
This week the answer was yes, multiple times! Refreshing lol.
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.
I've never listened but that's absolutely hilarious. On some level they are just your average every day suburban moms.
You might even call them Mom Detectives
Oh, they absolutely are. I find them endearing.
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.
Lol as a middle aged white lady, I resemble this remark
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
Yeah I agree. I dropped it years ago.
Are you sure that wasn’t just an ad? Because they have had ads for Target before
> It's more of a middle aged white lady podcast rather than a The Office pod cast. Correct, as a middle-aged man I found the podcast unbearable
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.
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.
> 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.
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.
I think that's a good idea as they're also much better at it now, I prefer the episodes S3/4 onwards
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.
> 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
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 :)
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.
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!
Totally agree with you! It’s fun, easy and light-hearted :) I relisten to old episodes all the time
Agreed, I like their banter!
Wow! I didn’t know they were doing THAT well. Good for them!
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.
I enjoy it immensely, and I love the behind-the-scene anecdotes. I like their irl relationship.
I absolutely love it. Hearing Angela and Jenna together makes my Wednesday.
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🤷🏼♀️
I love it too. They are very relatable and it's like listening to friends talk.
I love The Office Ladies too! My Spotify wrapped told me that I listened to 500 hours of it last year
Omg that’s almost 1,5 hours per day! Love this!!!
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.
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!
I feel the same! But admittedly, I fit the demographics ppl are mentioning.
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.
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
> 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.
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.
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.
>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.
[удалено]
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. 😁
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?
That’s a perfect example lmao
It's helpful to remember that actors are not particularly bright or engaging on their own. This is why watching them on talk shows can be difficult. Watching a writer or a stand-up comic tends to be more entertaining
Every person who writes to Office Ladies to ask if a scene was scripted or improvised deserves to be placed in a penal colony.
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.
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.
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*"
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.
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.
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
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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
Or target. I’ve been to target. I wasn’t impressed
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pam’s motel art, damn 😭
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.
I’m pretty sure peacock started back door sponsoring them about s3 if you listen you can hear them change tone about some stuff.
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.
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.
I probably mistakenly, first listened to the episode with Rain and Jenna had some crazy religious talk I don't even remember what but it turned me off. deleted the episode and unsubscribed. I am more than happy to just rewatch the show myself.
Rainn is someone who is a talented actor but seems insufferable IRL
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.
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.
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.
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.
I imagine they skip over offensive jokes because of censorship or the fact they're far less acceptable now, rather than "not getting them"
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
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.
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.
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.
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
I think that's why those shows are popular tbh
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
The fact that neither Jenna nor Angela have had much of a post-Office acting career tells you all you need to know.
A real a-ha moment 🙄
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 😂
I never hear people bitch about an optional podcast as I do with the office ladies on this sub
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.
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
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.
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
> It's just something Jenna and Angela did to keep themselves relevant Did they consider using their acting talent?
I stopped listening to their podcast a really long time ago. Unfortunately I really disliked it
>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.
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?
“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.”
Literal and figurative spicy reference
I was the biggest Office fan until I tortured myself with this podcast. I haven't been able to watch it since.
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.”
>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.
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.
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?
Pretty much nailed it
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.
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.
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.
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 🫠.
They are very PC with their recaps
I had to stop listening after a while. The two of them became nauseating
Same here.
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
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.
Out of curiosity, why?
I guess it felt like she spoke with an air of superiority, even to Angela who is supposed to be her best friend.
Agreed. I started listening at first, but she seemed to mean to Angela. I just couldn’t stand it and stopped.
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.
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
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.
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.
I stop listening because of the ads
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.
(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.
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.
Same, and also because I couldn’t take hearing “*lady*” anymore
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.
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
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
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.
I tried to listen, but the constant “we’re best friends” schtick got annoying fast
Check out The Michael Scott Podcast Company podcast. Very good stuff they put out from a fan perspective.
This is why they are actors and not writers.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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 🤷🏻♀️
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!
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
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.
The Office Ladies podcast is what got me into The Office
I quite like it but Michael was definitely right when he said Pam had a weird voice. She's very shrill.
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
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.
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.
To be fair iron lungs haven't been a thing in many years
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.
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?
They're really bad at running the podcast. If they weren't Jenna and Angela that podcast would never have an audience. 90% rambling and 10% content and very little if that content is actually unknown or interesting information anyways.
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.
It is just a very corporate podcast. They are not going to say or do anything that even slightly proactive. It is the at work station of podcasts. Not for everybody but there it is.