‘The Office’: Angela Kinsey Responds to Fans Who Hate Jim and Pam, ‘They Needed to Grow up’

The conversation around The Office continues long after it ended in 2013. Showbiz Cheat Sheet talked to Angela Kinsey over Zoom on Nov. 16 over Zoom. She addressed the show’s characters, reuniting with a cast member for a new project, and covering seasons without Steve Carell.

Angela Kinsey says Jim and Pam start out immature on ‘The Office’

Q: One question I have as a fan of The Office is also the conversation around it, which I know you’re very aware of with your podcast. One talking point that has changed with time was around Pam (Jenna Fischer) and Jim (John Krasinski), and, you know, fans love them, fans ship them. But there’s also a small group that say, you know, their pranks can be seen as mean-spirited. They’re the two people that seem to not want to be there. And I’m wondering, like, what’s your opinion on those who kind of like changed on them a little bit? Do you see it? Are you still Team Pam and Jim?

Angela Kinsey: Here’s the thing, what I love about Pam and Jim is that when we meet them, they’re both so young, you know, they’re both at that job that they don’t think it’s going to be their forever job. And they’re just also trying to figure out their lives.

I mean, Pam is in a relationship that she knows probably isn’t right for her. And she’s learning the courage to have her own voice and to advocate for herself. And then you have Jim, who’s just sort of not sure what his life is going to be about, you know, so they’re so young when they start, and their courtship kind of reflects that, you know, like where they’re at in life.

And Jim, for sure, is this guy who doesn’t know what he wants to do. Is pretty sure this job is not what he wants to do. But he’s earning a living, you know, and so he’s bored. He’s bored. And that’s where a lot of the pranks come out of.

Although I think Dwight (Rainn Wilson) might drive me to pranking, too, if I had to sit next to Dwight, I’m pretty sure at some point I might do some, you know, friendly-ish prank. But, I mean, Dwight could drive anyone crazy.

But I think as the characters grow and evolve and they become parents, their lives change. And all of a sudden, Jim needs this job. He’s got a family to provide for. And the way he approaches the job changes, as well as Pam. And you see less of the old-school Jim pranking as he gets older and matures. So I guess that’s a very long answer to say they needed to grow up, and they did. And then, you know, I just always ship Jim and Pam. I’m glad they made it.

Angela Kinsey reunites with Brian Baumgartner for a Rocketbook partnership

Q: I do want to get to your partnership with Rocketbook, a reusable notebook brand. Can you tell me a little bit about it?

Angela Kinsey: Well, I was thrilled when they reached out. They said, ‘We want to do this with you and Brian [Baumgartner].’ I was like, yes. I mean, I love the products. I actually am someone that I love–I’m a notepad person, you know, and I actually keep the little notepad next to my computer, and I jot down just sort of like things I want to make sure that happened in the day or what the kids are going and stuff like that.

But the cool thing for me is being a notepad person with Rocketbook, I can now scan it and upload it, and then it’s in the Dropbox, then I can share it. So that’s been a game changer. And also it’s really user friendly, like for real, I am a dinosaur with technology, and if I can use it, you can use it, and it’s really affordable.

So it’s a great holiday gift item. So I, I had all of that Rocketbook had all that going for it. And then they said, Oh, and you get to play with Brian all day. And I was like, in! I am in.

Q: What has it been like to work with Brian in this in this way?

Angela Kinsey: I just man, it just made me miss him and miss getting to see his face every day. And we’re all really good about staying in touch. You know, we all text and stay in touch and we’re really close cast even after all these years.

But just being in a room with him and getting immediately to do bits and and, you know, just have fun. I just held that close to my heart because we were we were so fortunate. Like, we had such a great group of people. They really were our, you know, extended family.

Angela reveals what she loves about the post-Steve Carell era of ‘The Office’

Q: Going back to where [the Office Ladies podcast] are at when it comes to approaching the post Steve Carell era, I’ll call it. What are you looking forward to? Is there anything in those later seasons that actually are, like, just as dear to your heart as like the earlier seasons?

Angela Kinsey: Yes. I had such a blast in the love triangle with the senator and Oscar (Oscar Nuñez). Oscar is a dear friend of mine. We met years and years before The Office. We were in a sketch comedy show together and getting to have those scenes with Oscar was like the best. So I’m really looking forward to seeing all of those scenes.

And I really had a great time with James Spader. He was hilarious, and I can’t wait to share some of the behind the scenes of hair and makeup trailer with James Spader. And yeah, so I think there’s still fun things. And of course, like, I don’t want to give anything away.

And I know what it’s odd to say this, but there’s been times where I have jumped way ahead and someone has written and said, ‘Hey, I just am discovering The Office.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I thought I had passed that.’ That sort of like, OK, it’s safe to share now line. But obviously for my character and Dwight, some really awesome things happened towards the end of the show and I’m really excited to share about that and go down memory lane.

This interview has been condensed for this article.