TCB Infomercial: Kate Flannery

Speaker 2 This episode is sponsored by Jack Archer. As a man, finding a good pair of pants can feel impossible.
Jack Archer's Jet Setter Tech Pants make that easy. These are the one pair you need.

Speaker 2 They're built with advanced fabric sourced from Japan that resists wrinkles, stains, and odors. Whether it's a long flight, a workday, or a night out, these pants do it all.

Speaker 2 With customizable fit options and thousands of five-star reviews, trust us, these are the one pair of pants you'll actually want to wear every day.

Speaker 2 And they just launched a matching blazer in the same unbelievable fabric, all for an amazing price of $249 for the suit. It's a no-brainer.

Speaker 2 For a limited time, get 15% off using the code getjack at jackarcher.com. Again, that's the promo code getjack at jackarcher.com for that 15% off, your entire order.

Speaker 2 And thanks to JackArcher for being a sponsor of the commercial break.

Speaker 2 This episode is sponsored by 5-Hour Energy. Caffeine just got a flavor upgrade with what they call tasty caffeine, 17 bold flavors that actually taste good.

Speaker 2 You know that midday moment when your brain just stalls out, but you still have a full list of things to do? Well, that's when I reach for a 5-Hour Energy shot.

Speaker 2 Each tiny two-ounce shot has about as much caffeine as a 12-ounce premium cup of coffee, but with zero sugar and zero crash.

Speaker 2 It's big flavor, packed into the smallest, easiest bottle, perfect for tossing in your bag, in your car, really anywhere.

Speaker 2 And since it's still fall, they've brought back the ultimate seasonal favorite, pumpkin spice. Ah, yes, pumpkin spice.

Speaker 2 A little cinnamon, a little swagger, sweet, rich, and totally cozy without being heavy.

Speaker 2 Fuel your day with tasty caffeine, available in store and online at 5hourenergy.com or get it delivered by Amazon. Give yourself a caffeine flavor upgrade with five-hour energy shots.

Speaker 2 Get yours in store and online, 5hourenergy.com or on Amazon today.

Speaker 3 The deal is that this is my last hurrah because I've made a New Year's resolution that I'm not going to drink anymore during the week.

Speaker 1 This is Equal Parts: Scotch Absinthe, Rum, Gin, Vermouth, Triple Sec, and two packs of Splenda. Call it a one of everything.

Speaker 1 Oh

Speaker 3 my God.

Speaker 3 It's me again.

Speaker 1 All right. One more time around the block.

Speaker 1 On this episode of the Commercial Break.

Speaker 3 I was actually up for SNL, and I always say I didn't get it. One of my best friends at the time got it.
And I always say it only took 13 short years to get the office.

Speaker 1 It was a long, 13 short.

Speaker 3 It was a long, 13 short years.

Speaker 1 Did you audition for Lauren?

Speaker 3 You know what?

Speaker 3 Lauren came to see a show. I did.
I had lunch with Lauren. I had interviews with Lauren.
I didn't get to do the final round, but

Speaker 3 I was in consideration. And I was just at the SNL 50th at the concert at Radio City.
And

Speaker 3 it was so great. Obviously, I've had a lot there because I just had a great time.

Speaker 1 I didn't ready, but like

Speaker 1 the next episode of the Commercial Break starts now.

Speaker 1 Oh, yeah, Cats and Kittens. Welcome back to the commercial break.
I'm Brian Green. This is my dear friend and the co-host of this show, Kristen Joyhotley.
Best to you, Chrissy. Best to me, Brian.

Speaker 1 And best to you out there in the podcast universe. How the hell are you? Thanks for joining us.
It's TCB Infomercial Tuesday with Kate Flannery from the office

Speaker 1 is joining us. We have reached the pinnacle of success, Chrissy.
There is no

Speaker 1 greater hill to climb than having one of the,

Speaker 1 I'd say one of the main characters

Speaker 1 from one of the best television shows that has ever been ever and ever will be I think we can all agree that the office is hilarious in so many ways brilliant for almost 10 seasons I think it was 10 seasons I think it was 10 seasons it's I think it's eight but um

Speaker 1 how many shoes

Speaker 1 started this one nine and some bonus episodes okay so uh so anyway so there you go Kate Flannery who plays Meredith on the office is going to be with us in just a few minutes.

Speaker 1 And I'm really excited about this because this is one of my favorite television shows of all time. And I don't know too many people whose, it isn't.

Speaker 1 So many people I know literally watch The Office on rerun all the time. You know how I have my favorite shows that I watch at night?

Speaker 1 The office isn't in rotation, but I do watch office episodes pretty often. If I see them on live TV,

Speaker 1 I

Speaker 1 was watching one the other day. I think it was a parkour episode with one of my kids.
And he's like, what's parkour?

Speaker 1 I was like, Well, let me show you what parkour is. And then we went to a park this weekend and I showed him work parkour because you know, parkour.
I'm a parkour master, Christy.

Speaker 1 I don't know if you know that. I did not know that.
With my bad hip and my bad back and my bad heart, I just run around doing parkour all the time.

Speaker 1 So many quotable lines, and Meredith owns a few of those throughout the season. So, anyway, we'll talk to her all about that.
Celebrating their 20th season, the office is available on Peacock's

Speaker 1 rewatch. Yeah, it's yeah, 20th year.
Wow. And lest you think that Kate only did the office, she has done many other things in her career.
We'll talk to her about some of that.

Speaker 1 But one of the things I think you got excited about was the

Speaker 1 Jane Lynch Christmas variety show that they do. They go out and sing and they do it with a big band and

Speaker 1 coming to a town near you during Christmas season. So we're only nine short months away from that, but it'll be here soon enough.
It'll be here soon enough. All right.

Speaker 1 So I have a little, let's do a little game before, not game, but let's talk about it a little bit. Okay.
Before we have Kate in here, what is your favorite line from the office?

Speaker 1 What is your most quotable line from the office?

Speaker 4 Oh, God. I don't know.
There's so many. There's the one that my sister and I used to always laugh about when

Speaker 4 Michael talks in his southern accent.

Speaker 4 And they're going down to Savannah.

Speaker 1 My favorite office quote of all time has got to be Jan all over, tan all over.

Speaker 1 Do you remember that when they went to Mexico and he had picture, like nude photograph, topless photograph of her and it was floating around the office?

Speaker 1 And he goes, Jan all over, tan all over.

Speaker 1 What a great character. All right, I got a few more for you.

Speaker 1 I want you to tell me which character said this following line. Okay.
Okay. Sometimes the clothes at Gap Kids Kids are just too flashy.

Speaker 1 So I'm forced to go to the American girl store and order clothes for large colonial dolls.

Speaker 1 Who is that? Yeah, I'll give you, you want me to give you a choice? Yes. Is it Dwight? Is it Pam? Is it Angela?

Speaker 4 I'm going with Pam. I'm sorry, Angela.

Speaker 1 Angela. It is Angela.

Speaker 4 She used to dress up as those colonial or Dwight, I think, or something.

Speaker 1 No, it's Angela. She was like the preroot in the group.
You know, she was always

Speaker 1 very tight wad, so to speak.

Speaker 1 I consider myself a good person, but I'm going to try and make him cry. Who said that? Was that Oscar, Michael, or Dwight?

Speaker 4 Dwight.

Speaker 1 No, that was Oscar.

Speaker 1 Who said that?

Speaker 1 If I don't have cake soon, I might die. Is that Stanley, Dwight, or Jim?

Speaker 1 Stanley. Of course it's Stanley.
I'm faster than 80% of all snakes. Is that Dwight? Dwight.
Okay. I don't even need to go any further on that.

Speaker 1 I'm not superstitious, but I'm a little stitious. Who said that? Dwight,

Speaker 1 Pam, or Michael? Michael. Of course he did.
Yes. Let's see here.
I talk a lot, so I've learned just to tune myself out.

Speaker 1 Is that Pam, Dwight, or Kelly Kapoor?

Speaker 1 Kelly. Of course.
Yes. All right.
Let's go a little.

Speaker 4 Mindy Kaling.

Speaker 1 What's that? Mindy Kaling. That's right.
Let's go a little deeper. I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.

Speaker 1 Jim? Is that Jim? Is that Michael? Or is that Andy?

Speaker 1 Jim. Yeah, it's Andy.
Andy. Andy was a great character on that show.
And even though he was only in the later seasons of The Office, he was a great character in that show. I did like Andy's character.

Speaker 1 One day, Michael came in and complained about a speed bump on the highway. I just wonder wonder who he ran over.

Speaker 1 Jim?

Speaker 1 Okay, there you go. All right.

Speaker 1 Sometimes I'll start a sentence and I don't even know where I'm going. I just hope I find it along the way.
It's like an improv conversation.

Speaker 1 Michael, Jim, or Dwight? Michael. Michael, that's right.

Speaker 1 Identity theft is no joke, Jim. Millions of families suffer every year.

Speaker 1 Dwight,

Speaker 1 Michael, or Pam.

Speaker 1 It's got to be Dwight. It's Dwight.

Speaker 1 Okay, let's see here. Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy.
I want people to be afraid of how much they love me. Michael Scott, Dwight Shrew.
Which one, Gary? Michael. That's right.

Speaker 1 When you're a kid, you assume your parents are soulmates. My kids are going to be right about that.
Oh, that's a sweet line from Pam. I'm just going to say that.
You guys, like, I'm really smart now.

Speaker 1 You don't even know. You could ask me, Kelly, what's the biggest company in the world? And I'd be like, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Giving you the exact right answer every time.

Speaker 1 Kelly, Kabor.

Speaker 1 Let's see if I can find another deep cut here. These are all great lines, and I can almost remember the episodes.
Oh, yeah, it takes you back. I'm fast.

Speaker 1 To give you a reference point, I'm somewhere between a snake, a mongoose, and a panther, somewhere between.

Speaker 1 Well, I mean, do I? Of course. Yeah, yes.

Speaker 1 The Dunder Mifflin, the Dunder Mifflin stock symbol is DMI. Do you know what that stands for? Dummies, morons, and idiots.
Because

Speaker 1 that's what you'd have to be to own it.

Speaker 1 And as one of those idiots, I believe the board owes me answers. Oscar.

Speaker 3 That's great. Oscar.

Speaker 1 Oh, here's one from a lesser-known character. Oh, I don't think it's blackmail.
Angela just does what I ask her to do. So I won't tell everyone that she's cheating on Andy with Dwight.
I think for me,

Speaker 1 for it to be blackmail, I would have to put it in a a formal letter that that's Phyllis. Phyllis, Phyllis, Phyllis, yes.
Okay, here's a little interesting like tie-in.

Speaker 1 I believe that

Speaker 1 Phyllis and oh, now I can't remember his name, the bigger guy in the office, like kind of the bald-headed one. Um,

Speaker 1 do you know who I'm talking about? What was his name in the in the office? I can't remember. Uh, now I can't, why can't I remember? Um,

Speaker 1 office characters. Let's see here.

Speaker 4 Kevin Stanley.

Speaker 1 No, but it's not Stanley characters.

Speaker 1 I'm going to find this out because I don't want to get it wrong. Kevin.
Okay. Yeah, Kevin.
Kevin. Okay, so Phyllis and Kevin went to a local high school here in Atlanta.
That's right.

Speaker 1 And they went to school with a couple of people that I know. And by all accounts, were very lovely people.
And so just thought I'd share that. Just a little weird connection.

Speaker 4 Kevin was from here. I did not know Phyllis.

Speaker 1 I believe that's it. I believe it was Phyllis and Kevin that was here.
I know Kevin for sure, and I believe Phyllis also. I think they went to the same high school.
If I'm not mistaken, I might be.

Speaker 1 But that was the story that rolled around the bars for a long time. And I knew a couple people who knew specific, more specifically, talked about Kevin being a real, I say Kevin.

Speaker 1 His name is Brian, actually. Kevin and Brian, that's that's me and my brother's names.
Yes.

Speaker 1 Talked about him specifically being a very nice guy. So there you go.
If you wanted to know in real life, let's find out if Kate is a really nice person, too. Why don't we do this? I bet she is.

Speaker 1 I bet she is.

Speaker 1 We've had a good streak. I'd say of the 110 guests we've had, 108 of them have been pretty good.
And one of them wasn't their fault. I would have been a dick to us, too.

Speaker 1 All right, let's do this. Let's take a break.
And when we get back through the magic of telepodcasting, we'll have Kate Flannery, Meredith, from the office, celebrating 20 years of the office.

Speaker 1 Yeah, let's do that. What do you think? I think we should do that.
Okay, we'll be back.

Speaker 5 Hey, it's Rachel, your new voice of God here on TCB. And just like you, I'm wondering just how much longer this podcast can continue.

Speaker 5 Let's all rejoice that another episode has made it to your ears, and I'll rejoice that my check is in the mail.

Speaker 5 Speaking of mail, get your free TCB sticker in the mail by going to tcbpodcast.com and visiting the contact us page.

Speaker 5 You can also find the entire commercial break library, audio and video, just in case you want to look at Chrissy, at tcbpodcast.com. Want your voice to be on an episode of the show?

Speaker 5 Leave us a message at 212-433-3TCB. That's 212-433-3822.
Tell us how much you love us and we'll be sure to let the world know on a future episode. Or you could make fun of us.
That'd be fine too.

Speaker 5 We might not air that, but maybe. Oh, and if you're shy, that's okay.
Just send a text. We'll respond.
Now I'm going to go check the mailbox for payment while you check out our sponsors.

Speaker 5 And then we'll return to this episode of the commercial break.

Speaker 2 This episode is sponsored in part by Rula. You know, there was a time when I really needed therapy, but I could not find a therapist who took my insurance.

Speaker 2 I can remember feeling so stuck like I had to choose between getting help and staying on budget. That's why I think what Rula is doing is so very important.

Speaker 2 Rula makes therapy accessible and affordable by partnering with over 100 insurance plans. The average copay is around $15 per session, and depending on your benefits, it could even be less.

Speaker 2 They also take the time to find the right therapist for you, someone who understands your goals, your preferences, and your background. There's no waiting weeks or months for an appointment.

Speaker 2 You can start as soon as tomorrow and Rula stays with you along the way, checking in, supporting your progress, and helping you feel seen and cared for.

Speaker 2 Thousands of people are already using Rula to get affordable, high-quality therapy that's actually covered by insurance. Visit rula.com slash commercial to get started.

Speaker 2 And after you sign up, you'll be asked how you heard about them. Please support the commercial break and let them know we sent you.
That's rula.com slash commercial.

Speaker 2 You deserve mental health care that works with you, not against your budget.

Speaker 1 This is Free Range with Von Miller, the podcast where I step outside the lines and I take you with me.

Speaker 1 Each week, we're talking everything from the biggest stories around the league to the biggest stories off the field. This isn't your average sports podcast.

Speaker 1 This is game meets culture, locker room meets living room, and no topic is off limits.

Speaker 1 So if you're into good conversations that ruffle a few feathers join me every wednesday and follow free range with von miller everywhere you get your podcast

Speaker 2 this episode is sponsored by our longtime sponsor squarespace i am working on a new project information tbd it's very secretive it's very hush hush around here because you know podcast secrets are a thing anywho There is only one all-in-one website tool that's designed to help my new project stand out and be successful, and that one tool is Squarespace.

Speaker 2 squarespace can help me through every step of the process the launch the scaling the branding and the growth no matter what part of the journey i am on squarespace is an all-in-one website platform so it'll cater to my needs every step of the way there are so many benefits services and tools built into squarespace i would need a 10-minute commercial to name them all cutting edge design search engine optimization tools domain management analytics email campaigns the ability to host videos and most importantly, the ability to get paid.

Speaker 2 So if you've been thinking about building or upgrading your website, now's the time to head to squarespace.com slash commercial for a free trial.

Speaker 2 And when you're ready to launch, make sure to use the offer code commercial to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or a domain. That's squarespace.com slash commercial.

Speaker 2 Then be sure to use the code commercial when you're ready to launch. Squarespace has been with the commercial break for a long time, and we have been with Squarespace for even longer.

Speaker 2 This is a company we trust. It's a product we use, and there's one overarching reason why.
It makes my life easier. Go build yourself a beautiful website, squarespace.com/slash commercial.

Speaker 2 And thank you to Squarespace for being a sponsor of the Commercial Break.

Speaker 1 Kate is here with us now. Kate, so grateful for your time today.
Thank you for joining us.

Speaker 1 Welcome, Kate.

Speaker 1 What can we say that probably hasn't already been said? A million billion times. I have like one

Speaker 1 question that is when we, when I knew you were coming on, it just was burning through my mind.

Speaker 1 You, how do you feel about the office given some space between the last episode that you, you know, the closing of the office version one now?

Speaker 1 What is your relationship with the office, the thing, the show, the entity, part of your life? How do you feel about it?

Speaker 3 It is as

Speaker 3 my relationship with the office is as strong as it was in 2004.

Speaker 1 It's crazy. I am so happy.
It might be stronger. Yeah.
You've grown to if you've grown to love it. You've grown to find that this is just something you're really attached.

Speaker 1 It's such an iconic role that you have playing Meredith. This, like, in my opinion, one of the best characters on the office is Meredith.
Perfectly played by you.

Speaker 3 You're very kind.

Speaker 3 I'm actually most proud that I'm a female and I get to play a wacky character that has nothing to do with being someone's girlfriend or mother.

Speaker 3 Oh, even though she's a mother and she's, and she's a floozy, but still, it's like, she's not defined by that. And that's a rare thing.
It's a rare thing on television. It's a rare thing in movies.

Speaker 3 Like women don't get to play exactly like the boys. And so, so it's, it's really fun when I'm just really proud that they let me go there.

Speaker 1 And they're the end there the entire time. You were there for the entire stretch.
How did you get involved in, by the way, it's 20th anniversary of The Office.

Speaker 4 And it's one of those shows, too, that i love because you can just watch over and over and over again and you can pick up from the very first episode or the the middle or the end whatever i just i love those shows there's very few of those yeah i think we there are and i what i love about our show too and why i think kids really like it is that you know

Speaker 3 We never tell you when to laugh. There's no like wait, you know, there's no laugh track, obviously.

Speaker 3 But I also feel like you can be laughing over something and then watch the episode again and find something funny about it that you didn't notice the first time absolutely absolutely it's kind of fun you know that's and that's a rare you know it's a rare thing we're all you know i we're just so lucky because you know normally british shows don't translate on american television so our our showrunner greg daniels took such good care of this and was so careful and so wonderful and he's a former saturday night live writer former simpsons writer uh and he's also the creator of uh co-creator of king of the hill craig daniels he's amazing he's amazing so we were i mean we were in good hands from the start and i knew Steve Corell when I was at Second City.

Speaker 3 We weren't in the same cast, but we were there at the same time. And it was just so nice to be a part.
I mean, it's so incredible to be a part of his stardom, his breakout.

Speaker 1 Oh, yeah.

Speaker 3 Now the whole world knows what a great actor, smart, funny genius Steve Corell is.

Speaker 1 He really is.

Speaker 1 How did you get approached about doing the project? Or did you, I'm sure you had some auditions with Greg? Or how did that come about?

Speaker 3 I actually initially auditioned. I initially auditioned for the part of Jan.

Speaker 1 Oh, no way.

Speaker 1 Okay. Oh, my God.
That would have been a whole different show. Yeah.
Yeah.

Speaker 3 It would have.

Speaker 1 And the casting director, Allison Jones said.

Speaker 1 I'm sorry. I just had to say it.
I just had to say it. Right now, no, no, it's crazy, right? Yeah.

Speaker 3 Serenity Canyon's?

Speaker 1 I don't know. But yeah,

Speaker 1 Hunter? I don't know.

Speaker 3 But I think

Speaker 3 I think, you know, the casting director Allison Jones said, I don't know if this is the part for you, but I feel like this show is right for you. So I actually did not do the pilot.

Speaker 3 I actually replaced replaced somebody from the pilot that was cut out.

Speaker 1 So, it's really strange when you come into a project.

Speaker 3 So, I did not do the first episode, but I did every other one. Yeah, no, fair enough.

Speaker 3 It's so odd because, yeah, it's just odd because they actually asked us to bring paperwork and to look busy at our desks season one. And,

Speaker 3 you know, I thought that was such a cool idea. So, then when the camera catches you, you're not like suddenly working.
You know, you're actually still in progress, in process.

Speaker 3 And so, it did have that documentary feel from the start. So, you know, as an ensemble person, being from Second City,

Speaker 3 and, you know, I did Delph Closes Apropalypic for years. I worked at the Annoyance Theater.

Speaker 3 I worked at a lot of funky theaters and did a lot of stuff where being an ensemble was really the most important part is to make sure you're there for everybody else.

Speaker 1 Giving everybody else. Player.
Yeah.

Speaker 3 Team player. Yeah.
From even whether you talk or not, you are in there. You're in it.
Yeah.

Speaker 3 So I love being a fully actualized character, even if you don't speak, which I think is one of of the most brilliant things about The Office, because we all work with people and we all went to school with people and you did not get to know everyone equally well right away.

Speaker 1 Sure.

Speaker 3 Things were revealed slowly. And sometimes there's people you'd be like, I didn't know that.
Or you find out later, you're like, oh, my God, I had no idea.

Speaker 3 That guy's nuts. Yeah.

Speaker 1 Whatever. It's just funny.

Speaker 1 So I love the way it.

Speaker 3 Totally. But our show had a slow, slow reveal.
and such a great, it was just, everything was just well timed.

Speaker 3 And even if I didn't speak for episodes, I felt like when I did, it was totally worth the wait. I felt like something wonderful and interesting was revealed

Speaker 3 and messed up sometimes.

Speaker 1 You know, something I read a book one time, and it was mentioning Aaron Sorkin in the West Wing, of course, the breakout

Speaker 1 drama about the West Wing, the White House.

Speaker 1 And one of the interesting choices that they made from the beginning, and I'm sure this is a choice that was made by Greg or whoever at the time also, was that even if you're not in the scene, I want you on the set.

Speaker 1 So you'll look at where the, you

Speaker 1 Leo McGarry and the president are talking, and in the background is, you know, Bradley Whitford or whoever, and they're shuffling paper or they're reading or they're having a conversation with someone else.

Speaker 1 It adds depth and layer and color and clarity to the whole situation. It's not, it doesn't feel like everybody just runs out of the room.

Speaker 1 It feels like an actual working office when you watch the office.

Speaker 3 It's a sense of reality. It's a sense of reality.
Yeah, it's awesome. And it's, it's, I just feel like

Speaker 3 the level of thought and intelligence that was put into every script,

Speaker 3 you know, and just having a great cast of great directors, great producers, great editors. You know, you just feel like you can't, you know, you're in good hands all the time.

Speaker 3 You're in good hands, so you can trust the process.

Speaker 1 Do you,

Speaker 1 I'm interested to know how much of this is actually improv and where, do you have bullet points? You're heading in a direction.

Speaker 1 I can improv inside of these parameters or how much of that was improv and how much of that ended up being scripted? Percentage-wise, if Most of it is scripted.

Speaker 3 Most of it is.

Speaker 3 Oh, yeah, I'd say maybe four percent, maybe five percent is improv.

Speaker 1 Interesting.

Speaker 3 Steve, yeah, Steve and Rain probably improvised a little more than most of us, but they also had more to say. Sure.
So, so we would kind of like hit the actual script.

Speaker 3 And then you, I learned quickly that if I improvise within my lines or had like one little addition while I was speaking, because you know, you're, you're, you're having to deal with camera, camera guys who are like documentarians who are moving to you know they're they're they're they know who they're gonna look at you know and focus on so if you're you can't just like suddenly have an idea and and railroad the whole process you have to be like in focus and you know so I always say to actors if you yeah yeah but if you're if you're so I always say

Speaker 3 if you're improvising even within a sitcom you have to know the parameters so that you're actually you're bringing a gift not presenting a problem wow even if it's a funny idea, it has to go somehow within the lines of forwarding the action or

Speaker 1 just. Yeah, you've got to hit a note.
You've got to hit the notes so that you don't mess up the rest of the band. Maybe video.

Speaker 3 Yeah, exactly. So

Speaker 3 that was the big learning curve for me for sure.

Speaker 3 And also, because I had done so much stage, I was constantly reminded, like, bring it down, bring it down.

Speaker 3 And I actually learned a great relationship with the camera, which I had never learned before.

Speaker 1 And I'm so grateful that they had the patience to go okay can you just do it one more time just do it a little less a little less because sometimes shows you know that's oh she didn't get it you're done bye bye you're gone bye bye bye bye bye so i'm grateful yeah because where do what what what is the trajectory you're at second city obviously the uh one of the most famous if not the most famous improv comedy theater in the world right with so many and i know there's a couple of them but for me as a chicago boy second city is like you know the gold sand yes and that's where a lot of the SNL characters came from.

Speaker 1 So you're in Second City. So obviously you're good at this.
Like you have a talent for this. If you're sitting with the other people at Second City, then you're doing okay.

Speaker 3 It's a validation for sure. For sure.
And I actually was, I was, I was actually up for SNL.

Speaker 3 And I always say, I didn't get it. One of my best friends at the time got it.
And I always say, it only took 13 short years to get the office.

Speaker 1 It was a long, 13 short years.

Speaker 3 It was a long, 13 short year.

Speaker 1 Did you audition for Lauren?

Speaker 3 You know what? Lauren came to see a show I did. I had lunch with Lauren.
I had interviews with Lauren. I didn't get to do the final round, but

Speaker 3 I was in consideration. And I was just at the SNL 50th at the concert at Radio City.
And

Speaker 3 it was so great. Obviously, I've had a lot of therapy because I just had a great time.

Speaker 1 I didn't get like a lot.

Speaker 3 I should have. No, no, I was, I just was like, oh my God, everything worked out the way I was supposed to.
Woo, woo.

Speaker 1 Kate, you don't know me, but let me tell you, if I was, if Lauren Michaels, you know, had even said my name out loud, I would consider that the end of the road for me. I'd be like, that's good.

Speaker 1 I'm die. I can die happy.
Like

Speaker 1 just being in consideration for such an iconic show. Right.

Speaker 3 And that was the therapy move is like not feeling like, oh, you were up for the dream and it's gone. It's like, no, no, no, you're in, you've been recognized.
You've been validated.

Speaker 3 And you can just move forward. Cause there's a lot of people that have been up for us and all that didn't get it that we all know.
Sure. Stephen Colbert.
I mean, there's a ton of people.

Speaker 3 You know, it's just, it's one of those things, but you just, you know, hopefully you take you rejection is protection. If you look at it that way, and just realize, oh, I'm just being redirected.

Speaker 3 There's something else waiting for me.

Speaker 3 Just keep it up. And I remember, you know, I started to do a comedy act in 2001 with a friend of mine from Second City Days.
And we did a two-person dying lounge act. We did it for 20 years.

Speaker 3 We still did it when the office ran. We did a lot of comedy festivals and comedy clubs.
We did it every Saturday for five years initially. Wow.

Speaker 3 Even when the office was running, I did it for another year every week and just really enjoyed it because I also realized I had my friends were getting famous and they weren't necessarily calling me.

Speaker 3 And I was like, oh, I think I have to figure out how to show up on another map. Like, how do you, how do you keep yourself in the game? Sure.

Speaker 3 And, you know, doing comedy live at clubs was a great way to do it. And so I kind of, we kind of found a funky way to get in.
So we were sort of in the cover band comedy world.

Speaker 3 So we were opening for people like Richard Cheese, for the Dan band, for Kettle's Pity Party, Garfunkel Notes.

Speaker 3 Like there's a bunch bunch of, like, there was a world of music and comedy that we were a part of. And that was, that was, it was great for me.

Speaker 1 So, Saturday Night Live, let's call it consideration. For your consideration, we just had a whole episode about this.
For your consideration.

Speaker 1 Great movie. Great movie.
Right. The best.
Yes.

Speaker 1 So, for your consideration. Captain Mara.
A short. Oh, my God.
Like, all of them. It's great ensembles.
You talk about great ensembles. All the Christopher Guest movies.

Speaker 1 The Office is another one you think of. When you, 13 short years later, as you put it, what does your agent just call you? And she says, I think that, I think we got this role.

Speaker 1 I think it's good for you.

Speaker 1 I want you to go and audition. Or does Greg Dant, does, how did you, how did they?

Speaker 3 Oh, no, it was just an audition. It was an audition.

Speaker 3 It was an audition. And, you know, it's also like, I didn't have an agent for a while.
I was told we're passing on you because of your age and your looks. I think I was like 38 when that happened.

Speaker 3 I'm like, what the hell?

Speaker 3 But i was doing comedy clubs i had done off-broadway i had like a big hit with a show off broadway in um uh that we did in la first uh it was a stage production of the movie valley the dolls

Speaker 3 i had a little buzz like i had some yeses i had some attention i felt like i was getting recognized in new york even if it was below 14th street i felt like it was a you know our show had sort of a rocky horror picture show uh cult following for a while and you know i mean it was it was good and i also sang in a band in new york with uh one of the guys from They Might Be Giants

Speaker 3 in the 80s and 90s. Yeah, they had another band called Monopuff, and I was in Monopuff, and we would open for the Giants.
So I had like a world, I was in the world. I did like a sketch on Conan.

Speaker 3 Like, I was kind of part of that. I did, I think I did some sketches on Jimmy Kimmel.
I showed up in weird places, and then I was on Bernie Mac show and a show called

Speaker 3 it was actually

Speaker 3 the Boomtown. I played Neil McDonough's secretary.
And I was so excited because they were like, oh, they want you to recur now. You did that.
They loved you in your first episode.

Speaker 3 So I got the second script. And two days later, I got the call that the show was canceled.

Speaker 3 So that was right before the

Speaker 3 office. So it's okay.
You know, you got, you know, that's all right. And then again, like, if I had been on that show, I couldn't have done the office.
So

Speaker 3 I think it worked out.

Speaker 1 Yes, it did. You were on the Bernie Mac show.
Did you have a chance to meet and sit with Bernie Mac to talk?

Speaker 3 Yes, I got to hang out. Bernie, he was the best.

Speaker 1 Man, everybody says that.

Speaker 3 He was the greatest. He would have a separate lunch for all the kids and their parents in his huge dressing area.

Speaker 3 It was like a house just for him.

Speaker 3 He was the great. He was the greatest.
He saw everyone. So kind, so funny, so smart.
I felt very lucky.

Speaker 3 uh to to to guest star and i was still waiting tables by the way at a restaurant in beverly hills when all this was going on by the way and i got my restaurant job up and through the first season of the office yeah i did when you it's just like i was waiting on a lot lot of famous people.

Speaker 1 You know, I have an interesting story.

Speaker 1 So the other day I was watching Reels and a reel came up about Bernie Mac cutting a promo for the Bernie Mac show, which, by the way, I think is one of the more underrated comedies of our generation.

Speaker 1 It's so good. It's so funny.
And it's poignant. It's poignant.
He's a good dad, and he teaches anyway.

Speaker 1 So one of the directors of this promo is trying to get this little girl or, or excuse me, this little guy to sit on his lap or this little girl to sit on his lap.

Speaker 1 And Bernard, Bernie Bernie keeps telling the director, not going to do that. Not going to, it's not appropriate.
I'm not going to do that.

Speaker 1 And the director keeps pushing him until finally Bernie says, not doing the promo. I'm not having this person sit on my lap.

Speaker 1 But it was just like Bernie had like a moral compass and it didn't matter about Hollywood.

Speaker 1 It just, it just goes to, like, I'm not making a larger point about kids and who's sitting on laps and all that.

Speaker 1 What I'm making the point is, is that Bernie was a, like, he had a umami about him, like this life force about him that you really comes through on screen. Did you get the sense? He did.

Speaker 3 And he would fly back to Chicago every weekend because he had friends and family in Chicago that he didn't want to abandon. Like he really, he was, he was on the move.

Speaker 1 He was always moving. Great loss.

Speaker 1 A great loss. Yeah, I know.

Speaker 3 I know. What a loss.
Devastating.

Speaker 1 Did you get this sense after the first season of The Office?

Speaker 1 Didn't wasn't, I might be mistaken about this, but I think I remember, and you know, because I'm like everybody else in the world, I've watched a million, Office a Million Times and Behind the Scenes and all that other stuff.

Speaker 1 Am I right that wasn't the, it wasn't a breakout hit after the first season. It wasn't there were

Speaker 1 that you guys were almost, you were on the chopping block. They didn't know if there was going to be a second season and NBC granted you that second season.

Speaker 1 And that's really when you started to hit your stride. But did you guys get the sense in the room that something magical was happening?

Speaker 3 I knew it was a great show, but I didn't think it was an NBC show.

Speaker 3 One of the few times I improvised in season one was during healthcare.

Speaker 3 And, you know, there was a whole conversation where I said, I say, you know, to Dwight, you know, because he's trying to cut the health care. Oh, yeah, that's right.

Speaker 1 And

Speaker 3 I say, like,

Speaker 3 uterus is different from a vagina. I still have a, we have this argument about hysterectomies.

Speaker 3 But that was one of the few times I got to improvise. And I was like, oh, my God.
And then I remember seeing Greg Daniels in the restaurant where I was working.

Speaker 3 He's, he just happened to come in, completely ignored that I was in the weeds and wearing a uniform.

Speaker 3 And he's like, oh, my gosh, that line that you improvised about the vagina, we're fighting with the network. We're hoping it stays.
And luckily, it did stay in.

Speaker 3 But it's just like that never would have happened if it was HBO. But I also feel like part of why TV changed was because Friends was over, Frasier had ended.
Joey was on the air and not doing well.

Speaker 3 So that's when our first season, we were on during this time when Joey was on. And I think the NBC was just looking for something.

Speaker 3 And also, 40-year-old Virgin, Steve made 40-year-old virgin between the pilot and the second episode of The Office.

Speaker 3 And when it was about to come out, which was the beginning of when we were filming season two,

Speaker 3 the buzz was like oh oh my god oh my god because the posters were everywhere

Speaker 3 and then i remember we got to go to the premiere we all came from this from the studio our you know set and i remember ben siller was there and will farrell and uh jim carrey and i was like they were like checking out the new guy they were nervous about the new guy

Speaker 3 and it was this and the movie was so such a big hit and you know they're like oh my god we have that guy so i feel like it was really steve corell i think his magic that that kind of allowed us to move forward And also his heart.

Speaker 3 Yeah. And also he understood, he understood how to make a guy who's just so awkward, says the wrong things all the time, but has a heart.
Yes.

Speaker 3 Cause I feel like the British version was so mean and so dark and like really funny, but like, whoa, really tough.

Speaker 1 I agree with you on this, and I have had arguments about this with friends of mine and other people.

Speaker 1 I am not the biggest fan of The Office BBC, of The Office UK. I'm not.
And I think it's funny in its own way. And I love British comedies.
I mean, you can ask Chrissy. Yes.

Speaker 1 I know them all, and I watch them all, and I'm tuned into that universe. But something about that Office UK,

Speaker 1 because I watched The Office U.S.

Speaker 1 first, there is something tender and gentle and empathetic about most of the characters in The Office that is lacking in some of the characters that just gives it this depth.

Speaker 1 It's like, I don't know, it's like soup after.

Speaker 3 I think that's why you...

Speaker 1 Yeah, it's like like soup after you've been sitting for a couple days. It's better, it's it has more flavors, it's like the flavors come out or something.
I don't know how to explain it,

Speaker 3 totally, no, no, no, I think that's that's well stated, and I also think that you know, I don't think um, I mean, there's a reason why uh, the British office is has so few episodes.

Speaker 3 Yeah, I feel like it's really hard to watch this character because he's not really growing as a human. It's hard to get behind him for years and years and years and season after season, yeah.

Speaker 3 So, yeah, and it's

Speaker 1 really easy to get behind you know, Michael Scarn as he's as he's got. Yes, yes.

Speaker 1 Totally. What is,

Speaker 1 and I know that, so now you're when are you world famous? When do you get out of your house and realize, holy shit, I can, I am, I did it. I made it.
Here I am. People are recognizing you.

Speaker 1 They're repeating the lines. They're probably saying, you know, I don't know.
They're,

Speaker 1 I can only imagine all the lines.

Speaker 3 I feel like for me, it was, no, totally. I feel like for me, personally, it felt more like season four for me because that was, we started the season with Fun Run, where

Speaker 3 Meredith Scott, Michael Scott hits Meredith with its car. Yeah, so

Speaker 3 that was sort of like, oh, what? And then I remember I

Speaker 1 got a call.

Speaker 3 Joaquin Phoenix had canceled on the tonight show, and they asked me to be on instead. And I was like, oh my God.
So that was, that was sort of like the first big, oh my gosh.

Speaker 3 And I remember being at my parents'

Speaker 3 summer place in New Jersey. And I was on the boardwalk and like, I just felt like all these kids were like running toward me.
And I started running. I'm like, wait a minute, what am I running?

Speaker 1 I'm not in free space. It's fine.

Speaker 1 Yeah.

Speaker 3 It was definitely like, oh my gosh, you know, you better, you know, don't curse and you better watch what you say in front of other people. You better be grateful.

Speaker 1 How fun. Well, it's got to be such a huge change.
You're waiting tables through season one, right? Probably the character is growing, but still limited in season two and three.

Speaker 1 And then you, and then all of a sudden, this ensemble, like this kind of core group of characters, starts to come into play. And now people are becoming familiar with them.

Speaker 1 So now everyone's, everyone knows you as Meredith, and they're familiar with you. And we were talking about this with someone else just last week.

Speaker 1 It's like you grow an affinity and a relationship with these characters on this screen.

Speaker 1 And it's, yes, it's interesting how in our minds, it's like we do have a friendship with these people that were watching.

Speaker 1 Do you, did you ever feel uncomfortable with the amount of attention that was that the office was being paid, or everybody

Speaker 1 kind of knowing who you were? I mean,

Speaker 3 it's a champagne problem.

Speaker 1 You gotta make peace with it.

Speaker 3 If you don't make peace with it, if you don't make peace with it, you're screwed. Yeah.
I mean, really, I just feel like it's literally like deciding to be happy or not.

Speaker 3 You know, I mean, sometimes people come up to you and they think I'm their third grade teacher and they're like, no, no, no, I think I was in your, I was like, oh, no, and then so, oh, and I'm like, oh my God, I messed up, you know, which is my fine.

Speaker 1 So funny.

Speaker 3 But I, I, you know, I, I'm so grateful. I also, it's really nice to be, I was 40 when I got the office.
It's much better.

Speaker 3 You know, you're much wiser when you're a little older and you have much more perspective and gratitude when you're older. That's true, I think, than when you're in your 20s.

Speaker 3 You think, this is never going to end. I'm going to go from show to show to show.
And you don't realize that these things are very, very, very rare.

Speaker 1 Yeah.

Speaker 1 And to be in such an iconic show that will probably live for a very long time somewhere.

Speaker 1 I mean, it bounces from, you know, streamer to streamer, and every time it's got, there's a huge PR push, and everyone, you know, get falls in love again with The Office, and it gets introduced to new generations.

Speaker 1 I have a six-year-old child, and I was watching The Office about two weeks ago. I was watching,

Speaker 1 I can't, the parkour episode. Casual day? Yeah,

Speaker 1 casual day. Oh, God.
Oh, God. Oh, God.

Speaker 1 I was watching the, I think it was the parkour episode, and then I was in my son.

Speaker 1 I saw my son like engage with this episode and he was like what's parkour why are they yelling why did that guy fall in the trash can but he was starting to laugh at it too and I thought to myself there's the next generation of office fans coming up right here and that's got to be like when you go to bed at night sometimes I bet I bet there is a sense of like gratitude and and holy cow I did it I was a part of one of the best right I was there yeah and I

Speaker 3 totally and as a child of like 70s TV I remember watching shows like MASH and like Mary Tyler Moore, where they had these wonderful long runs and they had these wonderful finales.

Speaker 3 So I feel like we got that too. We got a wonderful finale.
So yeah,

Speaker 3 trust me,

Speaker 3 I am beyond grateful.

Speaker 3 I feel like, you know, I suddenly...

Speaker 1 No, please, go ahead. I want to hear what you have to say.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Speaker 3 I just, the other thing I was going to say is that I feel like sometimes when I put, when I say to actors, like, don't count your lines, stop counting your lines if you get apart.

Speaker 3 Because sometimes people want to talk more when they want to talk more.

Speaker 3 And I feel like I learned to stop doing that because I realized, like, you know, some, I mean, sometimes I had a lot to say, and most of the time I didn't.

Speaker 3 And sometimes I still got a laugh, even if the, even I just got a look and I would get a laugh. So I trusted, like, okay, that's just part of this process.

Speaker 3 And, and you can still be very present in a scene and not speak. And still, like, people know who you,

Speaker 3 it's a contribution and you're, and it's, it's a, it's a platform. So I felt super lucky with that.
So I also think, like, you know, some people want to be the star.

Speaker 3 Some people want to be the sidekick. I feel like, you know, in many ways, I describe Meredith as like, I was the onions.

Speaker 1 You know,

Speaker 3 I wasn't the main course. I wasn't on the side dish.
I was like, kind of always there with some flavor, baby. You know,

Speaker 1 salt shaker on the table. You come in and you sprinkle some flavor

Speaker 1 on a lot of these episodes. A little bit, yeah.
I would consider, you know, in my mind, at least, Meredith is a major character in the office, right?

Speaker 3 And so, um, well, it's great to be there every day and just, like I said, be a part of this energy. Like we were just, I mean, we were there all, you know, all day, every day, and it was fantastic.

Speaker 3 So even if I didn't speak, I was like really enjoying every

Speaker 3 day, every moment of the process and watching, you know, just the funniest scenes take place.

Speaker 1 Could the office get, could the office as it stands today, could it get made again?

Speaker 1 First of all, I know the answer to this is no, because Netflix, I mean, and and God bless Netflix, and I know that, you know, they probably pay some bills or something, but the Netflix and the streamers now have this kind of habit of three and done, right?

Speaker 1 Three and out, so to speak, three seasons and out.

Speaker 1 Do you think the office could

Speaker 1 the office survive today?

Speaker 1 Could you do another run similar?

Speaker 3 I don't. I mean, I think everybody's so scared of comedy too.
We're getting better, but it's still like, I feel like

Speaker 3 people making fun of other people is

Speaker 3 it when I grew up, I feel like it was always a source of affection.

Speaker 3 Yes, it wasn't bullying agreed and I feel like it's been misunderstood and I think we've had some some comedy police that need to they need to tone down

Speaker 1 I think it is getting better I think there's some level heads coming into the conversation and listen I I also think that you know there there might be situations where it gets taken too far, but that's in the comedy club to work it out and you find that funny then there's somebody you'll find funny and if you don't find that funny you don't have to go right it's not your your thing.

Speaker 1 You don't have to go. But

Speaker 1 the office to me is just good, wholesome fun. And I agree with you.
When I was a kid, growing up in the 80s, you know, and the 90s, this was a way to endear yourself to your group of friends.

Speaker 1 It was like you poked at people and, you know, you, you, and that,

Speaker 1 it toughened you up a little bit. It toughened you up, but then it also was good fun.
It was like, oh, you know, it was good fun to jab at your friends. friends.

Speaker 3 Yeah, if they don't give you a hard time, they don't love you.

Speaker 3 That's what I always grew up with. Like, that's how they show love.

Speaker 1 Are you Irish Catholic?

Speaker 1 Can you tell?

Speaker 1 My dad owned a bar. Flannery's tennis, baby.
I know. I'm an alcoholic mappo baby, right?

Speaker 1 Is there a Meredith in Kate and Kate in Meredith? Is there, it's, I mean, I imagine there is somewhere, right, a little bit of that wild child, you know, kind of irritation.

Speaker 3 It was last week.

Speaker 1 Yeah. I'm still recovering.

Speaker 1 That's why we had to reschedule a week later. She's like, no, no, St.
Patrick's Day.

Speaker 1 I got it. I can't possibly.

Speaker 1 I can't possibly.

Speaker 1 Yeah, I got it.

Speaker 1 After you have a few drinks, does Meredith ever come out? Do you have like idiot friends who say, you know, repeat a line from the office?

Speaker 1 Not really.

Speaker 1 God bless your friends. No, yeah.

Speaker 3 I mean, I have a lot of active friends, so yeah.

Speaker 3 And I'd have to be like, okay, you repeat your line from my show.

Speaker 1 Yeah, exactly. Were you guys all friendly? I I mean, I'm sure there were, it's like a family, and you were together for so many years.
There were moments when this person or that person.

Speaker 1 Oh, yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 3 And I knew Angela before because we were in an all-women improv group called Bitch Planet.

Speaker 1 I love that.

Speaker 3 We did for a couple years. Yeah.
That was like in the early, like 2000, 2001. Yeah, we had a we had a great time.
And I knew Steve from Second City. And Oscar and I should have met a million times.

Speaker 3 I knew Dave Kechner, who played Packer.

Speaker 3 Yeah, I knew a few people, you know, and some of the directors I knew. But yeah, it was, it was, but yeah, but it was, it was definitely, you know, just the greatest group of people.

Speaker 3 I mean, they are family.

Speaker 1 We are a family.

Speaker 4 And to see some of them, like Mindy Kalen and John Krasinski and all these people, really just amazing.

Speaker 3 Yes, such talented, such hard-working, super talented individuals.

Speaker 1 And the Office Ladies.

Speaker 1 And the Office Ladies has been a breakout podcast. They have absolutely.
Yeah. And I know you've been on that.
You've been on that show on Office Ladies. Yes.

Speaker 1 Do you

Speaker 1 so do you all still stay in touch? Is there some camaraderie that happens still to this?

Speaker 3 We have text threads that we do. And then some of us do some fan events together still.
Like I just did a, I was just a Texan, Texas A ⁇ M with Leslie David Baker, who plays Stanley.

Speaker 3 We sometimes do, we speak at colleges. And then I'm doing some fan event with Rain and Oscar and I think Brian.
Yeah. So we get around.

Speaker 1 You know, biggest surprise personality outside of the office, like the person who was on the screen, who I found to be like

Speaker 1 different in the most engaging and wonderful way, besides Kate, of course, our new friend, is Rain. Rain is a really interesting human being outside.

Speaker 1 It's so.

Speaker 3 But he does know a lot about Battlestar Galactica.

Speaker 1 Well, fair enough. Okay.

Speaker 3 He's Dwight Adjacent.

Speaker 1 Yeah.

Speaker 3 But yeah, he's a lovely person. I actually just saw he was doing a Broadway show you're in town, and I got to see the last the last performance when I was in here a few weeks ago.

Speaker 1 He was great. Yeah, he was great.

Speaker 3 I thought he was singing, and he was great.

Speaker 1 He was great. I think Dwight is one of the most iconic television characters ever.
And I don't think you can't have a little bit of Dwight in you to play that role so well.

Speaker 1 I think you have to have Dwight in you. All right, you're stuck on an island.

Speaker 1 Facts. Yeah.

Speaker 1 You're stuck on an island, and you got to bring two office characters with you. Who are you bringing?

Speaker 1 I think

Speaker 3 Michael Scott and Dwight.

Speaker 1 Yes. Yeah.
Yes. That's a good answer.

Speaker 3 I think, I mean, I just, you know, I mean, I love Jim and Pam. I love everybody, but I feel like, I don't know, for me, I don't know.
I just

Speaker 1 made this stuff done.

Speaker 3 They did. I always loved the Jim Dwight.

Speaker 1 Yes.

Speaker 3 You know, the games that they would play.

Speaker 1 The dueling.

Speaker 3 Yes, the deaths.

Speaker 1 All the pranks that they would play. That's so great.

Speaker 3 And I love the Jim and Pam love story.

Speaker 1 I love glory. Love, love, love, love, love.
were you guys rooting for that love story inside like i was i was too yeah yeah

Speaker 1 yeah but but the back and forth like it could so relate so relatable so relatable it really is it's like it's so touching and the little looks that they would give each other and the way that they would just be so

Speaker 1 like you know caring for each other you were just rooting from the beginning for for jim and pam and when it worked and it worked and it and it worked out in in such a wonderful way in a non-cheesy way where you're like oh my god okay get it you know right you wanted every every moment that they showed

Speaker 1 of that relationship was a poignant moment and one that then furthered the story. So it didn't get overly like, it didn't become about Jim and Pam.

Speaker 1 It wasn't the Jim and Pam show, which is what I feared at the time. Like, oh, now it's going to be the Jim and Pam relationship show, but it wasn't.
It was still very much

Speaker 1 The Office.

Speaker 1 What is your favorite episode of The Office?

Speaker 1 It's hard to choose. I know.
Yeah. That's really hard.
I know. I know.
I feel

Speaker 1 like sudden death. But

Speaker 1 sudden death you know what?

Speaker 3 I love the, I love the, I love the injury. I love when Michael Scott burns his foot on his hill.

Speaker 3 George Foreman burns his pace dress.

Speaker 1 Yeah,

Speaker 3 but that phone call when he's like calling to tell everybody that he, and he's on speaker, that he burned his foot.

Speaker 3 And then the talking head after where he explains in his office why he has a George Foreman girl by his bed because he likes to wake up to the smell of bacon

Speaker 1 and he doesn't have a butler. I'm just like,

Speaker 1 I'm sorry.

Speaker 3 and that was like the episode where scott where i'm sorry where um dwight has a a concussion and they're driving in marriage

Speaker 1 i've had a minivan oh my god that was with a squirt bottle and with a cat i can't even jim's trying to keep him awake oh my gosh i love it so great did you break character were you how often did you break character or did you guys just get really good it wasn't a big breaker yeah i i mean there's some people that were like super laughers i mean sometimes we would laugh, but I usually was not the first person.

Speaker 3 But, you know, so I feel like I was, I'm in a drama, I'm in a drama. I would tell myself,

Speaker 1 right, right. Yeah, that's total professionalism because I don't know how I would not be a breaker on that set.
But then again, you know, I'm watching the final finished product. Yeah.

Speaker 1 And we were, we were talking to someone else who was on a great comedy show, and he was explaining

Speaker 1 Tim Baltz. And so Tim Baltz was saying, listen, sometimes you have 14-hour days, and you know that if you break, we're adding an extra hour and 15 minutes onto the day.

Speaker 1 And so I just, that gives me all the motivation I need to stay in character. Totally.

Speaker 3 And I also like would watch Steve Corell just do most of the talking. And I feel like if somebody else laughs, you're like, dude, you're going to make him start this whole scene over again.

Speaker 1 Right, right.

Speaker 3 Like, you got to just like, don't mess it up for him.

Speaker 1 Okay, but there's life after the office. I know, and thank you for indulging me,

Speaker 1 indulging us on these office questions. But there's life after the office, and you're not all about the office.

Speaker 1 Tell us what else. You also have

Speaker 1 a wonderful show with Jane Lynch. What else is going on for Kate?

Speaker 3 Well, I do a bunch of,

Speaker 3 like I recur on a cartoon or two.

Speaker 3 I'm on Universal Basic Guys, which is

Speaker 3 a Philadelphia comedy.

Speaker 3 I think it's on right after The Simpsons. It's on Sunday nights on Fox.
So fun. I got to do the pilot and I just got to do a guest organ.
So

Speaker 3 it's so well written. I'm so happy for those guys because it's their first.
And the fact that they got on Sunday Nights on Fox is huge.

Speaker 1 It's really good.

Speaker 1 I watched three episodes and I really liked it. I thought, oh, this is a good thing.
This could be another. I mean, King of the Hill is one of my favorite.

Speaker 1 Also, another Greg Danielson. Oh my God, the best.
The best. Yes, the best.
It's coming back. And so

Speaker 1 we'll see what happens with that. But Universal Basic Guys is not

Speaker 1 the King of the Hill, but it's just something about the writing on that show. It's so good.
It's really well done.

Speaker 3 It's really, yeah,

Speaker 3 it's definitely worth your time. And, you know, I feel like

Speaker 3 I'm doing, I don't know, I feel like I'm kind of all over the place right now, but things are good. I get to sing with Jane

Speaker 3 pretty frequently. I mean, we're always on tour every Christmas because we did a Christmas album together that did very well.
We were literally on the Billboard top 10 for a couple of weeks.

Speaker 1 That's insane.

Speaker 3 I know, right? So it's called Swinging Little Christmas. You can find it on iTunes and Spotify and all that stuff.

Speaker 3 Or you can buy the CD on Amazon.

Speaker 3 You might need to get a new car.

Speaker 3 But yeah, so

Speaker 3 it's a joy. And we get to play really great, great, great places, big halls.
And like, you know, sometimes we played for 2,000 seats or 3,000 seats or 500 seats.

Speaker 3 We're kind of all over the place, but it's really been a joy. And we've been doing that for 10 years.
Yeah. It's really fun.
And we have a non-Christmas show as well. How did you?

Speaker 3 Go to Jane Lynch official.

Speaker 1 Okay, Jane Lynch.

Speaker 3 Okay, the never, never, the first time I ever went to Second City, Jane Lynch was understood. She was on stage understeading for Bonnie Hunt.
And then

Speaker 3 a year later, a year and a half later, I became Jane's understeady. It's crazy.

Speaker 3 And then we started singing together for benefits. And there were a couple live shows that we would do, just like little bits in some sketch shows we did together.
Then

Speaker 3 we did a sketch show in LA where we got to sing in that with a bunch of other people, like Ana Gastar.

Speaker 3 um oh my god it's like so many so many great uh people that were coming and joey sellery and then we got to do

Speaker 3 then we became award show buddies because Glee and the office were home at the same time. And then our shows got canceled around the same time.

Speaker 3 So Jane asked me to kind of join her in this cabaret endeavor in New York. And I can't.

Speaker 1 I can just never look back.

Speaker 3 We had a great time. She was fun.
We sing with the Tony Guerrero quintet. They're great.

Speaker 1 I think it's great. I love Jane.
Jane is also iconic. She's the greatest.
Yeah, she really is.

Speaker 4 Her role in only murders in the building and cracks the episode.

Speaker 1 So great.

Speaker 1 I know. I love it.

Speaker 3 I knew she'd be Steve Martin.

Speaker 1 It's so great. It's just so fun.
Oh, awesome.

Speaker 3 And we were just watching Mrs. Maisel again.
She's so great on the Marvel.

Speaker 1 Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 3 That part is nuts.

Speaker 1 I love that show.

Speaker 1 Okay, so one more question.

Speaker 1 How are you feeling? There's been a lot of talk about Office Reboot. I think it's happening.
I think there's been, you know, I've read in the trade rags that it's happening.

Speaker 1 Has there been any conversation about old characters? Not that I know of.

Speaker 1 Not that you know of.

Speaker 3 No, there's a spin-off. There's a spin-off.

Speaker 1 Oh, it's a spin-off. I'm sorry.
Okay. It's a spin-off.
It's a spin-off. Yeah, yeah, it's not a reboot.
So it's a spin-off of the office.

Speaker 1 Do you think there'll be any intertwinglings between the two offices? Like, for any reason? I'm not sure.

Speaker 3 I know, Tony, I just saw, I just ran into our editor the other day who's, I mean, a lot of the same crew is on the show.

Speaker 1 So it's like, I miss you guys.

Speaker 3 So I don't know. I don't know.
That'll tell me squat. Yes.
I'm a big male, so I have to watch.

Speaker 1 Yeah, pretty much.

Speaker 1 But

Speaker 1 you'll know know when I know.

Speaker 3 But I, you know, I don't know. I mean, it was nice to get to do an AT ⁇ T commercial with five other people from the office.

Speaker 1 Oh, that's great.

Speaker 3 That's been really, really fun. That was really fun.
I feel like we just all fell right back into the groove. It was great.

Speaker 1 It seemed like you guys were having fun. Am I not mistaken? That was on the Super Bowl? That commercial event? I think so.
Yeah,

Speaker 3 we're always on. Yeah, we're always on, like, we tend to be on sports events, like during the Masters and like now on the, during the

Speaker 3 March

Speaker 3 tournament all the time. Yeah.

Speaker 3 There's a couple different shorter versions and stuff, too. Yeah.

Speaker 1 I would happily pay the $19.99 a month double if they would make new offices of the actual office with all of the characters back. I mean, I know everyone.

Speaker 3 I will let them know, Brian.

Speaker 1 I report back to you.

Speaker 1 You're the best.

Speaker 1 Text me. I'll have my people call your people and we'll talk to Greg and see if we can't get another 10 episode run on Netflix or something like that.
You are.

Speaker 3 Oh, yeah, go ahead. You guys are awesome.
I meant to mention I'm on a new episode of Night Court

Speaker 3 with the great John Larikett and Sarajevo. Those guys are so awesome.
I love that they're doing it. It's so fun.
It was so fun. So fun to be a part of

Speaker 3 webinars in the cast now, too. It's, yeah, it's, it's, and I've I feel like I've gotten to do some really, really super fun shows.
So I feel super, super

Speaker 1 excited.

Speaker 1 It's a reboot that. I thought, oh my God, how are they going to reboot Night Court? Because, you know,

Speaker 1 how do you do that? But honestly, it's a good show.

Speaker 1 it's a good show they made it work yeah it is they made it work and i think it's well acted and it's really funny and john of course is a legend so um he is a legend and i and i all they're missing is harry and god bless harry i wish you know but the they're doing a great job with the new characters over there kate flannery is of course meredith in a little show called the office which you know every couple of years she gets another 200 million dollar check for it to move from streamer from streamer to streamer How much do they give me?

Speaker 1 Only phone they brought. I know.
It has to be a Dundee. Just my dundee.
They give me back my Dundee.

Speaker 1 That is a freaking Dundee she is holding up. YouTube.com slash the Carson.
Yes.

Speaker 3 It's my second Dundee. That first one is Grace Underfire.

Speaker 3 It's not Best Redhead, though.

Speaker 1 That is crazy.

Speaker 1 Oh, my God.

Speaker 3 I'm not full of props. Meredith Funko Pop.

Speaker 1 Oh, my first

Speaker 1 casual day. What else you have?

Speaker 1 What else you have?

Speaker 3 There's the Funko Pop

Speaker 3 from Fun Run. So it's my cast, my Pelvis cast.

Speaker 1 And it's signed price.

Speaker 1 I love it. You know, there is some.

Speaker 3 And here's my.

Speaker 1 Oh, wait. Sorry.
Go ahead.

Speaker 1 No, I was going to say, you know, there's some guy or girl out there that would pay $1700,000 for

Speaker 1 that Dundee. I know it.

Speaker 1 Well, yeah.

Speaker 3 So actually, we're going to be, a bunch of us from the office are going to be in at the Meadowlands. I think it's the first weekend in August.
There's a reunion, Office Reunion Con.

Speaker 1 So I think,

Speaker 3 yeah, Angela's going to be there. Oscar, Creed,

Speaker 3 Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner. There's a bunch of people that have done like guest stars.
Andy Buckley, who played David Wallace. Oh, yeah.
It's going to be great.

Speaker 3 Yeah. Wayne Wilderson, who played Martin.

Speaker 3 There's some really fun, fun, fun people that'll be on it. You got in Bob Vance.
It'll be fun.

Speaker 3 So if you're in the Meadowlands, first weekend in August, come in. And then

Speaker 3 you can get your Funko Pop song.

Speaker 1 song.

Speaker 1 I love that I love that Funko Pop. I want one of those crazy first.
I'm very proud. I will put the links to all of this information and make sure that our listeners hear it.

Speaker 1 And if they want to go to the Meadowlands or they want to see your shows, Jane Lynch, The Office, all of that stuff. I feel very grateful, just like a note of seriousness.

Speaker 1 I feel very grateful to have spoken with you because you

Speaker 1 were part of an ensemble that played part of a period in our lives. Yeah, a period in our lives.
I know. Growing up.

Speaker 1 And you were our friends on the other side of the screen. And I know you got me through a few hard days.
And still to this day,

Speaker 1 you're good for a laugh. And,

Speaker 1 you know, parkour. That's all I got to say.
Parkour, Kate.

Speaker 3 I'll drink to that. I will drink to that.
You guys are awesome.

Speaker 1 Best to you. You're welcome back anytime.
Thank you, Kate. Thanks for talking to you.

Speaker 3 Appreciate you guys.

Speaker 1 Take care. Bye.
Bye-bye.

Speaker 1 Let me do something Brian has never done. Be brief.

Speaker 5 Follow us on Instagram at the Commercial break. Text or call us 212-433-3TCB.
That's 212-433-3822. Visit our website, tcbpodcast.com, for all the audio, video, and your free sticker.

Speaker 5 Then watch all the videos at youtube.com/slash thecommercial break. And finally, share the show.
It's the best gift you could give a few aging podcasters. See, Brian?

Speaker 1 That really wasn't that difficult now, was it?

Speaker 5 You're welcome.

Speaker 6 Don't let the holidays derail your fitness. Stay on track with hydro.
20 minutes rowing on a hydro targets 86% of your muscles as Olympians guide you from incredible locations worldwide.

Speaker 6 Running can't compete. That's why 90% stick with hydro a year later.
GQ named the hydro arc the best rower of 2025. And every hydro comes with free shipping, a 30-day trial, and warranty.

Speaker 6 Go to hydro.com code fit and save up to 600 bucks on your next hydro. Hydro.com code fit.

Speaker 7 Ready to level up? Chumba Casino is your playbook to fun. It's free to play with no purchase necessary.

Speaker 7 Enjoy hundreds of online social games like Blackjack, Slots, and Solitaire anytime, anywhere, with fresh releases every week.

Speaker 7 Whether you're at home or on the go, let Chumba Casino bring the excitement to you. Plus, get free daily login bonuses and a free welcome bonus.
Join now for your chance to redeem some serious prizes.

Speaker 7 Play Chumba Casino today. No purchase necessary, VGW Group, Voidboard Prohibited by Law 21 Plus.
TNCs apply.

Speaker 1 I was so happy to talk to Kate. It's like what a pleasure.
I know.

Speaker 1 You know, when I was thinking about this this morning in my shower, my 15-hour shower, when I was thinking about having Kate here, I thought, could I have imagined 15 or 20 years ago when I first started watching The Office?

Speaker 1 And I watched it from the beginning. Oh, yeah.
And that doesn't make me special or anything. I'm not like that guy who says, you know, oh, I saw them before they were cool.

Speaker 1 I just watched it from the beginning, and it was my kind of comedy. And I really enjoyed what they were doing.

Speaker 1 Didn't understand the like the first episode, a little confused as to how it was all going down, but I loved what they were attempting. I loved where they were going with it.

Speaker 1 And I mean, I could never have imagined sitting here talking to Meredith from the office when I was watching The Office. So, this is one of those childhood dreams come true, Chrissy.
They really do.

Speaker 1 All you have to do, I know.

Speaker 4 I was wondering, too, a thought that crossed my mind too was thinking about how you know the office culture has changed so much now after the pandemic.

Speaker 4 Would people still be able to like,

Speaker 4 I mean, the comedy itself is so funny.

Speaker 4 But, you know, I think working in that environment, which everybody did.

Speaker 1 Yes. Well, a lot of people had those kind of jobs, like cubicle type jobs where you would sit in an office with other people and actually communicate.
40 days a week, 40 hours a week, you know,

Speaker 1 and clock in, clock out.

Speaker 4 Office romances and the people that you hated and the people that you liked. And all that.

Speaker 1 Now

Speaker 1 an AI chatbot is doing all the sales for you. There would be no Pam or Jim.
They would just be AI assistants at this point.

Speaker 1 So, yeah, a lot of things have changed, and they will continue to change, but I believe that The Office will far outlive any kind of office culture.

Speaker 3 We can always watch that.

Speaker 1 Yes.

Speaker 1 All right. Well, thanks to Kate.

Speaker 1 The Office. Available on Peacock.
All episodes.

Speaker 1 Go re-watch it. I know you've watched it, so re-watch it.
I've re-watched it.

Speaker 1 Rewatch it. Put a little jingle jangle in Kate's pocket.
She's got to get some kind of residuals or something from that. I have to imagine.

Speaker 1 I wasn't so rude as to ask her, but in my mind, she's getting residual payments. Every time I press play, she's getting a penny in her pocket.
So I'll keep pressing play because I like those people.

Speaker 1 They're my flavor of hot sauce, Chrissy, as I would say.

Speaker 3 So many breakout stars.

Speaker 1 All of them. So too, yeah.
All of them. Breakout stars.
And what a great idea at the New Jersey Meadowlands. That's a big venue.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 To do an office reunion I don't imagine that Steve Carell will show up but you know maybe you never know maybe Will Farrell stops by who knows but Kate's gonna be there along with some of the other characters and people that she mentioned so if you're in the New Jersey area or you're that kind of office fan you can fly up and check it out August 1st I'll put links in the show notes all the details are available down below As always, with our guests, and we'll keep reminding you this week to go check it out.

Speaker 1 And the Jane Lynch Christmas

Speaker 1 variety show and review. Yeah, the day.
They'll try to look.

Speaker 3 But they will come out. They do it every year.

Speaker 1 We will make a note that we will certainly forget to remind you during Christmas season to go check out Kate and Jane Lynch. Or who knows? Maybe she'll come back.
Because I just scratched the surface.

Speaker 1 I could ask a million more questions. I could go really deep on the office.

Speaker 1 But also, I don't want to irritate the shit out of her. You know what I'm saying?

Speaker 1 Like, there might be a point where an actor or an actress who's done a character like that goes, Okay, I really don't want to rehash every single thing that ever happened.

Speaker 1 But then you got the office ladies who rehash every single thing that ever happened. So I don't know.
Maybe we'll start an office podcast with Kate. Hey, maybe that one will make money.

Speaker 1 You never know.

Speaker 1 TCBpodcast.com. That's where you go.
You find out more information about Chrissy and I. All the audio, all the video, all the show notes, links to every single guest's every single thing.

Speaker 1 It's all there. You can go on the website and see it there.
At the Commercial Break on Instagram, TCB Podcast on TikTok, and youtube.com/slash thecommercial break.

Speaker 1 For all the episodes on video, the day they air here on the audio. 212-4333-TCB.
Questions, comments, concerns, content, ideas. Okay, Chrissy, that's all I can do for now.
Bye, thanks.

Speaker 1 I'll tell you that I love you. I love you.
Best of you. Best to you.
And best you out there in the podcast universe. Until next time, Chrissy, and I will say, we do say, and we must say, goodbye.

Speaker 9 Hey, Ryan Reynolds here, wishing you a very happy, half-off holiday. Because right now Mint Mobile is offering you the gift of 50% off unlimited.
To be clear, that's half price, not half the service.

Speaker 9 And Mint is still premium unlimited wireless for a great price.

Speaker 10 So that means a half day.

Speaker 9 Yeah? Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch.

Speaker 10 Upfront payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required. New customer offers for first three months only.
Speed flow out of 35 gigabytes of networks busy.

Speaker 10 Taxes and fees extra.

Speaker 2 See Mintmobile.com.

Speaker 6 Don't let the holidays derail your fitness. Stay on track with Hydro.
20 minutes minutes rowing on a hydro targets 86% of your muscles as Olympians guide you from incredible locations worldwide.

Speaker 6 Running can't compete. That's why 90% stick with hydro a year later.
GQ named the hydro arc the best rower of 2025. And every hydro comes with free shipping, a 30-day trial, and warranty.

Speaker 6 Go to hydro.com code fit and save up to 600 bucks on your next hydro. Hydro.com code fit.

Speaker 7 Ready to level up? Chumba Casino is your playbook to fun. It's free to play with no purchase necessary.

Speaker 7 Enjoy hundreds of online social games like Blackjack, Slots, and Solitaire anytime, anywhere, with fresh releases every week.

Speaker 7 Whether you're at home or on the go, let Chumba Casino bring the excitement to you. Plus, get free daily login bonuses and a free welcome bonus.
Join now for your chance to redeem some serious prizes.

Speaker 7 Play Chumba Casino today. No purchase necessary, VGW Group, Void War Prohibited by Law 21 Plus, TNCs apply.