Why Jenna Fischer from The Office Stepped Back from Television Roles
The Office star Jenna Fischer is sharing her choice to step back from television roles.
Since the popular NBC sitcom concluded in 2013, Fischer, now 52, appeared in ABC’s brief show Splitting Up Together from 2018 to 2019, but realized the challenges of a leading role did not align with her lifestyle anymore.
In a recent interview on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s “Dinner’s On Me” podcast on Tuesday, August 18, she expressed that although she “really loved that cast so much … the hours were so intense, it was like 65, 70 hours a week.”
“It was really, really hard, and my kids were very small,” Fischer, who is a mother to son Weston Lee, 14, and daughter Harper Marie, 12, with husband Lee Kirk, shared.
“I simply decided after that experience that being the lead or even a regular on a television show was no longer a good fit for me,” she continued. “So when that show got canceled, I pivoted towards podcasting.”
Fischer, who co-hosts the Office rewatch podcast “Office Ladies” with former co-star Angela Kinsey, noted that her transition into podcasting provided a lifestyle that offered a steady income while allowing her to be present for every school drop-off, pick-up, teacher conference, and concert.
“I didn’t need to rely on anyone else to attend the Halloween parade,” she revealed. “It felt like I was in control of my time, crafting my own schedule, which was fantastic.”
As a result of her new role as a prominent podcaster, her children became less familiar with her well-known character Pam Beesly from The Office, which aired from 2005 to 2013.
John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer in ‘The Office.’ Chris Haston/NBC /Everett Collection
“Since my kids were very young when this transition happened, they viewed me more as a podcaster,” Fischer explained. “So if anyone asked them, ‘What does your mom do?’ they’d reply, ‘Oh, she’s a podcaster. She has her own podcast.’ They really didn’t grasp the full concept of what my podcast entailed.”
Fischer also discussed the emotional process of concluding The Office after nine seasons, highlighting that former main cast member Steve Carell exited after season 7 in 2011.
“Both Ed [Helms] and Rainn [Wilson] had other commitments, so they weren’t available for a whole season. Thus, John [Krasinski] and I ended up being the last of the original main cast who committed to a full season 9,” she recounted. “It began to feel like we might start losing cast members one by one. Mindy [Kaling] had already moved on. B.J. [Novak] had done the same.”
Fischer added, “It was actually John Krasinski who suggested, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could know this was our final season and write towards that end so we could wrap things up together?’ I think NBC would have preferred to extend it another year, but we unanimously decided, ‘Let’s finish this together.’”
The actress further shared that the cast felt they were ready to conclude the series and were eager to explore new opportunities, although she admitted leaving the job security of her sitcom role was challenging.
