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Caitlin clark crashes ‘snl’s weekend update & makes michael che read self-deprecating jokes, ‘office’-mates jenna fischer & angela kinsey set one-night-only nyc reunion to celebrate new book.

By Greg Evans

NY & Broadway Editor

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EXCLUSIVE: Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey , co-stars of The Office and co-authors of the new book The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There , will take the stage of New York City’s Town Hall on May 18 for their sole in-person book event.

The event comes the day after the release by Dey Street of the new book. The Office BFFs is described as including “ heartfelt and humorous stories about their time together making The Office , giving readers insights into everything from their first meeting on the pilot to the shooting of iconic episodes like ‘Booze Cruise’ and ‘Work Bus’ to their hilarious adventures on the red carpet. In candid conversations complete with personal mementos and photographs, Jenna and Angela take a dive deep into their special friendship and how it’s evolved from having lunch together in their on-set trailers to creating their own media company and hugely successful podcast, Office Ladies .”

On The Office , Fischer played receptionist Pam Beesly and Kinsey played head of the accounting department Angela Martin.

\“We are proud to welcome Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey to The Town Hall to discuss their book and the pop culture phenomenon that was The Office ,” said Town Hall Artistic Director Melay Araya. “Our mission is always to present unique voices that reflect on the American experience, and our audience is certainly in for a treat as these two funny ladies discuss their friendship and share hilarious anecdotes from being on the show.”

The Town Hall event, presented in partnership with the Strand Bookstore, kicks off at 7 p.m. ET on May 18. Ticket information is here .

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The Town Hall to Present Evening With Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey

The live evening will take place on May 18 at 7PM at The Town Hall (123 W. 43rd Street), the day after The Office BFFs is released.

The Town Hall has announced a special evening with actors Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey as they reflects on their new book The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There (Dey Street). The live evening will take place on May 18 at 7PM at The Town Hall (123 W. 43rd Street), the day after The Office BFFs is released.

Despite portraying Dunder Mifflin frenemies Pam Beesly and Angela Martin on the hit television show The Office, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey have been best friends for over eighteen years. For nine seasons they battled over party planning, relationship advice, and baby names, while behind the scenes they supported each other through life-changing events like marriage, motherhood, and careers that took them all over the globe.

In The Office BFFs, the ladies share heartfelt and humorous stories about their time together making The Office, giving readers insights into everything from their first meeting on the pilot to the shooting of iconic episodes like "Booze Cruise" and "Work Bus" to their hilarious adventures on the red carpet. In candid conversations complete with personal mementos and photographs, Jenna and Angela take a dive deep into their special friendship and how it's evolved from having lunch together in their on-set trailers to creating their own media company and hugely successful podcast, Office Ladies.

The Office BFFs is a testament to a beloved TV show and to the power of best friendship as told by two great storytellers who love to gab.

Tickets prices, which include a signed copy of The Office BFFs, are $47-$52 and are available at www.TheTownHall.org

The evening is presented in partnership with the and Strand Bookstore, ( www.strandbooks.com ) and they are also providing copies of Office BFFs.

"We are proud to welcome Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey to The Town Hall to discuss their book and the pop culture phenomenon that was The Office," said Artistic Director Melay Araya. "Our mission is always to present unique voices that reflect on the American experience, and our audience is certainly in for a treat as these two funny ladies discuss their friendship and share hilarious anecdotes from being on the show."

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In Office BFFs , Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey spill Dunder Mifflin tea with personal stories and photos

The real-life besties share secrets with EW from their new book, Office BFFs: Tales of The Office From Two Best Friends Who Were There.

Jessica is a staff writer at Entertainment Weekly, where she covers TV, movies, and pop culture. Her work has appeared in Bustle, NYLON, Cosmopolitan, InStyle, and more. She lives in California with her dog.

Best friends and former costars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey still have many stories to share from their time on The Office .

The revelation came during a spring cleaning session. While sorting through their garages, attics, and other parts of their homes, Fischer and Kinsey rediscovered tons of Office memorabilia: journals, photos, mementos. While their Office re-watch podcast, Office Ladies , allowed for deeper dives into the episodes, dozens of never-before-seen photos and untold "best friends stories" remain unshared.

Enter: The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office From Two Best Friends Who Were There . Out May 17, the book offers intimate behind-the-scenes stories and never-before-seen photos from Fischer and Kinsey's time on set of the beloved NBC sitcom. A celebration of the costars' friendship, Office BFFs recounts memories from early days on set to the very last day, plus stories about milestone episodes and motherhood.

Ahead of the book's debut, EW hopped on a Zoom call with Fischer and Kinsey to chat all things Office BFFs.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So this book wouldn't exist if you two didn't spring clean your homes and rediscover the memorabilia. Were there findings that didn't make it into the final book?

ANGELA KINSEY: There's like 2,000 more photos that didn't make it in and it was really hard to let them go. We did our best to whittle it down.

JENNA FISCHER: If you noticed in the book, the end papers are all these black and white photos. Those are pictures that we love so much but we didn't have space for in the book. And we were trying to think, 'How can we share these amazing pictures?' And so we made them our end papers. We were really trying to utilize every page of the book to get as much memorabilia and photos in there because between the two of us, we still have so much. There's a really nerdy thing that didn't make it into the book, which is that Angela saved the memo from when we found out that our computers were finally going to get internet. This was during season 2. This was such a big deal for the cast. And for a while we had this memo. We were going to put it in the book, but then as we were going through and having to be really picky, we were like, 'You know what? This memo was so exciting to us, but we're not sure it totally is going to translate in the book.'

KINSEY: It's a total inside joke. People would be like, 'Why is there a memo from the line producer saying, 'Just want to let you know today we have internet on the set.'?'

FISCHER: There's little things like that. I mean, when we finished the pilot, we thought we were never going to see one another again. So I went around and I took a Michael Scott business card. I took the name plate off of my trailer door.

KINSEY: So did I.

FISCHER: I would've loved to have put that in the book, but it looks the same [as the] name plate that went up when we got picked up again. So it was like, 'Well, I don't know if visually it has the meaning that it has to me personally.' So there were just things like that. I mean, I had saved one of the messages that I had written to Steve [Carell] as Michael that Pam handed him [indicating] that someone's called during a scene.

KINSEY: I saved an accounting profit and loss form that said Dunder Mifflin at the top. That was just like a big piece of paper we did for busy work. And it was a few years into the show that we finally got security badges to come on the set. And I have my security badge with my photo that we took on set that day. And I have Angela Martin hair. It's an Angela Martin security badge, except she's smiling.

You share fun anecdotes from various episodes. One is season 2's "Booze Cruise" with details about using soup for fake vomit for a scene. I have so many questions.

FISCHER: They were doing those scenes kind of on the fly. So I might have been rehearsing or I might have just been down in one of the booths waiting to shoot. So I was actually not aware that Angela was fake vomiting off the side of the boat at the time. I guess you could put that in the column of things I learned when we were writing the book.

KINSEY: The vomit stuff with me, it was basically picking what type of cold soup you want to hold in your mouth. So until the words 'Action!' are yelled you have to puke off this side of a boat. I mean, I almost really did vomit. And you know, we talked about that in the book, about just everyone being so nauseous. Then to pretend to vomit when you were already on uneasy legs. So that episode was just so much fun. I'm glad we got to share more about it in the book. I think I did three takes, but that was three takes too many. I chose minestrone soup because the thought of cold mushrooms and mushy mushroom [soup] in my mouth really did make me want to vomit. Cold vegetables in your mouth in a liquid form is not good. It's pretty gross.

You also share that NBC offered to extend the series for two more seasons, but there were contracts that were up. You all decided to end together after 9 seasons. Can you speak more on that bittersweet decision?

KINSEY: I obviously can't speak for [producer] Greg [Daniels], but I know they really, what they've shared with us is that they really, it was a very thoughtful decision of, well, what is the show without possibly the core cast?

FISCHER: I mean, I just think it really points to the collaborative bond and trust that we all had as a creative collective that Greg even made us a part of this conversation, the way he did. And that we had the kind of trust between us that we could all talk about this really openly and come to a decision that we all felt really good about and that we were excited about. I mean the idea of slowly kind of losing people, it just felt like, I don't know. It just felt sad and wrong.

KINSEY: Yeah. It felt wrong. It felt wrong and not, it felt like it would just ruin the world to slowly make up excuses, why people are leaving. And one of the things I loved and we all got excited about was being able to know what the end was. As soon as we collectively made that decision, well then we could start, the writers in particular could start developing to an end, having a story and having all the characters have their arc towards the same goal. Right? And then Greg did this amazing thing that was so kind where he invited us all in to meet with him, to talk about what is something we always had hoped for our character, or we had always hoped for the show. And we got to share with him. And I mean, that was just such a gracious thing that he did.

Did any of your pitches make it into the final season?

KINSEY: Creed [Bratton]'s did, which I think is so sweet. So Creed in that Halloween episode, it was between Creed and Devon, right? Who's getting fired. And Creed said he thought it would be great if Devon could be part of the final part of the show.

FISCHER: John [Krasinski] and I were very involved in the Jim/Pam storyline for the final season. We spent a lot of time throughout the entire season working out the nuances of that story and introducing the character of Brian, the boom operator, [and how] this long distance relationship was going to impact them and their marriage. Also, a big pitch of John's was that Jim would ask the documentary crew to put together a video for Pam to watch of their romance together. Gosh, you need to ask John. Because I just remember him coming to the set and saying, 'Don't you wish you could go back and see a video of the moment that your romance started up until now? Wouldn't it be so amazing?' Jim and Pam can do that because there is footage of all those moments from reception to their kiss to being married and their kids. Their life has been documented and they've never seen it. How would that impact you? If you could go back and someone had taped your first date? That would be incredible. We just got so excited about that idea and that ended up being a big moment in the final season.

Steve returns in the final season, in the finale. Jenna, you touch on how only you, John, and Rainn Wilson knew about this at first. Tell me more about keeping this big secret.

FISCHER: It was really hard not to tell Angela. Rainn was like, 'Jenna, don't you dare.' And part of me was like, 'Listen, if I tell Angela and then I didn't tell Oscar [Nunez] [and] start picking who I'm telling, then Angela has to keep it from Brian [Baumgartner] and Kate [Flannery].' I was like, 'Oh my gosh. I don't want to start something.' So I did keep the secret from Angela. I was so excited when she knew, but then we all had to not say anything. We had to do all of our press for the finale. We taped a lot of stuff before the episode aired. There were all these articles and talk shows that we did in anticipation of the finale coming out and we all were lying. We never even teased it. We never even said, 'Oh, there might be a fun surprise.' We didn't say anything like that because Greg really, really wanted to surprise the audience. He did not want promos. He did not want teases. He wanted that moment to just shock the heck out of people. And it did. I mean, I remember the online response.

KINSEY: And I think about the world we live in now with social media, right Jenna? How could we have ever pulled that off? I still can't believe we pulled it off. I still can't.

You touch on The Farm , the spin-off with Rainn that never reached fruition, in the book, too. Would you both be open to a spin-off if the opportunity presented itself?

KINSEY: Well, me and Brian and Oscar for years joked about the spin-off called The Accountants . And that maybe we started our own accounting firm. I mean, if they called me up and said, 'Angela, do you want to do The Accountants with Brian and Oscar?' I'd say, 'Of course.' But I think as we re-watch the show and have become such true fans of the show — we're watching it now. We get to be an audience. The show itself to me just ends so perfectly that I wouldn't ever want to do a reboot that steps on what's there.

FISCHER: I agree.

You write about the challenges of being working moms while filming the series. In your joint Kelly Clarkson Show appearance, Angela, you said your daughter started watching it. What does she think about the show? Jenna, would you be open to your kids tuning in?

KINSEY: Well, my daughter's in middle school. And I will tell you, middle schoolers love The Office. They love it. I go to pick her up at school and I see seventh and eighth graders with Dunder Mifflin T-shirts on or Schrute Farms T-shirts. Now that we're re-watching the show for the [ Office Ladies ] podcast, she often re-watches with me and she is cracking up. She loves it. She is sometimes upset with me because she thinks I'm too mean to Phyllis. She's like, 'Mom, you're so mean to Phyllis.' And I'm like, 'That's not me!' But it is a really fun thing to see the show through her eyes. I've really enjoyed that.

FISCHER: Yeah, my kids are a little too young to have an interest in it just yet. But similarly when I've been re-watching episodes for the podcast, they'll catch a little bit here or there and they definitely think Dwight is so funny. So they appreciate Dwight. But when they're older, if they take an interest, which they may, I think it would be fun to watch it with them.

The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office From Two Best Friends Who Were There is out May 17, and available for pre-order now .

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• Celebrate the 15th anniversary of The Office with EW's special collector's edition
• Happy 10th anniversary, Jim and Pam! An oral history of The Office wedding

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Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey Share Their Most 'Personal' Stories Yet in New Book 'Office BFFs'

In the new book Office BFFs, the former costars recall their favorite memories from working together on and off camera

Fans of The Office are clamoring for more lore from the hit show, 15 years after it premiered on NBC.

Former costars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey have been fulfilling this need, first with their award-winning podcast Office Ladies and now with their upcoming book, Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There — which includes their most "personal" and hilarious anecdotes yet.

"The book is our opportunity to be even more personal and it's also our opportunity to bring visuals to our stories," Fischer, who played Pam Beesly, tells PEOPLE in a joint interview with Kinsey, who starred as Angela Martin on the series. "We journaled all through The Office about everything. So, we're able to go back and track the journey of both our friendship and of our time on the show."

"It's our friendship as we've navigated through all these years, living in Hollywood and beyond," adds Kinsey, 49. "I am really excited to share it and also I'm excited for my daughter to have this book. I don't want to forget any of this stuff."

Office BFFs , which will be published by Dey Street Books in 2022, is an extension of the best friends' podcast. The book is an exploration of their almost two-decade bond, following them from co-stars and new moms to podcast co-hosts. They share behind-the-scenes looks at the making of their favorite episodes, what it was like to work with their beloved Office costars like Steve Carell (who played Michael Scott) and John Krasinski (who played Jim Halpert), and their lives now.

The two women tell PEOPLE how they first became friends (it involves sitting on a bench for hours onset) and reflect on some of their favorite memories, if Jim and Pam would still be together today and more.

Fischer says that she and Kinsey had been friendly during season 1 of The Office , but it wasn't until they sat on a bench "for two full shoot days, which is about 12 hours each day" during the filming of the "Basketball" episode that they really bonded. By the end of the shoot, they had told each other their "life story," says Fischer, 46.

"We were leaving the warehouse and we were so giddy," she says. "We had this really fun friendship. You don't expect to make a friendship like this when you're older."

The day became even more epic when they encountered Carell.

"We had to walk through this big parking lot, and it was at night. Like school girls, we linked arms and started doing Schlemiel and Schlimazel from Laverne & Shirley and Steve was walking up behind us," Kinsey remembers. "We were so embarrassed and we were laughing. Steve was like, 'No matter what happens, this is what you'll take with you. This.' And he pointed at the two of us. He was so right."

Since then, Fischer and Kinsey's friendship has been going strong.

"Jenna is my life anchor because it's like, the world doesn't make sense until I can bounce it off her, whatever happens," says Kinsey. "The big things, the small things. Once I tell it to her, I'm at peace with it, or I can navigate it."

Fischer explains that the key to their longstanding friendship is "listening."

"You just need that person who makes you feel seen and heard. That person who helps you process even little decisions when you're standing in Target. Who do you call to tell you if you need another throw pillow or not, you know?" she jokes.

And they're able to successfully produce Office Ladies together because they "balance" each other and they have the same values, including prioritizing family. (For each installment of the podcast, the women rewatch an Office episode and provide commentary.)

"What's great is that we can put our values into how we do business. And we have a shorthand because we're best friends," says Fischer. "So when Angela is blowing up my phone at 11:30 at night, or when I'm blowing up her phone at 7:15 in the morning because we get inspired at different times, we can text back, 'Lady, I'm not listening to this until tomorrow. But fire away.' "

For Kinsey and Fischer, talking about the fun times on set never gets old, especially because fans are so eager to learn everything they can.

The Office fan base is huge — and includes celebrities. In October 2019, Chrissy Teigen sent Twitter into a spiral after she asked about the fate of Pam and Jim . After 10 years, were they still married?

"I am positive that Pam and Jim are doing very well and Cece and Phillip are growing up into fine, fine little people," Fischer says.

"I think I've had six more Schrutes," says Kinsey, projecting about Angela and Dwight's kids. (Dwight Schrute was played by Rainn Wilson). "I feel like Dwight and I are raising a small little army of Schrutes."

Continues Fischer: "No, I think the move for Pam and Jim was great for them because they were able to invest a little bit more into the types of things that really give them meaning in their life. They're very happy. Don't worry."

RELATED VIDEO: The Office's Brian Baumgartner to Make $1 Million in 2020 from Cameo Bookings

But Kinsey admits that working the show has had some not-so-favorable lasting effects.

While Kinsey isn't uptight like the character she portrayed, she jokes that her "resting face" has forever been changed thanks to her character. Case in point: A few years ago, Kinsey attended a friend's wedding in Las Vegas and was having a great time.

"I hop in the elevator, I'm really happy, ecstatically happy. And this elder gentleman gets in the elevator with me and he looks at me and goes, 'Oh honey, it's going to be OK.' I said, 'What?' " Kinsey recalls. "And I looked at my reflection in the mirror and I have that frickin' Angela Martin scowl on my face. I thought, 'Oh my God, this has become my resting face.' Nine years of scowling and this is my go-to resting face. Even when I'm happy."

Office BFFs includes these types of hilarious anecdotes — and more poignant moments.

Kinsey explains that rewatching The Office for the podcast has stirred up powerful memories from filming for both of them.

"We're rewatching the show and there's all the personal memories that are attached to it," she says. "We're about to go through 'Dinner Party' and one of my biggest memories is how much my daughter was kicking through the whole episode."

Taking the trip down memory lane is equally sweet for Fischer. She recalls one of her favorite moments on set with Carell.

"I remember shooting 'Diwali' and I had this scene with Steve Carrell. Michael and Pam are sitting outside. Michael is kind of broken-hearted and he tries to kiss Pam," says Fischer. "I would always get so excited when I got to have Steve all to myself in a Pam and Michael scene. And that particular episode meant that everybody else got to go home."

She continues: "Steve and I sat in some director's chairs outside in this warm summer evening. We just chatted for an hour while we waited for them to set the scene. When I see an episode like that, those memories come flooding back and they're so special to me."

Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There will be released in 2022.

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THE OFFICE BFFS

Tales of the office from two best friends who were there.

by Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 17, 2022

A smart, sweet look from inside The Office about how the show spawned enduring friendships and unexpected careers.

Pam and Angela combine forces in a charming book about the massively popular TV show.

Fischer and Kinsey, co-hosts of the Office Ladies podcast, are engaging storytellers, and their often hilarious escapades as best friends make this joint tale fascinating for even the most casual fan of The Office . The chapter about the “Death Bus” episode (directed by Bryan Cranston), which nearly killed the entire cast, is laugh-out-loud funny, and Kinsey sums it up appropriately: “Pie mends all things, including near carbon monoxide poisoning.” Mostly employing a dialogue format, the authors walk the line between a behind-the-scenes look at the landmark comedy and the desire to maintain the secrets they share with their friends. (That said, many readers would love to hear the R-rated “master class in 1980s Hollywood gossip” that the authors learned from James Spader.) For hardcore Office fans, Fischer provides personal insight into some of her—and the show’s—most important scenes, including her wedding and what she said to Steve Carell in their final scene together before he left the show. Kinsey discusses the fascinating mechanics of hiding her pregnancy on screen and how she and Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute) navigated their first make-out scene. In addition to numerous insider insights about the creation and filming of the episodes, Fischer and Kinsey reveal much more about their friendship, their decision to launch their podcast—and a media company—together, as well as the struggles of being working mothers. Fischer writes about how she had to return to the show much faster than she wanted to after the birth of her son because, “in our business, there is no paid maternity leave.” Ultimately, the authors manage to make everyone feel like they are also one of their BFFs.

Pub Date: May 17, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-06-300759-8

Page Count: 240

Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: March 28, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS | ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS & CELEBRITY | GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

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Our Verdict

New York Times Bestseller

by Stephanie Johnson & Brandon Stanton illustrated by Henry Sene Yee ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2022

A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.

A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.

Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.

Pub Date: July 12, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2

Page Count: 192

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS & CELEBRITY | GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

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by Brandon Stanton

by Brandon Stanton photographed by Brandon Stanton

by Brandon Stanton ; photographed by Brandon Stanton

LOVE, PAMELA

by Pamela Anderson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 31, 2023

A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.

The iconic model tells the story of her eventful life.

According to the acknowledgments, this memoir started as "a fifty-page poem and then grew into hundreds of pages of…more poetry." Readers will be glad that Anderson eventually turned to writing prose, since the well-told anecdotes and memorable character sketches are what make it a page-turner. The poetry (more accurately described as italicized notes-to-self with line breaks) remains strewn liberally through the pages, often summarizing the takeaway or the emotional impact of the events described: "I was / and still am / an exceptionally / easy target. / And, / I'm proud of that ." This way of expressing herself is part of who she is, formed partly by her passion for Anaïs Nin and other writers; she is a serious maven of literature and the arts. The narrative gets off to a good start with Anderson’s nostalgic memories of her childhood in coastal Vancouver, raised by very young, very wild, and not very competent parents. Here and throughout the book, the author displays a remarkable lack of anger. She has faced abuse and mistreatment of many kinds over the decades, but she touches on the most appalling passages lightly—though not so lightly you don't feel the torment of the media attention on the events leading up to her divorce from Tommy Lee. Her trip to the pages of Playboy , which involved an escape from a violent fiance and sneaking across the border, is one of many jaw-dropping stories. In one interesting passage, Julian Assange's mother counsels Anderson to desexualize her image in order to be taken more seriously as an activist. She decided that “it was too late to turn back now”—that sexy is an inalienable part of who she is. Throughout her account of this kooky, messed-up, enviable, and often thrilling life, her humility (her sons "are true miracles, considering the gene pool") never fails her.

Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023

ISBN: 9780063226562

Page Count: 256

Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023

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Return to ‘The Office’ With Co-Stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey’s New Book

In “The Office BFFs,” the actresses reminisce about their time on the hit sitcom and their enduring friendship.

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On NBC’s hit workplace comedy The Office , series regulars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey played polar-opposite characters. The former starred as sweet receptionist Pam Beesly, while the latter portrayed the uptight head of accounting, Angela Martin. Describing them as frenemies was a stretch, mainly due to the “friendship” part of that portmanteau.

However, even longtime fans of the Emmy-winning show, which ran from 2005 to 2013, might be surprised to learn that the co-stars became best friends while shooting the sitcom. And in the nearly 10 years since The Office wrapped, they’ve only become closer. It doesn’t hurt that the women have a lot in common: They continue to act, are raising school-age children, and live in the Los Angeles area.

How their friendship blossomed is detailed in their new book, The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office From Two Best Friends Who Were There , which is equal parts scrapbook, memoir, and love letter to devoted fans. Filled with behind-the-scenes photos and laugh-out-loud anecdotes from the show’s nine-season run, the book is aptly titled: It reads like a conversation between two good friends who have invited you into their confidence.

The format may be familiar to fans of Fischer and Kinsey’s hugely popular podcast, Office Ladies , which they launched in 2019 to rewatch The Office in its entirety, offering colorful commentary along the way and inviting other cast members on to reminisce.

Recently, Kinsey and Fischer sat down with Shondaland to talk about why they started their podcast, what Steve Carrell is like off-camera, and how the American show compares to the original British version of The Office .

CHELSEA GREENWOOD: Why did you decide to get together and write The Office BFFs ?

JENNA FISCHER: It started as a cleaning project.

ANGELA KINSEY: We had been avoiding our garages and clutter. You know, all the places where you stash your stuff. So, we did this sort of “best friend” accountability thing of “Okay! This is the week. We’re going to do it.” And we just found so much.

JF: I knew that I saved stuff when we were filming The Office , but I had more than I even remembered. It was delightful and overwhelming going through it, and Angela had just as much stuff on her side. It was kind of crazy.

AK: Some of the things we saved were crazy. Like, the day we all got internet on the set, I saved the memo. One week we were having, I don’t know, a taco bar, and I saved the menu. There was so much! Jenna and I were just talking about “What do we do with all of this?” And of course, it brought up a lot of memories, and we started sharing stories. She would remember something I didn’t remember and vice versa. We thought, “Well, what if we were able to put this down as like a scrapbook and something that we can have and give our kids someday?” So, that’s how it started — with a giant spring cleaning of our garages.

The Office Bffs: Tales of the Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There

CG: What was it like taking that trip down memory lane and putting all that information together?

JF: It was hard to know where to start. I think we actually started with the “Holidays” chapter because that one was most clear to us: celebrating on the show and then celebrating outside of the show. Then, we started talking about “What would we want to say? What would we want to remember?” And we would go over to each other’s houses, put our iPhones on Voice Memo, pick a topic, and start talking. Then we’d transcribe those pages, and we’d both look through and say, “Okay.” That was how the book started to take shape.

AK: On the days that I would go to Jenna’s house — because we would take turns at each other’s place — I would load up my car with these plastic bins full of photos and memorabilia. We would spread everything out and just see which stories really popped into our minds and ones that we wanted to tell. It was so much fun!

CG: How long did it take to put the book together?

JF: Almost four years.

AK: Yeah. Buckle in! Because it was three years and seven months.

CG: I can understand why, given that the show was nine seasons long.

JF: It was nine seasons, but it was really 10 years of our lives.

AK: Ten years from when the pilot started. Jenna and I have always been scrapbookers, even before we knew each other and became friends. So, we always had a camera on the set. We were always snapping pictures. In fact, we include photos from the pilot, and I think Jenna and I are two of the only people that even brought cameras that week. There was no NBC set photographer for this pilot of a show that no one thought would make it.

CG: And you didn’t have smartphone cameras either, right?

AK: Yes! Oh, my gosh! We’re dinosaurs that predate the smartphone.

JF: We should mention that we wrote the majority of this book during the pandemic, with our kids at home with us, homeschooling. It was definitely a challenge figuring out how to write something with a partner when we couldn’t physically be in the same space together.

CG: What would you say is the takeaway for readers in this book?

JF: Well, we hope that in addition to being a keepsake of a show that you love — hopefully! — with some real, intimate stories that maybe you wouldn’t have had access to otherwise, it’s also a story of friendship. The story of our best friendship but also the friendship that was created by this team of people and what’s possible in life when you have a good friend by your side.

AK: I would add that friendships can come into your life later in life. Jenna and I met in our 30s, and I’m always thankful of the fact that I had this open heart for making this friendship — that we had the space in our lives to be open to new people. I think that’s the message for me: It’s never too late. It’s never too late to find a lasting friendship. It’s never too late to have this big moment in your career. We were in our 30s when The Office happened.

CG: What were your first impressions of each other?

AK: Jenna says I was a chatterbox!

JF: Well, she was! I am really shy, especially in new situations, and Angela is so chatty. She’s never met a stranger. I was so grateful for her because I could glom on to her since I was so nervous. I was like, “This is great! She’s going to do all the talking.”

CG: Could you share a moment from shooting The Office when you became closer as friends?

JF: When we had to do two full days of background work during the basketball episode of season one. They positioned us on a bench next to each other, and we just had time to fill. We didn’t have any lines, but we had to sit there all day. So, when they were rehearsing the elaborate basketball choreography, we chatted. And we just told each other our life stories. If I had been positioned somewhere else in the warehouse, who knows? But I think that’s the moment — I know that’s the moment we became best friends.

AK: I agree. There were so many moments, though, over the years that were big life moments that we shared together. You know, we talk about this in the chapter about the “Booze Cruise” episode. Up until that time, the supporting cast was week to week. We could be gone the next week.

It was the “Booze Cruise” episode that the supporting cast became series regulars, and that meant job security. When I heard the news, I wasn’t with Jenna. I was on the boat, and I went to go find her, and I was running and yelling her name because I couldn’t believe that I was going to be able to work with all of these amazing people and my best friend. I found her, and we jumped up and down. Oscar [Nuñez] took a picture of it, and it’s in the book, and it’s such a special moment.

CG: What was it like on set for your last day of filming together?

JF: It was very emotional. Originally, they had scheduled Pam’s talking head [when the actress speaks directly to the camera, documentary-style] to be the last thing we shot that day, and everybody else would have been gone. I went to the producers and said, “I don’t want to be here alone! Please, no!” Also, I knew that if everybody wrapped before me, we would all be sobbing, and then I’d have to walk in and do a talking head. So, I was thrilled that the last shot was of the whole group, and that was a gift I’m so grateful for.

AK: As it was getting close to that final take, our whole crew gathered around the bullpen. We were so close, all of us, and we got to end the series together with our crew. It was a really emotional moment and one I am so thankful we got to do together.

CG: Why did you decide to start your Office Ladies podcast, and what have you enjoyed about it?

AK: Jenna and I have wanted to work together again ever since The Office ended. And we both got jobs on other shows and had other projects. We were both working a lot. For me, a lot of my work involved travel, and I was homesick. Jenna shared that she was missing her family too, from working long hours. Jenna came up with this phrase that I loved. She said, “What if we could be the architects of our own time?” And I was like, “Oh, my gosh! Can I put that on a pillow? Embroider that for me!” And that started this conversation about “What is something that we can do creatively together that lets us put family first?”

JF: And then we were like, “What are we good at?”

JF & AK: Talking!

JF: We’re good talkers. We’re good oral storytellers! It was actually my co-star Oliver Hudson [on Splitting Up Together ] who gave me the idea. He said, “You and Angela should do a podcast!” And I was like, “Wait. Tell me more.” And then June Diane Raphael was a guest star on an episode of [ Splitting Up Together ], and she has a podcast. I started asking her questions, and I realized, “Oh, yeah! It’s a lot of talking and creativity, and it’s in town! I think we’ve found it!”

AK: She literally called me and was like, “Podcast!” And I was like, “What? What? Slow down, lady!” And we both had been wanting to rewatch the show from the beginning. Neither of us had seen the show besides just catching it here or there randomly on TV. So, we thought, “Let’s do that! Let’s watch it and reach out to cast and crew with questions and share it with the fans and share our memories.” And that’s how it all started.

CG: Have you seen the original British version of The Office , and if so, what do you think about it?

AK: I loved it. I mean, I saw that before there was ever even talk of an American version. Right, Jenna? You had done the same.

JF: Oh, yeah! I thought it was one of the greatest television comedies ever made. When I got the call to audition for Pam, the American version of The Office , I thought, “Oh, my gosh! But are they going to mess it up? Is it going to be the same?” When they called me for the audition, they said, “Don’t wear any makeup. We’re going to do some improvisation, but don’t try to crack me up.” Casting director Allison Jones said, “Dare to bore me with your audition. That’s my direction for you.” And as soon as she said that, I knew. I was like, “Oh, good. Someone good is in charge. This is going to be okay.”

CG: What is Steve Carell like to work with?

AK: There’s a joke in Hollywood that he’s the nicest guy in show business, and it’s true. He’s so incredibly nice and kind. He is an absolute professional. He is there on time, knows all of his lines, and is just a lovely presence, you know? He has a really calm energy, and he always made me feel like a creative partner when we were in scenes. He loves that sort of group comedy mind and that ensemble feel to a show, even though he was the lead. I always felt like we were a team.

JF: He’s very artistically generous. Frankly, there’s only one thing you need to know about him. Years after the show was over, I was doing Busy Philipps’ talk show, and unbeknownst to me, she had reached out to some Office cast members because I was going to be on her show on my birthday. She was asking them to send in funny gifts, which I would open live and guess who gave them to me.

AK: I gave her a T-shirt with a loaf of bread on it.

JF: Yes, and Ellie [Kemper, who played Erin Hannon] sent me a jar of crackers. They were these crackers we ate by the boxful on the finale of The Office . I knew immediately they were from her. And Ed [Helms, who played Andy Bernard] sent in a banjo. So, it was like, “Okay. I know what they are.”

And then, after this 30-minute interview, there’s this big box on the stage, and they’re like, “Here is your final present!” I open up the box, and Steve Carell was inside of it. The man was in a box for 30 minutes to surprise me on my birthday! I said, “Steve, how long have you been in there?” And he said, “A long time, Jenna. It was hot.” And then I said, “How did this go down?” And he said, “Well, they asked me if I wanted to send something, and I said, ‘How about I just come in and hide in a box?’” He pitched the idea! And I was like, “This is why you are the nicest person ever.”

CG: What are your hopes for the book?

JF: We’re so stinking excited to release this book and have people read it. We put our hearts into it. We really hope people like it.

AK: It was definitely a labor of love, and we’re just excited to be able to share it with people finally.

Chelsea Greenwood is an award-winning lifestyle writer and editor whose work has been featured in In Style, Teen Vogue, Self, Racked, Vulture, Brit + Co, Sheknows, and Vice.

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The Office Bffs: Tales of the Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There Audio CD – Unabridged, May 17, 2022

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Read by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey with exclusive bonus material contributed by Rainn Wilson, Creed Bratton, Oscar Nunez, Brian Baumgartner, Steve Carell, Ed Helms, Ellie Kemper, Kate Flannery and Jennifer Garner.

An intimate, behind-the-scenes celebration of beloved The Office co-stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey's friendship, and an insiders' view of Pam Beesly, Angela Martin, and the iconic TV show.

Receptionist Pam Beesly and accountant Angela Martin had very little in common when they toiled together at Scranton's Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. But, in reality, the two bonded in their very first days on set and, over the nine seasons of the series' run, built a friendship that transcended the show and continues to this day. Sharing everything from what it was like in the early days as the show struggled to gain traction, to walking their first red carpet--plus exclusive stories on the making of milestone episodes and how their lives changed when they became moms--The Office BFFs is full of the same warm and friendly tone Jenna and Angela have brought to their Office Ladies podcast.

• Print length 1 pages
• Language English
• Publisher HarperCollins
• Publication date May 17, 2022
• Dimensions 5.85 x 1.11 x 5.84 inches
• ISBN-13 979-8200852963
• See all details

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About the author.

Jenna Fischer is best known for playing Pam Beesly on The Office , for which she received an Emmy Nomination for Best Supporting Actress and two SAG Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Comedy. Most recently, she starred in the ABC comedy, Splitting Up Together . Fischer's film credits include Mike White's feature "Brad's Status," in a role opposite Ben Stiller; "The 15:17 to Paris," directed by Clint Eastwood; "The Giant Mechanical Man" (which she also produced);"Solitary Man," opposite Michael Douglas; "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story," produced by Judd Apatow; and "Blades of Glory," opposite Will Ferrell. A trained theatre actress, Fischer also starred in the Off-Broadway production of Reasons to Be Happy written and directed by Neil LaBute; and in the original cast of Steve Martin's comedy Meteor Shower for The Old Globe Theater. In 2018, Fischer published her first book, The Actor's Life (Ben Bella Books). She is now producer, writer and co-host of the weekly Office Ladies podcast.

Angela Kinsey is best known for her portrayal of Angela Martin on The Office . She won a Daytime Emmy for her role in The Office: The Accountant digital series, as well as two SAG Awards for Best Comedy Ensemble. She was also in the critically-acclaimed Hulu Original series Hotwives of Orlando and Hotwives of Vegas and her recent projects include starring in the Netflix series Haters Back Off and the Netflix hit film, Tall Girl. As well as roles in Netflix's #BlackAF and Never Have I Ever . You can currently catch her hosting the family cooking competition show, Be Our Chef , on Disney+ and on MTV's new food fail show, Deliciousness . She is now producer, writer and co-host of the hit podcast, Office Ladies . Angela lives in Los Angeles with her family and can be found trying to bake with her husband on their YouTube Channel: Baking With Josh And Ange.

Product details

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09FC6C1K4
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins; Unabridged edition (May 17, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Audio CD ‏ : ‎ 1 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8200852963
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.2 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.85 x 1.11 x 5.84 inches
• #941 in Celebrity & Popular Culture Humor (Books)
• #1,306 in Friendship (Books)
• #6,866 in Books on CD

About the authors

Jenna fischer.

Jenna Fischer is best known for playing Pam Beesly on the acclaimed television show The Office for which she received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress and two SAG Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Comedy.

After wrapping The Office, Fischer went on to star in the UK/SKY B limited series You, Me and the Apocalypse along with Rob Lowe and Megan Mullally. She also starred in the Off-Broadway play Reasons to Be Happy, written and directed by Neil LaBute. Most recently, Fischer was on stage in the world premiere of Steve Martin's newest absurdist play Meteor Shower for a record-breaking run at the Old Globe Theatre.

Fischer's film credits include The Giant Mechanical Man (which she also produced), The Farrelly Brothers’ comedy Hall Pass, Solitary Man, opposite Michael Douglas, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, produced by Judd Apatow, and Blades of Glory, opposite Will Ferrell. She is upcoming in the Mike White feature Brad's Status starring Ben Stiller.

Angela Kinsey

ANGELA KINSEY is best known for her portrayal of the feisty, head of accounting ‘Angela Martin’ on all nine seasons of The Office. She won a Daytime Emmy for her portrayal of Angela Martin in The Office: The Accountants webisode series. She can also be seen in the Netflix original movies, Tall Girl and Tall Girl 2 and the Netflix series Haters Back Off! as well as a lead role in the critically-acclaimed Hulu Original, Hotwives of Orlando and Hotwives of Vegas. Currently, she writes, produces, and co-hosts the “Office Ladies” podcast with Jenna Fischer.

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