John Krasinski Saved The Office from Getting Canceled for a Horrible Jim & Pam Arc
The show was one step away from receiving the biggest backlash in TV history.
There are many reasons why people love The Office, but the consistency of the storylines and the character development that has always been so cleverly hidden under layers of comedy are definitely among them. As various cast members have admitted in the past, the writers of the sitcom deserve all the praise for how they have managed to keep the story going over the years.
However, there was one time when John Krasinski blatantly refused to go along with the script he was given and spoke out against the decision his character Jim made. That one time ended up saving The Office from what could have been the biggest fan backlash in television history.
It's no secret that fans have always been very protective of Jim and Pam's relationship, always rooting for it to be the endgame. However, since the show had to move on one way or another, it was decided to introduce some conflict into their story during season 8.
If you weren't a fan of that decision when you watched the show, imagine this: Jim was going to cheat on Pam with her replacement Cathy. The person who saved the audience from the agony of watching this happen with no power to do anything about it was John Krasinski himself.
He recalled the confrontational moment for Brian Baumgartner, Ben Silverman, and Greg Daniels' book Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office:
"That’s the only time I remember putting my foot down. I remember saying things that I never thought I’d say before, like, ‘I’m not going to shoot it.’ <..> We have shown such great respect to them. But there’s a moment where if you push them too far, they’ll never come back. And I think that if you show Jim cheating, they’ll never come back," the actor stated.
Such a reaction shows how well Krasinski felt the mood of the audience because he was absolutely right. Although the character of Cathy is still one of the most hated among fans, and the show still got a lot of negative reviews about this unnecessary Jim and Pam drama, it would’ve been 10 times worse if there had been an actual affair.
If you want to re-watch the love triangle between Jim, Pam, and Cathy, you can stream The Office on Netflix, Peacock TV, or Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office