Jenna Fischer is defending the later seasons of “The Office” after Steve Carell’s exit.
The actor addressed the commonly held belief that the show was going through the motions after Carell’s character, Michael Scott, departed Dunder Mifflin in Season 7 (the show aired for nine seasons in total).
Since starring on the show, Fischer has rewatched all of the episodes for her “Office Ladies” podcast with her former co-star Angela Kinsey.
“My biggest takeaway from having rewatched it was that it’s really good the whole time,” Fischer said during an appearance on Dana Carvey and David Spade’s comedy podcast, “Fly on the Wall,” which was released Wednesday.
“I think there was this lore, especially among the cast and the creatives, that maybe we, like, hit our peak in Season 3 or Season 4,” Fischer said on the podcast.
“Also this belief that, like, the two seasons after Steve left, we were just treading water and maybe they weren’t as good,” she explained. “But when I watched everything, some of my favorite episodes were in Seasons 8 and 9 after Steve had left. There were still these amazing storylines.”
But Fischer did admit that some of her favorite episodes of the show were in Seasons 4 through 6, and shouted out “Dinner Party” and the Michael Scott Paper Company era as some of her most memorable episodes and storylines.
She also explained why those on the show got it in their heads that they weren’t being creative enough later on.
“I think, you know, some of the award nominations stopped after Season 3, so I think maybe we got in our heads,” Fischer explained.
The show will have a second chance at perhaps correcting some of those long-held beliefs by fans, as a new iteration of “The Office” is headed to the small screen soon.
Sadly, “Office” favorite Carell already has announced that he will most likely not be making an appearance.
“I will be watching, but I will not be showing up,” the actor said last year in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, before explaining why there are no hard feelings.
“It’s just a new thing, and there’s really no reason for my character to show up in something like that.”
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