Steve Carell Saved ‘The Office’ From a Season 2 Crisis That Could Have Ended the Show

Published Aug 4, 2026, 8:31 AM EDT Michael Hein has been covering entertainment, fandom news, and trending topics since 2016 on outlets including Rogues Portal, PopCulture.com, and ComicBook.com. He has provided live coverage of red carpet premieres, conventions, and up-fronts, and has interviewed major stars including Charles Dance, Patrick Stewart, and Chloe Sevigny. An avid fiction reader and writer, Michael has been diving deep into all the biggest book-to-screen adaptations of the last decade, from Game of Thrones to Foundation. The Office almost closed up shop in the beginning of Season 2, according to showrunner Greg Daniels. He joined series star Steve Carell for a panel at San Diego Comic-Con last weekend, and one of their behind-the-scenes stories was as absurd and improbable as their scripts. Daniels told fans that the Season 2 premiere, "The Dundies," was nearly scrapped due to a legal issue that arose after it was filmed but before it aired. Without a season premiere, Daniels believes the show would have been on a fast track to cancellation — if not for Carell. The actor who played Michael Scott not only salvaged the episode, he also improvised one of the best jokes of the season. "The Dundies" follows the staff of Dunder Mifflin Scranton to a Chili's restaurant for their annual employee appreciation party, which Michael turns into an award show. Daniels told the SDCC audience that Chili's was generous with set pieces and decorations when they filmed. However, he and his team didn't realize that the Chili's legal team essentially had final say on the script. After three days of filming, lawyers for the chain restaurant contacted Daniels saying they wanted a major change to the script. They took issue with the storyline of Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) becoming inebriated at the Dundie Awards, because "Chili's doesn't overserve its customers." 'The Office' Couldn't Afford to Lose 'The Dundies' Image via NBC Daniels recalled that at the time he thought the whole series was sunk. Pam's drunkenness wasn't a throw-away joke that could be edited out — it was integral to the story of this episode, and the development of Pam and Jim's (John Krasinski) relationship in the upcoming season. He was left feeling that their only option was to scrap all the filming they had done with Chili's set pieces, which the show couldn't afford to do. "I just melted down. I just had an absolute meltdown," he recalled. Thankfully, he discussed the issue with Carell. He credited Carell's experience performing and teaching improv comedy for getting out of this bind, saying, "Improv is his religion." Carell suggested flipping the complaint of Chili's legal complaint into a joke on the show, making it clear that the restaurant chain didn't endorse Pam's behavior. The result is one of the most memorable jokes of the season. The show's mockumentary crew cuts to an interview with the manager of the fictional Scranton Chili's restaurant, played by Christopher T. Wood. He says: "We have a strict policy here not to overserve. Apparently, this young woman was sneaking drinks off other peoples' tables. I xeroxed her driver's license, and she is not welcome at this restaurant chain ever again." In one fell swoop, Carell solved a potential catastrophe for the show, set up a joke that could have been called back at any time later in the series, and protected the reputation of Michael Scott's favorite restaurant. The joke even carried on after the show was over — in 2017, Fischer posted a photo of herself outside of a Chili's on Twitter, joking, "Should I try to go in?" This prompted the joke press release from Chili's announcing that Pam Beesly was no longer banned on the grounds of good conduct. 'The Office' Thrived on Improv Image via NBC Improv comedy wasn't just used to rescue the show from cancellation in its early days — it was central to the humor in every episode. Carell and several other cast members got their start as entertainers in improv, and later seasons brought in more improv stars such as Will Ferrell. Unsurprisingly, the improv spirit soon extended to everyone on set and seeped into every scene in one way or another. Fischer now co-hosts the Office Ladies podcast with co-star Angela Kinsey, which is primarily a commentary podcast where they go episode by episode sharing anecdotes and fun facts from behind the scenes. They have provided a lot of insight into which jokes are improvised, which ones are scripted, and which ones were re-written in the moment. For example, they revealed that in the Season 4 episode "Dinner Party," Michael Scott's infamous "snip snap" monologue was improvised, but it was prompted by director Paul Feig. He felt that the tense scene was too serious, and it needed some humor to undercut it. In hindsight, the improv was likely essential to the authenticity of this show, as it was supposed to be a documentary about life in an average American workplace. The Office was based on a British sitcom by the same name, but it quickly found its own voice outside the dry, cringe-inducing humor of the original. Improvisation made Dunder Mifflin Scranton feel more real, without making it feel so real that Americans wouldn't want to watch it after spending the day in their own offices. Hopefully, showrunners and actors can learn from this formula for success and find a way to implement it on newer shows, giving us the next comfort-binge of the streaming era. The Office is streaming now on Peacock for those itching for a re-watch. Office Ladies is available now on all major podcast platforms, but Daniels and Carell's SDCC panel has not been posted anywhere online. Release Date 2005 - 2013-00-00 Network NBC Showrunner Greg Daniels A mockumentary on a group of typical office workers, where the workday consists of ego clashes, inappropriate behavior, and tedium.