Last Monday, NBC held a conference call with Paul Lieberstein (writer, executive producer, “Toby Flenderson”) and Amy Ryan (“Holly Flax”) of The Office. Ryan shares her experience on the set thus far, and both she and Lieberstein reveal forthcoming plot points that we’ll see once The Office‘s fifth season kicks off on September 25.
The Office is a fly-on-the-wall “docu-reality” parody about modern American office life. The show delves into the lives of the workers at Dunder Mifflin paper supply company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Regional manager Michael Scott (Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Steve Carell) is a single, middle-aged man who is the boastful tour guide for the documentary.
A bit on our two interviewees:
Amy Ryan reprises her guest-starring role as Human Resources representative Holly Flax for multiple episodes in season five of the Emmy-Award-winning comedy The Office. Ryan received critical acclaim for her role as Helen McCready in the 2007 film, Gone Baby Gone, opposite Casey Affleck, Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris. Her sympathetic portrayal of an otherwise despicable character was recognized with Academy Award, Golden Globe and SAG nominations in the Best Supporting Actress categories. In television, Ryan’s credits are extensive, with over thirty guest star performances and over eight series regular or recurring characters on primetime television shows.
Most notably, she starred for five seasons as Officer Beatrice “Beadie” Russell on the critically acclaimed drama The Wire. On Broadway, she is a two-time Tony nominated actress for her performances in Uncle Vanya, in 2000 and A Street Car Named Desire; in 2005, opposite John C. Reilly.
Paul Lieberstein plays Toby Flenderson, human resources employee at Dunder Mifflin and a constant thorn in the side of Michael Scott on The Office. Lieberstein is also a writer and executive producer on the show, writing several memorable episodes including “The Coup,” “Dwight’s Speech,” “The Carpet,” “The Client” and “Health Care.” Lieberstein, winner of two Emmy Awards, began his career in television as a writer on the series Clarissa Explains It All, followed by Weird Science, and the sitcom The Naked Truth. In 1997, he became a producer and writer on the popular animated sitcom King of the Hill.
Lieberstein was hired as a writer and co-executive producer for The Office and then won his first on-screen role as the cool-headed human resources worker Toby Flenderson on the series.
How about a quick recap of the season finale?
• Holly Flax (Amy Ryan) was introduced in “Goodbye Toby,” replacing Toby Flenderson as the Scranton branch’s HR rep. At the same time Michael is finding himself falling for Holly, Jan invites Michael to take an active role in her surprise pregnancy.
• Pam is accepted into an art internship in New York City.
• Andy proposes to Angela, who accepts, though she is later caught having sex with Dwight.
Amy Ryan was first asked about what we can expect this season in the relationships between Holly and Kevin, and Holly and Michael given what went on in “Goodbye Toby.” Ryan said, “Well, Holly and Kevin is probably a little bit more a misunderstanding. You imagine, you know, her misunderstanding that he’s mentioned a handicap that sort of – (probably) show its truth pretty soon. And with Michael and Holly, I think that it gives us all hope that there’s a lid for every pot…everyone has a chance at some form of love.” Amy later added that in terms of Holly finding that Kevin is not mentally handicapped, Holly “finds out the hard way.”
Amy said she’s fulfilled her “initial agreement of six episodes.” She added that although she is done with the show at the moment, “Never say never.”
Amy was asked what makes her experience so far on The Office unique from the rest of her body of work. Ryan dryly responded “Lipstick.” She added that “…it’s a wonderful departure to be in the world of comedy. I’ve been – most of my career, I feel like has been mostly these really heavy dramas. But there’s something – it’s just being like a kid, more so like getting together with your friends and, you know, just playing – play acting. It was a nice split.”
Amy stated that Michael “gets points for trying” to be with Holly. She is vague about the resolution (or not) of their relationship.
A caller asked Paul to discuss the creation of Holly Flax. Paul said “… it was talked about among the writing staff a great deal and I would say – but it really crystallized in the episode that you saw on set when we started to see this really silly side that Amy brought to the character, and found almost like a junior Michael in her. And we all saw it and knew what we had.”
When asked if Holly’s idiosyncrasies are nearly as intense as Michael’s, Amy replied that “[Holly ] is slightly odd, you know. But, you know, the nice way to say it is she’s just really playful and she finds him funny, and so that unleashes her sense of humor. You know, so it’s like they’re really kind of like children in that they’re playmates, you know.”
Both Amy and Paul recoiled when a caller asked if Toby and Holly would be butting heads this season in terms of HR styles. Ryan attempted to direct the question to Lieberstein, to which he responded that they’re “trying not to give away things.”
An interesting question for Paul asked if Toby’s return would involve his feelings for Pam. Lieberstein replied, “I think what brings him back is failure to escape.”Another Toby-related questioned asked if he would ever be able to find happiness outside of Dunder Mifflin. Paul replied that he “[doesn’t] know if happiness is in Toby’s future…it’s just kind of something you bring with you everywhere you go.”
A question to both Amy and Paul asked if the hazing in “Goodbye Toby,” seen when Dwight, Meredith, and Mose attempt to plant a raccoon in her car, and Dwight fooling Holly into thinking Kevin is mentally challenged, is ever put to an end this season. Ryan hesitated a bit and turned to Paul for an answer. Paul said that it has ended this season and that “Dwight pretty much accepts what Michael accepts…Dwight took on a – you know, took [Michael’s hatred of HR] as a directive.”
A caller asked Paul to discuss the creation of Holly Flax. Paul said that it had a lot to do with Amy’s performance. “… it was talked about among the writing staff a great deal and I would say – but it really crystallized in the episode that you saw on set when we started to see this really silly side that Amy brought to the character, and found almost like a junior Michael in her. And we all saw it and knew what we had.”
Paul was then asked if he would be directing again this season as he did the Emmy nominated “Money” last season. “Oh, I’m probably going to direct a couple this season,” Lieberstein replied. “ It’s not locked in exactly which ones they are, but that’s my goal at least.”
One caller asked Paul about the announced spin-off starring Amy Poehler and if the dynamic in the writing room has changed due to the duties delegated to some of The Office writing staff. Paul said “We miss Mike [Schur] a lot. Greg [Daniel]’s around still. He’s somehow finding a way to, for the most part, run both shows – supervise the running.”
A question for Paul revealed Stephen Merchant as a guest director this season and Jason Reitman as one returning guest director. “[Merchant] was in the writers room with us rewriting it over the last several days and so it was really exciting having him there. He brings a bit of the – kind of that initial integrity of the documentary that the British had.”
A question for Paul asked about the two hour distance between Pam and Jim being an issue in the coming season. “Pam’s going to take an internship in New York and they’re going to try long distance dating. And that’s going to be, you know, the source of obstacles for them.” In answering the same caller about Toby’s true danger to the couple, Paul said that “Toby is less of a threat than the price of gas for Pam.”
On the return of Ryan Howard, Paul said that “He went down a bad path, yeah. So he’ll spring back up in a way that I think is typical for people who are not – who don’t – who can spin anything.”
A caller asked Paul if we would actually see Angela and Andy make it to the altar this season to which he answered “They will make it to an alter of sorts. But probably not what you’re thinking or in the way you’re thinking. I don’t have a good quip to answer that without giving away the good stuff.”
In the same question, the caller asked what exactly we’d see come of Jan’s pregnancy. Paul responded that “We’re taking it bit by bit. You will see a baby shower that the office throws for her…there is some talk about who the father might be.”
Answering the final question of the conference call, Paul confirmed that two episodes of the new season involve a robbery and “ethics training.”
Stephen Merchant directing. And Jason Reitman returns. Fantastic. There are some interesting story threads to be both resolved and revealed this season. Let’s all hope for another fantastic season of The Office.
