Jenna Fischer has revealed that her role as Pam on The Office (US) cost her a part on Matt LeBlanc’s sitcom Man with a Plan.
The actor had won the role on the Friends star’s sitcom, which aired from 2016 to 2020, but lost it due to the reaction of a focus group.
Fischer made the revelation on Office Ladies, a podcast she co-hosts with fellow Office alumnus Angela Kinsey (who played Angela Martin).
Describing the focus group’s reaction to her character, Fischer claimed: “They said – this is a literal quote – they said, ‘I don’t believe Pam would marry Joey. The chemistry doesn’t work between these two.’
“That was the feedback they got.”
Hearing this, Kinsey asked whether Fischer and LeBlanc were too associated with their famous previous roles in the eyes of the focus group.
“Yeah,” responded Fischer. “So it wasn’t working for them that we got married and had a family.”
According to the actor, she had then received a call from her team, and had been waiting to find out whether the series would be picked up (commissioned for a full season).
“The first thing I said was, ‘Is [Man with a Plan] not getting picked up?’ And they said, ‘It’s worse than that, hun,’” said Fischer.
“And I was like, ‘What’s worse than that?’ They said, ‘It’s getting picked up, but without you.’”
Ultimately the role from which Fischer was sacked was given to Liza Snyder.
