John Krasinski is known for a great many things but the character who put him on the map was Jim Halpert in the NBC comedy The Office. He was everyone’s comedy boyfriend for the better part of the 2000s and now, according to eTalk, Brian Baumgartner's new book reveals a storyline that the show was going to embark on between Jim and Jenna Fischer’s character Pam that would have definitely ruffled the feathers of fans.
Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office is written by Baumgartner, who played Kevin Malone in the comedy, and is filled with interviews from the cast and crew, including conversations with co-creator Greg Daniels, about the filming of the audience and the lasting impact that the show has had on fans.
But what did Krasinski refuse to film? It was a storyline between Jim and Cathy, who shows up in the eighth season when Pam is on maternity leave, and while there was a flirtation between Krasinski and Lindsey Broad's characters, they apparently wanted it to go even further and have Jim and Cathy make out with each other in a hotel room. Something that Krasinski was not willing to do to Jim, Pam, and the fanbase that they had amassed during the run of the show.
“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,’” Krasinski told Baumgartner. “There is a threshold with which you can push our audience. They are so dedicated. 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,” he explained.
But Krasinski had some ideas on what they could do with Jim and Pam, telling Baumgartner that he gave Daniels this idea. “I said, 'I think we should get borderline separated, and I think we can do it and then come back,'" Krasinski said. "He was so on board with that." As fans, we now know that Jim and Pam worked through their issues but the idea that Jim would ever cheat on Pam really does hurt. Luckily, Krasinski had the back of all the Jim and Pam fans out there.