Brian Baumgartner, who plays Kevin in the series, spoke with Joe Vulpis from the Lightweights Podcast about the new wave of popularity of “The Office” during the pandemic in 2020.
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Brian recalled that he called Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute) in astonishment. “Why does it seem like the show is bigger now than when it was on the air?” the actor asked. “Because it is,” Wilson replied.
During the peak of “The Office,” the series reached as many as 23 million viewers, but Brian only realized how popular the show truly was because of the numbers from streaming platforms.
Watch Brian Baumgartner talk about the behind-the-scenes of “The Office”
“Suddenly it was like, ‘ah, I can’t walk through the airport anymore’. ‘I won’t go to the mall anymore, I won’t go there, I can’t go anymore,’” he revealed. He mentioned that fans started asking to take pictures with him, something that hadn’t happened before.
Brian pointed out that “The Office” accumulated 57 billion minutes watched, only on Netflix, in addition to the series being broadcast daily on Comedy Central.
He also spoke about the spin-off “The Paper.” Brian said that he was not invited to reprise his role, but that he is willing to do whatever showrunner Greg Daniels asks.
“The Paper” arrives on Peacock on September 4 and tells the story of a newspaper company dealing with the challenges of adapting to the digital world. The spin-off stars Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore.
Photos: YouTube Lightweights Podcast with Joe Vulpis. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
