10 Years Later: Looking Back at John Krasinski’s 99% Attendance in ‘The Office’
2023 marks a whole decade since The Office has been off the air, but in some ways, it’s impossible to tell. From nonstop reruns to Peacock’s streaming options, NBC’s The Office has seemingly never stepped out of the spotlight.
The series’ beloved characters and insatiable humor were just part of why The Office became such a success. Over the series’ nine seasons and 188 episodes, it is hard to believe that John Krasinski, one of the stars of The Office, was in every single episode, except one.
John Krasinski was a fixture in NBC’s ‘The Office’
Viewers of The Office fell in love with Jim Halpert almost instantly. When the series premiered in 2005, Krasinski’s character was known for his floppy hair and, burning crush on co-worker Pam Beesly.
As fans and followers of the award-winning comedy series know well, a lot of The Office‘s earlier seasons revolved around Jim and Pam’s will-they-won’t-they relationship. Audiences everywhere were rooting for them to get together, and finally, during season four, viewers finally got their wish.
Love story aside, Krasinski’s character was an absolute staple of The Office. From Jim’s complex yet heartwarming relationship with Michael Scott to the character’s journey as a father and entrepreneur, it is safe to say Halpert was a fan-favorite.
With that being said, it makes sense that Krasinski appeared in almost all of the show’s episodes: 99% to be exact. However, there was one episode Jim didn’t make the cut.
A closer look at season six episode “Mafia”
“Mafia” was The Office‘s fifth episode of season six, and it sure was a doozy. When an insurance agent paid Michael Scott a visit, naturally, his employees and good friends, Dwight Schrute and Andy Bernard, convinced Michael that he was actually part of the mafia, hence the episode’s infamous title.
In the episode, Mike Starr played the insurance agent named Angelo Grotti, and unfortunately, indirectly became the victim of one of Michael’s schemes. When Michael agreed to go to lunch with the insurance agent, Andy, played by Ed Helms, accompanied him and dressed up as a mechanic. The facade was of course supposed to come across as intimidating, but, naturally, it only got the Dunder Mifflin employees into hotter water.
The season six episode has definitely become a fan favorite, but many couldn’t help but miss Krasinski’s presence. Well, for this one episode, Jim didn’t actually appear and that was because he was on his honeymoon with Pam.
In an interview with WIRED, Krasinski was asked if he was in every episode of The Office. Krasinski truly wasn’t sure and bluntly stated, “I truly don’t know the answer to that question. I would imagine I wasn’t in every episode.”
Although his intuition was right, it certainly was a close call. Krasinski’s only episode miss of The Office simply seemed to be a circumstance of the storyline.
A look back at some of the most unforgettable episodes of ‘The Office’
Over The Office‘s nine-season run, the series won countless awards and accolades, and though it may be hard to pick, some episodes were more memorable than others. Some highlights include season three’s “The Convict” and season five’s “Golden Ticket”, but the number one episode according to Variety, is no other than “The Dinner Party”.
In this episode, Michael tricks his co-workers and friends into coming over to his condo for a bizarre and chaotic dinner party. The season four episode was filled with so many unforgettable moments, including Jan Levison’s infamous “Oops.” All in all, fans can probably see why “The Dinner Party” was ranked number one.
