‘The Office’: 1 of the Show’s Biggest Mysteries Was Finally Explained in a Deleted Scene
During The Office’s nine seasons, there was one mystery that was never completely cleared up — where did the conference table go? There was one clue in a deleted scene that gave a little insight into the mysterious goings-on of the conference room table, but otherwise, no one could explain why it appeared and disappeared.
The biggest mystery of ‘The Office’ was never fully solved
During the Oct. 23, 2019 episode of the Office Ladies podcast, while discussing the season1 episode “Diversity Day,” hosts Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey talked about how things weren’t moved on the set because the show “didn’t want to ruin the integrity of the documentary.”
Somehow the rule didn’t apply to the conference table, however. “Yes this was a big thing all of the time,” Fischer noted. “They decided you can’t move walls, you can’t move windows, you can’t move furniture.”
Kinsey pointed out one exception to the rule. “They clearly agreed that you could move that conference table out and the chairs and then all of a sudden the conference table would be back,” she said.
Fischer asked the big question fans always wondered: “Where did the conference table go?”
Fans have always wondered about the conference table
The co-hosts discussed the conference table in more detail, with Kinsey explaining that fans have written to her asking why the table is sometimes there and other times not.
“You know what I would’ve loved at the end of one episode?,” she said. “All it would take is one episode in the whole nine seasons. If at the end credits, it just showed Kevin and like Jim breaking down the conference table and Dwight … and like stacking it in some storage thing and then having to go get it and put it back together, but just as the credits rolled.”
Fischer agreed. “Yes, I would love to see them carrying the conference table down to the warehouse in pieces,” she said. “There’s nowhere for it to be.”
“That is one of the great mysteries of the show,” she added. “Where is the conference table?”
‘The Office’ mystery was partially solved in a deleted scene
Fans may never get a proper explanation for how the conference table was sometimes in the room and other times not. In a later Office Ladies episode, Kinsey said a deleted scene gave a small indication of what happened with the table, but didn’t tell the full story.
While discussing The Office “Grief Counseling” episode on a June 2020 episode of Office Ladies, Kinsey had a little insight into the conference table mystery.
A deleted conference room scene revealed that Toby is a trained grief counselor and Kinsey said he “starts to walk them through the steps.” She added, “And Michael’s like, ‘Oh, you’re ruining everything. It’s going to take me forever to undo what you’ve done.'”
Kinsey continued, “Michael’s like, ‘You’re ruining it.’ And this whole scene is in the conference room taking place around the conference table. Everyone’s sitting there. And Michael’s like, ‘That’s it. I’m gonna have to fix everything you’ve ruined, Toby. Ryan, Dwight, take the conference table out. We’re gonna take a five minute break while they reset. And we’re coming back in here. And I’m going to lead you in grief counseling.'”
“And I about fell out of my chair because, in my knowledge, that is the first time we have ever referenced the dang conference table,” she added.
Fischer was thrilled by her co-host’s discovery. “Oh, my gosh. And now we know who’s always moving it. It’s Dwight and Ryan.”
Unfortunately, there are still unanswered questions about how they get the table through the door and where it’s stored when not in use.
