‘The Office’: 1 Jim and Pam Moment Was Cut Because It ‘Made Jim Seem Too Mean’
The Office fans loved the Jim and Pam relationship throughout the series but they missed out on seeing one tense exchange. Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey reflected on one moment between the characters that didn’t air because it “made Jim seem too mean.”
‘The Office’ episode featured Pam’s labor and delivery
In The Office Season 6 episode titled “The Delivery” Pam gives birth to her first child, Cecelia “Cece” Marie Halpert. In part of the episode, Pam is in labor but trying to delay going to the hospital.
Eventually, her contractions are too close together and she has to rush to make it to the hospital in time. After she delivers the baby, Jim and Pam feel the pressures of adjusting to life with a newborn, including some challenges with breastfeeding.
When they leave the hospital, Pam sits on a bench with Cece while Jim gets the car and, after an initial unsuccessful attempt to nurse her daughter, the baby latches and Pam feels she can handle this new challenge.
‘The Office’ episode originally included a tense Jim and Pam moment after the birth
During the June 1 episode of the Office Ladies podcast, Fischer and Kinsey discussed one deleted scene where things got a little tense between Jim and Pam.
“I think they were trying to build out the story that the two of you were getting really frustrated and started to get a little short with one another,” Kinsey said.
Fischer shared, “Oh, I remember.”
Kinsey noted that “Pam cusses out Jim” and Fischer recalled, “I think she flips him the bird at the end.”
They played the scene, which included this exchange:
Jim: The delivery wasn’t so bad. Right?
Pam: (BLEEP) you.
Jim: Wow. Now, I just mean a wonderful ending. Kind of rough getting here. We did not handle that well. I think you have to admit you flipped out a little bit.
Pam: I think you should stop talking now.
Jim: OK. Uh oh. Someone’s still a little sore. You sittin’ on your donut, hun?
They scrapped the scene because it ‘made Jim seem too mean’
Though the actors had a fun time with the scene, it ultimately was cut because it didn’t show Jim in the best light.
“OK, so I remember shooting that and we had a lot of fun with that,” Fischer recalled.
The actor shared that the moment played out realistically. “We had a lot of conversations with the people on set who had kids, and they all verified this is a very authentic moment post-birth,” she said. “It did not end up making it in, but it was pretty fun.”
Kinsey revealed that it seemed out of character for Jim. “It didn’t [make it in],” she said. “You know, in the show notes, it said that it just made Jim seem too mean.”
In the end, Kinsey said, the breastfeeding challenge was enough frustration for the couple. “I feel like they left enough in of them being frustrated about like breastfeeding and I think it works,” she said.