Friends’ Joey With The Office’s Pam? More Likely Than You Think
That would be legen… wait for it… dary! Or is that from another show?
As much as any actor would appreciate a role in a critically acclaimed movie or TV series, there are many traps that can be set for you if you are not careful. Being typecast as the same character forever is one of them, and unfortunately, few actors are known for successfully breaking that cycle.
For Jenna Fischer, probably best known to most viewers for her role in the iconic sitcom The Office, this was the problem that kept her from taking part in various other projects. Even when she'd been chosen after rounds of auditions and even filmed a pilot episode.
She shared one of her experiences in an Office Ladies podcast, where she delved deep into her role on Man with a Plan and why exactly she was recast after just one episode. On a sitcom that aired for four seasons on CBS, Fischer had to play opposite another huge sitcom star, Matt LeBlanc, as his on-screen wife.
One would think that the vast majority of viewers would be interested and excited to see such a duo, but the audience reaction to the test screening was completely unexpected:
“They said — this is a literal quote, they said, ‘I don’t believe Pam would marry Joey. The chemistry doesn’t work between these two. That was the feedback they got. <...> So it wasn’t working for them that we got married and had a family,” the actress recalled.
While viewers weren't entirely wrong in thinking that The Office's Pam had nothing to do with Friends' Joey, they had a hard time separating fiction from reality. And that cost Jenna Fischer her job.
Unfortunately, the influence The Office had on the actress' career was both a blessing and a curse. Whether Matt LeBlanc got the same treatment and was immediately seen only as his Friends character Joey is questionable. While he stayed in the production, it was Fischer who was recast.
If you want to see Man with a Plan, starring Matt LeBlanc as Adam Burns and Liza Snyder as his wife Andi, you can stream the show on Amazon Prime Video. And if you're interested in Jenna Fischer's latest performance, stay tuned for the premiere of Mean Girls: The Musical.
Source: Office Ladies Podcast