Office Ladies - Two Truths & a Lie with Joel McHale

Episode Date: April 8, 2026

This week on Office Ladies 6.0, Jenna and Angela are joined by their friend Joel McHale (Community, Animal Control, The Soup) for a very fun game of Two Truths and a Lie, or, as Joel plays it, two lies and a truth. Joel discusses behind-the-scenes moments from his shows and the risk and reward of performing his own stunts. Stick around to hear which role on The Office Joel auditioned for back in the day. So get ready for surprises, don’ t feed the animals… and enjoy! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I'm Jenna Fisher and I'm Angela Kinsey. We were on The Office together and we're best friends. And now we're doing the ultimate Office Lovers podcast just for you. Each week we will dive deeper into the world of the office with exclusive interviews behind the scenes details and lots of BFF stories. We're the Office Lady 6.0. Hi there, lady. Hey there. How's it going?

It's going pretty good. Yeah? Can't complain. No complaints here either. Before we hopped on today, I was just kind of doing the scroll on the old social media. And I saw the most fun thing. You want to hear it? Yeah.

So I know you love hockey, lady. We know you love hockey. Listen, I don't just love heated rivalry. I also love hockey, period. Okay, well, listen to this. This was really, really cool. And gosh, it looks like it was a blast. And I want to share it.

It's already happened, but I think it's so fun. Okay. the Flyers, which I guess are the hockey team in Philadelphia, Jenna, but you probably already knew that. Yes. They had their first ever themed night celebrating the office. What? Yes. On March 14th, they were playing the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Flyers decided to pay tribute

to what they said was one of the most iconic TV shows to celebrate the network's 100th anniversary on NBC. and they had all of these clips from the show. You know, on the giant Jumbotron? Yeah. They played clips from the office. They had, like, themed food and beverages. And they had giveaways. And it was all the office theme.

And there were surprise appearances by Leslie David Baker and Kate Flannery. They did that really fun thing where they go around the stadium, you know, and up on the Jumbotron, they played the look-alike game, where they put, like, a celebrity and then the person that looks like them in the stadium. And it was all characters of the office. But when they got to Leslie and Kate, they banned actually to them. And the place went crazy. Oh, my gosh.

Well, I love that. You know, when I was in St. Louis a few years ago, went to a blues game with my family. And the folks at the blues knew we were going. So they did an office-themed one. And then when they flashed up a picture of Pam, then they would show me and kind of reveal that I was there. But I said, you know, it would be kind of fun. what if you show my daughter first and then I'll sit next to her and then you can pan to me because she looks like she probably looks more like Pam than I do now really yeah she's a mini you for sure yeah and so it was

really cute and it's a fun family memory that's adorable I was at a Broncos game and they pan to me one time and lady I got so excited seeing myself on the Jogotron I lost all my cool I was like dancing around have you ever I've ever seen Jeff Goldblum get? Yes, I was like that. Yes, seeing himself on the Jumbotron, it's so charming. But I knew I was going to be on the Jumbotron. But it's an exciting thing. It just is.

It's super exciting. And they play like the office theme music and it's just really fun. But yeah, I thought that was cool. They had an all office theme night at the Flyers game. Very cool. Well, listen, everybody, we have a really fun episode today. We are going to be playing the game, two truths. a lie with Joel McHale. We love Joel. We love Joel. He's a good friend. And I just can't wait,

because you never know what you're going to get with Joel. Well, first, though, we are going to do our fan chit-chat question of the week. This one is coming from Hannah P in South Carolina. Hi, office ladies. Apakabar. My name is Hannah, and I have a get-to-know-you question that's usually used in my friend group. When someone starts new at work, we ask, what's your garbage? This is usually something weird or gross or funny that you find totally normal, but other people are shocked by. For example, my favorite kind of popcorn is three days old or burnt. My mom's favorite snack, her dessert, is banana strawberry baby food, and a friend of mine would just clip her nails anywhere in her house and just clean them up next time she vacuumed. So it can be food or a habit

or anything someone has said, that's crazy and you just don't agree. Also, I've lived in Indonesia and I'm moving back there soon, so I absolutely love hearing Angela speak Indonesian since I never get to hear it here in the States. Thanks for all you guys do. Oh, Hannah, Kabad Baik, Trimakasi. Thank you so much for writing in. And I'm so excited to hear that you're going back to Indonesia. It's such a wonderful place. That just gave me all the warm feelings, Jenna, just hearing her say, Apakabar, made my day. Well, I love that and I love Hannah's question. I love that the way they get to know each other is by leading with their garbage. I think that's very cute.

I mean, Hannah, I want this to be like one of the questions when you're out of fun, like, dinner party. What's your garbage? I am going to make a mental note of that. So, and what comes to mind for you? Well, you know, Hannah gave the example of like three-day-old burnt popcorn. Here's something I like. And I don't think it's that weird. I think there's going to be people out there that do this as well.

Let me know. but I love nothing more than like if we order pizza and everyone is done with their pizza. You know, our kids kind of eat the pizza, but then they don't eat the crust. And then they put it back in the pizza box. And so then I go to clean up and there's a pizza box full of a lot of crust. And I will go get some ranch dressing and I eat the pizza crust. I mean, I'm not going to, like, eat after someone I don't know, no. But you know what I mean? I'm like, we're not wasting this pizza crust, are we? I have put pizza crust in a Ziploc bag and saved it for the next day and heated it up in the microwave with some ranch dressing.

Is that weird? So your garbage is that you can't let pizza crust go. I can't. I love the taste of it. I love pizza crust. I don't understand people who don't like the crust. I feel like it's all leading up to the crust. If it's a good crust, I get excited when I get to the crust. Do you ever go and take a piece of pizza crust off the pizza and then leave the pizza part and just eat the crust? I haven't done that, but I will tell you I can't wait for the pizza crust.

Like, I kind of get through the pizza. Like, just get me through it. Just you're here for the crust. I'm here for the crust. And then I want you to know that I'm talking all crusts, deep dish crust, medium, thin crust that's like crispy. And people are like, why do you want the thin crust? I'm like, give me the crust.

I love the crust. So that's my garbage. What about you, lady? What's your garbage? Well, my garbage is something that I feel like maybe I've shared on the podcast before, but this is what came to mind. It's very Angela Martin of me. But sometimes I get foster kittens and I lick their heads.

Like where? between their eyes? Like their mama? Like their mama. Like when they first come in and they're like semi-feral and the only way you can hold them is to wrap them up like a little burrito and a blanket. And then you snug them up real close on your chest. I always pet them right there. But sometimes if they're especially scared, I might give a little lick just to try to, I don't know.

create that bond. You are so much more Angela Martin in this moment than I am. I know. I know. I guess my question is when you lick that little part between their eyes, do you get hair on your tongue? Are you then like, like, luk, gluck. No, you don't. You really don't. It doesn't come off. There's nothing there.

I give it a couple little licks and then I give it a little smooth with the thumb. You are a very dedicated kitty foster parent. I hope by the time this podcast comes out, I have none of them in my house anymore. Because they've all been adopted. Because they've all gone to their forever homes. But I'll let you know. I've managed to do cat rescue for 20 years without a foster fail. So I'm hoping I can keep up my record.

There's no way. You're going to end up adopting one of these. There's no way. Every single time you have a litter of kittens that you're fostering, you're like, okay, I'm going to keep one of them. The odds are not in your favor here. You are going to end up keeping one of them. This is a terrible BFF. right now. You're supposed to be like, don't worry, the right person will find them.

No, it's not about that. Don't give into this temptation. No, it's not about that. Why is it a temptation if you make a connection with one of the kitties? Because you can't, then I can't foster another litter of kittens because I can't absorb a kitten every time. I'll be overrun. I'm just saying just one time. This is just one time. Oh my gosh. You're a rescuer's nightmare right now. This is not what I need. I'm sorry, lady. I'm so sorry. Okay. They're all going to find wonderful homes.

You're doing a great job. Way to go. So, yeah, I guess that's my garbage, is that I lick my kittens from time to time. Like Angela Martin maybe did with her garbage, her literal garbage cat. I mean, your garbage is coming from such a nurturing place. And mine is coming just from like love of bread. It feels kind of lame. Matt, what about your garbage?

I think I'm kind of like Angela where I just, it's the eating of other people's leftovers. Now, now hold up, Matt. I am not eating other people's leftovers. I just want your pizza crust. If you and I order a pizza and you're not going to eat your crust, I'll take it. See, I'll take it a step further. And for me, it's like when my kids come home from school, I open their lunchbox, especially because it's like around that time of day.

It's like the late afternoon. Like, I'm kind of hungry. I just like, even while I'm still at, like, the school parking lot, I'll open their little, my little pony lunchbox and grab some warm chicken nuggets and, like, fruit that's been warmed by the sun. It's like a parent's afternoon snack. Yeah, I just my blood sugar's a little low. I just need a little snack. I feel worried for you. I'm worried you're going to get food poisoning. So far, so good. Okay, good. But come on. What's in a kid's lunchbox? I don't know. Some goldfish, some pretzels. So you're getting a soggy pretzel. Yeah, exactly. Jenna, Matt and I are clearly kind of laid back about food, eating other people's food.

Oh, well, thank you so much, Hannah. We had fun sharing our garbage. And everyone, we're going to take a break. We'll be back with Joel McHale. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. I've been thinking a lot lately about how important it is to take care of our mental health. Not just when things feel overwhelming, but as part of everyday life, therapy, really isn't just for crisis moments. It's a tool. Yeah. I've seen how powerful it can be. But I also know that finding time for therapy can be really tricky. And that's why we love BetterHelp. Everything is online so you can schedule sessions by phone, video, or even message chat. They have the largest and most diverse network of therapists over 30,000 covering everything from anxiety and depression to stress and relationship issues. And here's the thing, if the therapist you find isn't the perfect fit for you,

you can switch anytime, easily, and at no extra costs. So take a moment and prioritize your well-being with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash OfficeLadies to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P.com slash Office Ladies. Understanding power requires more than headlines. I'm Peter Hamby, host of the Powers That Be, a podcast from Pock examining politics, economics, and media to provide context, analysis, and clarity without sensationalism. We ask how power operates, who benefits, and what's at stake. If you want to move beyond breaking news to deeper understanding, join us on the Powers That Be.

New episodes every weekday, follow the Powers That Be wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, Joel. That's our sting, Joel. Are you so impressed? I can't believe you got Sting to do that whole sting. Wow. I'm off to a roaring start. I apologize. You stop it. Joel, how are you? Look at us, drinking, enjoy, wait, enjoying ourselves. Remember the last time I stumbled into your podcast? Yes, we do. That was pre-pendemic, right? That was pre-pandemic. That was that Earwolf. And that's when you could walk down a hallway and kind of look in the sort of sound booth windows and see who was recording and you walked by and saw us and

you just came in. You're like, hey guys. You're like, what are you guys doing? What's happening here? You guys making a podcast? Joel, I have to brag on you a little bit, which is you've got a wicked forehand, my friend. You've got a really good forehand. I'll take that. I had to work on it. You had to work hard on it, but you've got a really nice forehand. So if you guys ever find yourself in a tennis match with Joel. Watch out for the forehand. How many times a week do you play, Joel? Every day, almost.

Is that right? Yeah. Do you get out there every day? Yeah, my son plays. He's 17 and on his high school team. So that really helps. And we have a tennis court. Yes, I've done well, everyone. I just want to let people know.

That's what I spent my money on. I will say you share, though, because I do not have a tennis court, but you're like, Ange just come over. And then I come and I show up with like homemade granola. I just leave you guys granola. That's our trade.

Like Sarah loves that homemade. Oh, my, she won't stop talking about it. How did they do it? It's toasty and it's so flavorful. It's salty and sweet. It's just. See, Jenna, you have this whole other world of old people hitting tennis balls and eating granola.

Am I allowed to come over and just eat the granola? Yes. Mm-hmm. Is there a place for me? Yes. We have some benches you can watch from. Just watch for the errant line drive. Yeah.

And a lemon tree that is like the most lemons I've ever seen in my life right by the tennis court. Like it's kind of nuts. It is so weighed down. It doesn't look like it's going to survive. But it's a Meyer lemon tree too. So it's. Oh, those are the best lemons. I have a Meyer lemon tree.

They're sweeter. They're so good. And they're growing up. Growing up in the Northwest, thank you. Shout out to Rain Wilson. I never dreamt if you lived in Southern California. You would just plant a fruit tree and it's going to grow and just start dumping oranges everywhere. It seems like Shangri-La when you think about it that way.

Can I ask a question? Because I've wondered this. So in my neighborhood, like you said, like living in Southern California, people have fruit trees. They just have them. There's pomegranate trees and persimmon trees and so many. lemon and lime and orange trees and you just go for a walk in the neighborhood and sometimes those trees are in people's front yards and they're really full of fruit. Do you think it's okay to pick a piece of fruit off of someone else's tree that's in their front yard? Are you trespassing? Are

the branches leaning over the fence? There's no fence. It's just a sidewalk and there's a tree there And maybe you're passing by and you are like, I'd love an orange. And there's so many of them. There's so many. So I'll just say, I never do it. But I feel like it should be okay. As long as you're not taking the last one or there's a dozen left. Like, how many oranges does one person need?

I need them all. Do you not want anyone? You don't want anyone taking your lemons. Well, why do you think we have such a huge wall? keeping everyone separated from our lemons. Well, I have neighbors guys, and they are side by side. You know, like their driveways line up next to each other. And on one, that's how it is with my neighbor.

Okay, so on one side, my neighbor has a lemon tree. It's loaded with lemons. And he has just a basket underneath it. And he's got a little sign that says, please take the lemons. You know, feel free. And then on the other driveway, just a few feet away, another lemon tree loaded with lemons, and they have a sign, do not pick the lemons. So it's like, that's not true.

Are you serious? It is true. It is true. I promise you. And I'm like, what? These two people have very different philosophies. They're letting the whole neighborhood know about it. Yeah. All right.

Well, on those good vibes, I think it's time. You try to transition to this game, Angela? I'm trying. Joel, I'm trying. You should know this about me. I'm horrible at transitions and segways. Like if we're at a cocktail party and I really want to talk to you and you're talking to people and like you're standing, let's say, by a Christmas tree,

I might walk up and be like, here's the thing about Christmas trees. The whole energy. That sounds like a segue into conversation, though. Yeah. I mean, if you were to launch into like, the Atlas Mountains are in Morocco. I'm like, what? Yeah. No, I just look at something right in front of me and comment.

Okay. This is going to be the best transition. of your whole effing life. Are you ready? Now there's a lot of pressure here. You know who's so much fun at a party and who's great at playing games? It's our dear friend, Joel McHale. And we thought, who better than to play two truths and one lie with?

We had Creed Braton. He played it, Joel. No pressure. He is amazing at two truths and a lie. At lying and telling the truth. Uh-huh, because his truths and his lies are kind of blurry. and what we're going to need from you, Jen and I did not do a lot of Googling on you.

We wanted to be surprised here. We don't want to know all your ins and outs, okay? All your business. So we're going to need you to tell us two truths and a lie in any order. And then Jenna and I are going to guess which one is the lie. And you folks listening out there can play along with us. So, Joel, you're up. You have to tell us now.

Two truths and a lie. And it can be anything. It can be anything. So it could be like, I could tell a 25-minute story. Sure. Sure. Three 25-minute stories. But you are going to have to take a break.

And one of them is a lie. You will have to pause because I'm going to have to go pee if you do three 25-minute stories. I will be offended because these stories are real humdingers. Okay. Two truths and a lie with Joel McHale. Here we go. Two truths. And a lie. Here we go. I have been bitten by a bear. I have met Luciano Pavarotti when he was alive, obviously. I mean him after he died. And I quit drinking scotch.

Okay. Two truths and a lie. Oh, is it two truths? Two truths and a lie. Did she just give us two lies and one truth? Did you really? Okay, we're now playing two lies and one truth. I like that. I just saw you at a holiday party where I believe you were drinking scotch. And so I am asking myself, how recently did you stop drinking scotch? Were you not drinking scotch at that party? Were you not drinking an old-fashioned?

I was drinking sparkling wine. Sparkling wine? You know, it wasn't a champagne. It was a prosaico. It was pro seco. You were? I was definitely not drinking a, definitely not drinking our old fashion. Okay.

I think in my entire lifetime, I have had maybe two old fashions. Wow. Jenna, you love an old fashion. Maybe you were drinking the old fashion. I was drinking an old fashioned. And so was Lee. And I thought, so were you? And so were the other fellows.

I thought we were all toasting old fashions, but no. Clearly not. Prosecical. Okay. I choose the sparkling wine because if I can drink a lot, but if I start drinking hard alcohol publicly, people like, you go crazy? No, I will curl up. You can go night night?

You're like, I'm just going to sleep in the pool. I don't care where. I'm just going to lie down right here. Wait, so what was your other one? You got bit by a bear? Bit by a bear. and met Luciano Pavarotti. When he was alive, obviously.

Because you guys know where I was born, right? Pacific Northwest. They're bears. Oh. What? Where were you born? Yeah. Now look up on Wikipedia where I was born. Oh, God. You're going to make me Google it right now. Don't tell me. I was born in Italy. So that's... You were born in Italy? Do you have Italian citizenship as well? Do you have dual citizenship? I could have had it. I was born before.

for America recognized dual citizenship. You were born in Rome? Yeah. Aw. Your dad was the dean of students. Yes. At Loyola University Rome Center. My mom was a student.

Scandal. How long did you live in Rome? Not long, but enough to meet Luciano Pabarotti, who was in his prime. And you were born in 1971. Well, what? Me too. Me too. Yes.

Yes. So that's the truth. The lies are that you've never been bitten by a bear and you still drink scotch, but not at public parties. Wait, how do we play this? Wait, we have to guess which is the truth. Oh, okay. Because you're playing two lies and the truth. I'm trying to think of which I'm not even sure now.

Okay. So, wait, you don't know which is your truth? No, I know what they are. Okay. So he did grow up, though, in the Pacific North. West. There could be bears, lady. Maybe he had a field trip and a bear bit him like when a monkey threw me on the ground in Indonesia. A monkey threw you on the ground? Yes, but we don't, we're not here to talk about that. We're not here to talk about that. Don't ask her about it. But I'm just saying,

you could have been on a field trip. Joel, don't. You do not. You know what? We don't here for so long. We will be here for a long time. Wait, but also he is on a show called Animal Control, with many animals. Yes. And now I'm worried that perhaps you have been bitten maybe by a bear. You're calling it a bear, but maybe it was a bear cub and maybe it was like a little love nibble. But I mean, a bear. When is the last time you heard of somebody being love nibbled by a bear?

A bear cub. A tiny bear. Do they have like, I don't know. Wait, do they have like puppy teeth that are real sharp and hurt? That's what I'm wondering. Okay. Well, I'm going to go with a truth is you met Poverati and that. That's it. There's only one tree. Oh, yeah. So that's it. I forgot the game. I think that's the game. Now, I know you have a very vast wine collection. Yes. And I feel like you might have a scotch every once in a while at home. Not in public. We know that because you'll go, you know, sleep in someone's yard. take their lemons. This is my guess as well.

And so I think that's the truth. And I want to know if we're right. And then I want to hear the story. All right. I have not met Luciana Pavarovia. What? Oh, no. Now we have to pick between the other two.

Wait, wait. He's not met. Huh. Okay. Notice how I walked you in. Do you want to be like, oh, I'll tie. You really walked us into it. I was born in Italy.

I know. It was the time. 1971. Joel, me thanks you've hosted game shows before. Welcome to a 1% club on Fox. Not making Kinscheon in Fox. Joel, have you been bitten by a bear? I was bit by a bear.

You were! You were? Please tell the whole story. And I did not quit drinking scotch. Well, yes, okay. But I did not have an old-fashioned at that party. I stand corrected. Ironically, it was not on animal control. It was on the six-episode arc I had on the office,

which I don't know why you didn't bring that up. What? There was no six-episode arc where you fight a bear. But you know what? I really wish you and Dwight were in the woods, whatever your character was. Maybe you're one of his cousins and you had to fight a bear. Oh, I did audition for Dwight.

You did? I did. Yeah. So it was the very, you know, going way back. And I was like, I probably should audition for, you know, Jim. And this is, you know, and then they were like, no, no, no, do I. And then I was like, I don't know. I don't know if I'm the right one for this one.

And I didn't get past the, like, the initial read. And then when Rain got it, I was like, oh, yeah. Yeah. It couldn't be anybody else. Did you know Rain before? I knew. well, I knew of rain. Rain was already on his way to be. He was already a well-established comic and a local Seattle legend because he had done good. He had done good by then. So I think, what was that?

Did you guys start in 2006? Three or four? Yeah. Yeah. That was, if it was three or four, then it would have been right as the soup was starting. Anyway, going way back. The soup. God, I remember watching the soup. I remember watching you on the soup like all the time. And then when I met you, I was like, awkward transition into the conversation. Do you have any lemons? Fancy finding you buy some lemons. Angela Kinsey's trying to steal lemons from us. Are we ever going to hear about this bear attack? Please. What do I need to do? I need to hear the story of the bear attack. It was so for a show called The Great Indoors, which was on CBS for one season in 2016. It was me, the great Stephen Fry, Christmonds, Plas, Christine Coe, Deborah Baker Jr. and

Sean Brown. And Stephen Fry and I, he played my boss. Anyway, we did this scene with a bear cub. I had to hold the bear cub while I gave a speech. And they were like, okay, so the bear will probably become impatient. You got about 40 seconds. Because the bear doesn't really like to be held. And so you're holding the bear, and the bear's cuddly. It's a bear cub. It weighs 50 pounds. And you're holding this bear, and I start giving this speech as fast as I can.

And then they were like, he'll just be annoyed. And he might bite you just to test things out. So I was wearing like three layers. And that thing bit me in the arm. And that thing, that beautiful thing. And so bears do not have sharp teeth. they have teeth that crush things. Oh no.

Not like a puppy at all. It just squeezes so hard because it's like they crush bones with them. So it didn't break skin, but it left this gigantic mouth-shaped bruise on my arm. So then I dropped the bear out of pain. Sure. And the bear didn't, the guy was like, oh yeah, the bear falls out of trees all the time, like three feet.

You can't, he was like, you'll not, this is nothing. He's never been happier. And then Stephen Fry had to pick him up and hold him and give a speech. And the exact same thing happened. So anyway. Was it just the one take, though? They weren't like, can you go again? We did one take.

And they were, yeah, that was compared. They had river otters on set at one point. They wanted me to hold a river otter. And that was about 20 times more terrifying because they are big and they move so fast. And they were eating raw chicken and crushing the bones in their teeth. just like it's popular. And I'm like, the bear was just mellow and cool.

And the bear on the ground just walking around was like a nice dog. You know, I actually have a bear story. Oh. If you're interested. Yes. Okay, so I'm not sure if I've told this story on our podcast before,

but early in the office shoot, I think maybe I've mentioned it. They asked me and John and Rain to do a photo shoot. I think it was for TV guide. and for a reason I don't know, it was the three of us and a fully grown bear, like a full bear. And the bear was coming through the window. What? And then the three of us were like, ah.

And I have no memory of this lady. You can Google it, and I think you can find the image of us with this bear. And so they were kind of setting it up, and we were getting ready to go. And then someone came in and said, you know what? we've decided we're going to do these separate. So you guys just react as if the bear is there and then we'll bring the bear out later and we'll get the shot of the bear and we'll put them together. And we were like, that sounds good.

I kid you not, a couple years later, I am pretty sure this is true. I don't want to disparage this bear if I'm wrong, but I think he killed his trainer. Oh my gosh. I think he killed someone. When you have a gigantic wild animal. Yeah. And so I'm so grateful that on the day, they decided to shoot us separately

because it turns out this bear, he had worked a long time, and I think he was done. He was grumpy. He wasn't into it anymore. He didn't want to be a performing bear. That bear may not even had intended to kill his, trainer. Right. It could have just been like, hey, and they just happened to have, you know,

their arm is a thousand times more powerful than a human arm. So then, right. I did a shoot with some monkeys, some chimpanzees, and I got there and it was for a magazine. And they were like, so don't look the monkeys in the eye. No, don't. And then I said, that's the rule. Then I, Yeah, then I literally was like, you shoot those guys separately because I'm not going to accidentally gaze at this thing and then it's going to come at me and kill me. Also, now you've told me don't look at the monkey in the eye and that's all I'm going to do. So that's what's in my brain now. I got to look him in the eye. I've got to see what happens.

Julie, it seems like you've done a lot of television programs with animals because you are now in season four of animal control. I don't know how that worked out. But yeah, I worked with a ton of animals. I don't know how it all happened. I do love them. I love them to death. Like, I got to ride a camel this year down a residential street in Vancouver. And I was like, this is the greatest.

Can't believe this is happening. I have a question for you. Season 4, episode 1, animal control. There's a horse. It's going down the road. You jump out of a moving car, a slow moving car. and you kind of roll and then you jog up to the horse

and you mount it. Yes. That was not me. But did you fall out of the car? Because I believe you rolled out of the car but I'm like, I think the guy mounting the horse was not you because it's on your back and then we go to the front of you.

And you are on the horse. But I just... What an opener. What a season opener. Yeah, we shut down a highway in Vancouver and we had like six hours, So we ran out there and got everything all set up and got in and got out and it worked. So they would not let me fall out of the truck, even though I'm one of those guys that believes I can prove that I'm going to live forever through physical accomplishments. So they were like, that's exactly why we're not allowing you to roll out of the truck.

So I had a bunch of pads on, so I did the last final roll. Okay. The only thing scary about that is there was a team of trucks all driving and they all had to be at a certain speed. So they're like, make sure you get up fast. You're going to get hit by this truck. Oh, my gosh. Great. And then the guy that did the horse thing, that jump.

I mean, I could not have done that jump because he grabbed the pommel and then he just flipped his legs up. And that dude is one of the greatest, like, horse trainers and performers on the planet. It was like an old-timey mounting of a horse. It was like in Ye Old West, how you might, like, run out into the field and just jump on the back of the horse. It was very cool. Thank you. Is there anything that you can tease for this season? Because now the two animal control units have merged. Is that going to be the main crux of the season? That is the main crux of the season. And everybody dies.

Stop it. Stop it. What happens in season? I don't know if you've seen Hamlet or the movie Hamnet. Okay. But yeah, there's a duel at the end. One of us is poisoned and then accidentally poisons the other. That's it. That's it.

It's like Hamlet and Red Wedding all at once. Oh, the Red Wedding, which I want Jenna to watch. I don't know why I find this hard to believe, but I feel like Fox is not letting the show end that way this year. I mean, Kyla Pratt and Jerry D. Who aim onto the show and boy, just knocking it out of the park. just so funny and just wonderful nemesis. Yeah, it's good times. It's Aaron now.

I think we're almost to the season closer. And I do want to say this, you guys, that for folks that love the office, some of my favorite scenes, Joel, or when y'all are just all in the office, just giving each other a bunch of crap, you know? Like the animal control actual offices with the desks and the whole sort of vibe reminded me a lot of us in the bullpen of the office. So office fans, you want to check this show out. We literally said this should be like the office. It's the interpersonal relationships that all these guys have. And just keep zipping around those and we should be okay.

I'm going to give you this. I think it's as if the office in Brooklyn 9-9 had a baby. Now I feel like you're lying to me because I can't take a compliment. And my imposter syndrome goes through the roof and even be compassionate. to those shows, it seems insane. So I'll take that. Well, it's a ton of fun and you guys are hilarious. And I love like just shooting the shit with you, Joel. You're such a just good person. It's my best business. We're so lucky. Yeah. Joel, thank you so much. I just adore you and I appreciate you. Well, come back on over and play some more tennis. You're welcome to come anytime.

Thank you. I'll be there to eat the granola. And everyone else, we're going to take a break. and we're going to be back with Around the Town and the Office Question of the Week. All right. All the things I told were lies. No. Joel, you stinker. All right, bud. I'll talk to you soon. See you guys.

Thank you. We are back. We are back from playing two lies and a truth with Joel McHale. I told you. I knew when I was like, you never know what you're going to get. We had no idea he was going to flip the script on us, but that was really fun. Well, could we get a little around? the town.

Our first news item comes from Don T. In Lytton, British Columbia, Don says, Hey, Angela and Jenna, I live in a very small Canadian town along the Fraser River, and we have a little two-car ferry that I have to go on to get across the river to get to work. Lately, there have been a lot of large ice chunks floating down the river, and this caused the paddle to break. So the ferry shut down for a while. But it's back and running as usual now. Wow, that's so wild to me. Just seeing huge chunks of

ice floating? That's so wild. All right, our next around the town is from Stephanie Z and St. Louis, Jenna. Hi, Stephanie. Stephanie said, this week for Valentine's Day, we're seeing something very dear to my heart. There's a great entertainer, Clownvis Presley, playing a set of love songs in his style at the City Museum. I've been seeing his live shows for over 10 years. and he's a local legend. The first time I visited this beautiful city was in 2021 to see one of his shows. The year after that, I traveled here solo for another one, met my partner at a show, and then I moved here in 2022.

We now have a charming little house in South City and five adorable cats. Neither of us really celebrates this holiday too much, but it's become our cute-slash-weared little tradition. It's also really fun to explore the city museum at night. Stephanie, this is so cool. The last time I was in St. Louis, my family, we went to City Museum. Angela, it's like no place I've ever been. It's like five stories and a roof.

It is filled with caves and caverns and crawl spaces and a giant sculpture of a whale. And you just walk through all of it and climb through all of it. But then they also have this tank where you can put your hand in and all the fish come over and like eat the dead skin. in off your hand. Oh my goodness. It's so cool and unique and I didn't think it could get more unique, but now I'm hearing that this past Valentine's Day they had clownvis Presley. I had no idea. This place is really cool. That is so cool. Well, our last around the town comes from Mandy L. in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Mandy says, I'm just bursting with pride for my niece. Miss Hayden A has been cast as the role of Mrs. Herron in her school's rendition of

Mean Girls, Jr. The role was originated by Miss Anna Gastire and more recently played on the big screen by Miss Jenna Fisher, wishing many broken legs to Miss Hayden A. Oh, Hayden, break a leg as Mrs. Heron. I loved playing that part. It's a good part. Well, thank you so much for sending in your Around the Towns, and now we're going to wrap things up with our office question of the week.

This comes from Craig W. in Albany. Craig wants to know who was the grown-up in the room when the cast lost it for too long. How was everyone brought back from contagious giggles? Oh, Craig. This is a good question. Oh, Craig. I can tell you what. It wasn't me.

That's what I can tell you. Who brought us back to being serious? I can definitely tell you all the people it wasn't. It was not John Crosinski. It was not Angela. It was not me. It was not Mindy. It was definitely not Mindy.

Definitely not Mindy. Maybe a director would step in and try to wrangle us. Every once in while I know over in accounting when Brian and I would get the giggles, Oscar would be like, come on, guys, come on. So sometimes Oscar, but yeah, it was hard. It was really difficult not to laugh. And we often ruin many takes. But it was also the crew.

I mean, sometimes you could just see Matt and Randall kind of like shaking with the camera on their shoulder. Or especially if you had a writer like Jen Salada, she would ruin so many takes herself. Off camera. Just as the writer producer off camera. Yeah. And Greg, too, though, and Paul. Yeah. I feel like in terms of people who were off camera who would break and then get us going.

And then it's hard to come back from that, especially when you've made. made the off-camera people laugh, too. Well, that's the biggest win, right? I remember one time watching our boom operator, Nick Carbone's handshake as he held the boom because he was laughing. His shoulders were going. And I was like, yes. But, yeah. Well, Craig, thank you so much for your question.

It definitely brought a smile to my face, remembering all of that. But I guess our answer is, the directors usually had to rain us in. And every once in a while, Oscar, under his breath would be like, come on. And maybe, maybe Kelly Cantley could get us to pull it together, right? Yeah. Our AD. Yeah. Maybe Kelly.

I think so. She would sometimes come in and be like, guys, do we want to make it to lunch? Let's make it. Yeah. Bring up food. And that could get us to become serious. Lady, do you remember early on before Nick Carbone joined us? And it might have even been someone who was just on set as like an extra set of

hands. There was a boom operator and we were laughing and he got really annoyed with us. Do you remember that? It was in the kitchen. We were in the kitchen and I think I'm thinking of the episode, but I don't want to say what it is. And we were all busting up laughing and he got super annoyed and I thought, man, this is not the job for you. Like, this is part of it. Like we're making comedy here. We're going to break sometimes and that's part of the energy. And that's part of the and I think he didn't find the show as funny as the rest of us. I don't think he thought it was funny. Yeah, I do.

I remember him, but yeah, our show wasn't for him. It wasn't. He needed to be on a drama, something more serious. A procedural, yeah. He wasn't loving it. But listen, I mean, that comes with the territory on a comedy. I feel like that's something that I learned, too, is that the atmosphere of making a comedy is comedic. And if you get too serious,

or you're just constantly looking at the clock and you're like wondering when are we going to get this shot? Like that's actually a hard role for our first ADs, for Kelly and for Rusty, because they have to leave time for the levity on set to keep the comedy ball in the air. But you also have to make sure you're getting the shot and that we're breaking in time for lunch

and all that kind of stuff. And so we were really lucky with Kelly and Rusty because they let us have fun, but they were pretty good at, like, raining us in when they needed to as well. Yeah, they were like your fun aunt and uncle, you know, that let you, like, just let loose, but then it was like, all right, guys, come on, let's go. Yeah. You can't stay up too late.

Can't eat too much candy before bed. That's right. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Some of the times I laugh so hard, too, was just in the pauses. I don't know if you remember that, Jenna, but there were so many times when we were in a conference room and Steve as Michael would start improvising. So we didn't know what he was about to say. We'd already gotten the scene scripted many times. And then there'd be one or two moments where

Steve as Michael would have a list of things he had to say and he would start improvising that list. And it was the pause before he said the next thing where I would come undone. The excitement of what he was going to say was so thrilling to me. And then inevitably, whatever he would, said would be ridiculously funny, but it was the pause that got me. Like his long, like, I'm like, oh my God, I'm out. I'm out. All of this reminiscing about this is just, gosh, we laughed a lot. What a gift that our job was to go somewhere and be around funny people being funny. There's just nothing like it. Truly. We're really lucky. Yeah. Oh, you guys, thank you so much. We hope you enjoyed this episode. Big thank you.

to Joel McHale for spending the afternoon with us being silly. And thank you to everyone who sends in their chit chats and around the towns. We love hearing from you guys so much. We appreciate this community so very much. And just in case, these kittens are still in my house, everybody. Please go to kittenrescue.org and adopt my kittens. Yes, adoption of sweet kittens. All right, you guys, have a great week. We'll see you next time. See you then. Thank you for listening to Office Ladies. Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey. Our senior producer is Matt Beagle and our audio engineer is Sam Kiefer.

Odyssey's executive producer is Leah Reese Dennis. Office Ladies was mixed and mastered by Bill Schultz. Our theme song is Ruppertree by Creed Bratton.