How Pam from The Office almost played Joey from Friends’ wife

How’s this for a fun fact! The Office star Jenna Fischer has revealed she almost played the wife of Matt LeBlanc‘s wife on Man with a Plan. Can you imagine these two actors on-screen together?

Jenna Fischer is mostly known and recognized as Pam from The Office. Pam and Jim. Jim and Pam. These two characters go together and can never be mentioned without the other. Fans love it, but it appears this has also hurt their chances at getting jobs.

It’s always fun learning about how an actor widely known for one specific role, almost played a very different character. That said, to most fans, Fischer will always be Pam and LeBlanc will forever be Joey.

So did Jenna Fischer almost play Joey’s wife? Not exactly. We’re talking about LeBlanc’s other sitcom, Man with a Plan. However, the main reason Fischer didn’t get this role is due to her connection with The Office and LeBlanc’s to Friends. 

Simply put, Pam and Joey just didn’t pass the vibe with the CBS network execs. Fischer reveals in her podcast how she was fired from the cast of Man with a Plan right after the pilot.

Pam from The Office and Joey from Friends were not meant to be

Entertainment Weekly reports that, in the latest episode of the Office Ladies podcast, Fischer was fired from the CBS sitcom Man with a Plan.

Just before getting an extreme hair change for the role, Fischer received the phone call about how the comedy was going to move on without her. She shares:

"“The first thing I said was, ‘Is [Man With a Plan] not getting picked up?’, and they said, ‘It’s worse than that, hun.’ And I was like, ‘What’s worse than that?’ They said, ‘it’s getting picked up, but without you.’ And I was like, ‘Wow, I guess I’ll unpack my suitcase…”"

Ouch! Not a phone call you want to get! Luckily, it happened before Fischer went to get an extreme hair change to prepare for the role.

It all worked out for the best, but Fischer does admit she was hurt, explaining:

"“I got hired, I shot the pilot. While I was there, the network said they wanted more scenes with me. I was like, ‘I am nailing it!’ More scenes means you’re doing a good job. Well, I guess after we finished it, they showed it to focus groups.”"

I have to admit, I would also not enjoy watching Pam and Joey together. It’s just too weird, even if they are playing entirely different characters. And the majority agrees! Fischer went on to share feedback from the focus groups, which includes the quote:

"“I don’t believe Pam would marry Joey. The chemistry doesn’t work between these two.”"

What do you think? Do you see these two actors playing a married couple? Or are they forever Joey and Pam in your eyes?