Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer on How iPods Saved ‘The Office’ From Cancelation

Nearly three years after teaming up for their Office Ladies podcast, The Office cast members Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey have joined forces once again for their new book, The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There.

Out May 17, the book celebrates the co-stars’ friendship, and is highlighted by behind-the-scenes stories of the pair’s time on set of the iconic NBC sitcom.

Ahead of the book’s debut, Fischer and Kinsey stopped by Late Night With Seth Meyers on Monday to reflect on those Office memories, where they revealed that iPods prevented the show from getting axed during its first two seasons.

“We were almost canceled every week for the first two seasons,” Fischer told Meyers. 

Kinsey then mentioned that the series’ beloved Christmas party episode in Season 2 essentially saved the show, largely because NBC released it for free on the fifth-generation iPod, which is also known as the iPod Video.

“And we were the number one downloaded show,” Fischer continued. “So people weren’t actually watching us live on television…they were watching it on the iPod.”

The Office subsequently became the biggest sitcom on TV, at which point Kinsey admitted she went out and bought a Honda in celebration of not getting canceled. 

“We were like ‘we might have a job for awhile,’” she said, adding, “so I went out and bought a Honda.”

The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office From Two Best Friends Who Were There is out today, and available for pre-order now.