Brent Forrester I got so lucky when I was assigned to write this episode because it's the climax of the Michael/ Holly romantic subplot that's been running through the show for years. And the episode itself is structured like a classic rom com. Holly denies that they're made for each other, but each beat of the story seems to prove that they are made for each other. And then they meet in this classic romantic comedy trope, the meeting on the rooftop of the Empire State Building from An Affair to Remember and Sleepless in Seattle. But because it's The Office, it's not a glamorous art deco setting. It's this seedy rooftop in Scranton. All of that story material was just handed to me. Greg and the writing staff came up with it and I was assigned to write it. And I get to say, written by Brent Forrester!
Jenna It's funny, when I saw that rooftop kissing scene at the end of the episode, I had the thought, Why did they pick such an ugly roof? And it was clearly intentional. They were like, This is the Office version of the rom com Empire State Building.
Jenna Well, I'm sorry if you do not warm up to them as a couple after you see this next scene, I don't know what's wrong with you. Even Randy and his email to us, he was writing out all his facts about this episode and he said, I have to pause here and tell you that I sobbed when I saw Michael and Holly reunited on this roof. It's so emotional.
Jenna The location for this romantic reunion was the rooftop and stairwell of the Mayfair Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. If you're visiting, it's on Seventh Street.
Brent Forrester I remember the energy of the actors in the A story was very fun. It was Rainn Wilson, Ellie Kemper, Amy Ryan, and Steve Carell. And we're zipping around the city and shooting these fun little set pieces, you know, in a parking lot, in a restaurant. So the energy is very elevated until the scene on the rooftop. And, you know, normally when you're shooting on location, there's a fair amount of shouting among the crew. They're trying to convey info, you know, outdoors. But on this set, on that scene, the crew was whispering. And I remember I walked onto set like a doofus, yapping about something, and I immediately went silent. And I looked around, Why is everyone being so quiet? And I saw Amy and Steve in the distance. You know, the crew had given them a lot of space out of respect for what they were doing. And they were great actors enacting real love between these two characters. And the energy was sacred.
Jenna It's such a great scene. They have this moment.
Jenna Where she just finally melts and they kiss. Erin sees it. She's smiling. And you just know, finally, finally, these two are back together.
Angela And also, just as a fan of the show, I was a total audience member when I rewatched this, and I was so emotional for Michael that he finally met his someone. Oh, so awesome.