Greg Daniels Reveals How that Famous Chili’s Scene Almost Caused The Office’s Cancellation

Believe it or not, a drunk Pam declaring, “I feel God in this Chili’s tonight!” is not the most chaotic thing to transpire from that infamous scene.

The Office showrunner Greg Daniels was on hand to promote the second season of The Paper at San Diego Comic-Con.

During Collider’s Showrunners on Showrunning panel, Daniels revealed the “biggest crisis” he faced working on a TV show. It involved a fan favorite scene from The Office Season 2 Episode 1, “The Dundies.”

“We were filming the first episode of Season 2 for The Office, and it was at a Chili’s,” Daniels recalled. “So, Chili’s gave us free decorations, which was nice, and we shot three days with the free decorations from Chili’s.”

“I don’t know if I’m making trouble for this,” he admitted before continuing with the story.

“Then we find out that the Chili’s lawyers want a change on the script. Basically, Pam had gotten very drunk in our version and fell off a stool, and they said that Chili’s doesn’t overserve its customers.”

Daniels explained that production didn’t have an agreement with the restaurant chain and would be required to refilm scenes to accommodate the changes. 

“That was episode one of Season 2. We were nowhere near the position to be able to lose three days of filming. That might have been the end of the show, and I just got absolutely knocked down,” the showrunner admitted.

Thankfully, in The Office’s darkest hour, a hero emerged: “I told Steve Carell about where we were because I didn’t know what to do. I absolutely couldn’t think of any way out of this. I was just like, ‘Well, there goes the show!'” 

“And Steve Carell taught improv — improv is his religion,” Daniels added. “So he said, ‘What if the show interviews the manager at Chili’s, and he says that Chili’s has a policy against overserving and Pam is banned for life?’ And that fixed it.”

In the end, the Chili’s scene would cement itself in sitcom history, and everyone would walk away happy — except for Pam, who would have to wait eleven years for Chili’s to revoke her ban.

With The Paper finding success as a continuation of Dunder Mifflin’s legacy, Daniels also spoke on the importance of writing for the longtime fans who will experience the work differently from newcomers.

“It’s interesting because I’m now working on two things that grew out of other things,” Daniels started. “So when I think about The Paper, which was spin off of The Office, I’m thinking, ‘All right, we got to take into account that these properties have fans.’ They’re going to see this differently than someone who is coming completely new to it.”

Daniel’s closed out his stint on the panel with an exclusive clip from Season 2 that featured the Toledo Truth-Teller writing staff gathering for a brainstorming session. Frustrated by the lack of daily news, the team suggests Toledo is “punishing” them by being utterly uninteresting.

So, Domhnall Gleeson’s Ned suggests the team pursue a journalistic crusade this season, hammering away at the same issue every day from different angles like “knoble knights.”

Fans new and old won’t have to wait long to see what happens next. The Paper Season 2 premieres September 9 on Peacock.

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