The Office was one of the highest-rated shows when it aired on NBC back in the 2000s. It blended dry and ironic humor with a generic sitcom premise. The real twist that was added to the show was that The Office took place, well, in a basic business office. Its reflection of modern corporate life may not have been as crazy as Office Space or Fight Club, but it resonated with viewers for a reason.
B.J. Novak and Mindy Kaling played two of the more controversial characters on the show. B.J.'s Ryan character started out as a pretty cool guy, but his character evolved (or devolved) into a selfish, backstabbing character that audiences grew to hate. Fans didn't hate Mindy's Kelly character, but they were annoyed at times by her slightly narcissistic personality.
On the show, the two characters had a notorious on-and-off relationship. Behind the scenes, the two actors have also had a complex, on-and-off relationship, that's quite different from the one that Ryan and Kelly had. Here's what the rest of The Office's cast has had to say about the two's long and complicated history.
Did B.J. Novak And Mindy Kaling Really Date When They Were On The Office?
B.J. is a tremendously talented actor, writer, and director whose artistry has been noticed by people such as Quentin Tarantino. Not only has B.J. written and directed some Office episodes, he recently directed his first film Vengeance starring Ashton Kutcher.
Mindy is a talented artist as well. Not only is B.J. a director, but Mindy too has directed and written episodes of television. The two got on The Office originally as writers and ended up on the show as cast members early on.
According to an interview Mindy had with Vulture, the two "never really dated". Regardless, whatever relationship they had started pretty early on in the show's history. According to People, they started secretly dating in 2004 before things ended in 2007. During that time, their characters on the show started dating each other. Seeing as B.J. and Mindy were writers, perhaps they just wanted art to imitate life.
Despite their relationship ending, their friendship really wasn't affected. Both actors stayed on the show, aside from B.J.'s absence while appearing in one of Quentin Tarantino's films. Mindy even attended the premiere of the movie in 2009, proving things were far from awkward behind the scenes.
Mindy then left The Office in 2012 in order to run and star in her own show The Mindy Project. Once again, their friendship didn't burn out whatsoever. Novak even told Entertainment Weekly that they were officially seeing other people, although their friendship was admittedly "intimidating".
Despite how their close friendship has frightened various partners, it's still never gone away. They've attended movie premieres, award shows, and even Red Sox games together. Mindy has talked to various publications about how BJ has a close relationship with her kids, with him being their official godfather. B.J. recently applauded and congratulated Mindy when she was awarded a medal by President Biden.
With the two's significant others being intimated at times, what about their fellow Office cast members?
What Did The Office Cast Really Think About Mindy Kaling And B.J. Novak's Relationship?
The Office was a show centered around a few characters. Sure, Ryan and Kelly were important people, but at the end of the day, they were supporting characters who only appeared in a couple of seasons.
Of course, no character was more important than Steve Carrell's Michael Scott. A risky character at the time, even Paul Rudd told Steve that playing Michael would be a bad career move. Regardless, Steve would play Michael for nearly a decade, and that would be his career-defining role by a wide margin.
B.J. confessed that Michael is one of his favorite characters on the show, and Mindy too has expressed love for the iconic block-headed boss.
Conversely, Steve has never said anything about B.J. or Mindy since he left the show. He hasn't done many interviews period, as he's been focused on his expansive acting career. He's appeared in The Big Short, Foxcatcher, and all of the Minion-related movies. The only time he ever really does interviews is press tours for those films, and seldom does he get a question about The Office.
There's no doubt that Steve still has a great relationship with the two of them, however. He acted alongside Mindy on the Apple TV show The Morning Show in 2019.
Rainn Wilson's character Dwight Schrute was arguably the biggest character outside of Michael. Rainn has actually joked about Mindy and B.J.'s relationship before. In an interview with Vulture, Rainn said that an impression of Mindy would be all about her obsession with B.J. This was after they broke up, too, with Rainn clarifying that their obsession with each other was as BFFs.
According to LiveJournal, Jim actor John Krasinski has also joined in on the romantic fun. A lifelong friend of B.J., he helped "play cupid" after their breakup. Mindy and BJ weren't really on speaking turns, and John got them to help plan his wedding with Emily Blunt. All these years later, their friendship has John to thank for giving them a space to heal.
While the cast of The Office could have looked at B.J. and Mindy's romance as a distraction, in reality, they love whatever their relationship is just as much as fans do. They even seem to be obsessed with it, too.
Will There Be An Office Reunion?
It's unclear if Mindy and B.J. will ever get back together. Mindy has her own kids, and B.J. has dated other women over the years. However, a bigger question that's been asked recently is if the cast of The Office will formally get back together.
Most of the original cast have gone on to bigger and better things since The Office ended. Steve's been nominated for multiple Oscars. Rainn Wilson has had a lot of acting jobs since The Office ended. John Krasinski has directed multiple blockbuster horror films and just might be joining the MCU full-time.
Despite how busy everyone's been, they have made time for a reunion of sorts. The cast will be having a personal reunion at Chicago's Navy Pier in 2023. As far as a televised reunion goes, a la the one for Friends, it's unclear if that will happen.
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