One might think landing an acting job on a hit network TV series would be a dream, especially if it's a recurring role that shakes up the show's status quo. While that certainly can be true for certain opportunities, it's definitely not the case for everyone in Hollywood. Case in point: The Office vet Lindsey Broad was introduced to the Dunder Mifflin family in Season 8 as Catch, Pam's replacement during her maternity leave, and the actress has apparently dealt with fans over the years who haven't been afraid to voice their never-ending hate for Cathy.
Below is a recent tweet that Lindsey Broad shared with her followers, showcasing just how toxic and terrible TV fans can be when it comes to characters who rubbed them the wrong way. (Or rubbed Jim the wrong way, in this case.)
I mean, what do you do with that? As if dealing with the murder of a beloved pet isn't a harsh enough life event to deal with, Lindsey Broad's grief was compounded by the misguided angst of an Office fan, or at least someone who watched very specific Season 8 episodes and clearly never found a more proper outlet to dump those years-old opinions into. Of course, that's around 60% of what social media feels like on any given day anyway, but still, I'm pretty sure thinking that a fictional TV character's actions justify a real-life animal's death would not win any Dundie Awards for being "The Most Mentally Sound Opinion."
For fans who might not be able to immediately place Cathy's arc during The Office's joke-filled run – at least not as quickly as some brainiacs out there – Lindsey Broad first appeared on the show during the Season 8 installment "Pam's Replacement," and she appeared in 11 more episodes after that, bowing out for good in "Last Day in Florida." The big reason why certain Office fans have ill will against Cathy is because she knowingly tried to seduce John Krasinski's Jim, despite knowing that he was married with newborn children.
Everybody knows that Jim and Pam are one of the most beloved couples in all of TV-dom, having successfully navigated the "will they or won't they?" waters before settling into an enjoyable and mostly light-hearted relationship. Though slightly serious personal drama reared its head on occasion, things stayed mostly normal until the later seasons when the writers played around with how much of a strain they could put on Jim and Pam's love, and then at some point, they realized how ridiculous that was. (Not that people don't still have conspiracy theories about Pam and one of the camera operators.)
So in the scheme of things, it's understandable why Lindsey Broad's Cathy wasn't such an instantly embraceable presence in the way that Ellie Kemper's Erin was. She wasn't written to be the life of the party, but rather the person at the party who schemed on nailing other people's boyfriends/husbands. Still, the point is that it was written, and Cathy's actions shouldn't inspire anyone to react in faux-vengeful glee to her portrayer's pet being murdered. Not even Todd Packer would pull that crap, and he pulls everything.
For anyone who wasn't already aware, John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer aren't a real couple, no matter how nice that thought might be. But you can experience their performances as Jim and Pam on Netflix, where all nine seasons are available to stream (until making the eventual leap to Peacock). While waiting for more Office-related news, head to our 2020 Fall TV premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows are on the way soon.
