Hallmark’s been talking a lot about a shift in the diversity of the Christmas movie schedule, but that isn't limited to LGBTQ+ couples or celebrating holidays outside of Christmas. One way the network has significantly branched out but highlights less is its genre diversity. Over the last couple of years, I've seen the network branch out into holiday movies with more of a comedic bent like Three Wise Men and A Baby and Haul Out the Holly. There was another this month starring none other than The Office’s Angela Kinsey and, much to my surprise, it featured an Office reunion I was not anticipating in the least.
This month, Kinsey made her debut on the Hallmark schedule with Confessions of a Christmas Letter, a brand new original for the cabler that certainly had a comedic bent. Hellbent on winning her community’s Christmas letter competition after years of humiliation Settie Rose (Kinsey) hires a real-life writer to give her a leg up against a neighbor who has won for years. Meanwhile her daughter is home for the holidays, and sparks may be flying more between her offspring and her writer for hire than his ideas on paper. Which brings me to the movie’s unexpected Office cameo.
The Story Behind How Confessions Of A Christmas Letter Has A Great The Office Nod
Early on in the flick, Ms. Rose is taking her letter to the post office and has a bit of a run-in with the postman, played by Brian Baumgartner, who portrayed Kevin Malone during The Office’s run. She attempts to retrieve a poorly-written letter from the mail and he stops her, only to be distracted by some of her loyal friends.
It’s a fun moment, and --much like the Office finale -- it was very unexpected when it played out on the small screen. I found this to be particularly true given the two interacted across a desk like they'd done so many times during the course of the hit comedy series, which felt a bit like a callback.
As it turns out, the cameo was actually the actress’ idea. She revealed in an interview with Us Weekly the producers of the Christmas movie hinted the small role at the beginning would be perfect for a cameo from a TV pal and Kinsey immediately thought of Baumgartner.
They told me they were looking for the role of the postman, and they were open to having a cast a member from my Office cast play the role. I immediately thought of Brian and I reached out. I texted him and he said, ‘yes,’ and we had the best time. We picked up right where we left off.
It’s hard to believe it’s been more than a decade since The Office went off the air, but I think it speaks volumes about the popularity of the NBC series that a small cameo like this would be such a fun and notable moment years later. The actress says that’s the vibe the cast and crew have also maintained in the years since the show made its network TV run. They all still act like family, so a cameo is apparently a bit of a no-brainer.
Our Office cast is still very close, so any of us, if we’re in town or near each other, we try to reach out. We try to support each other, and I love that about our show.
This isn't the first Office reunion that came out this year, as Steve Carell and John Krasinski had a frankly emotional day on the set of If. Yet, the casting certainly got me into a festive mood from jump street. If you haven't caught Confessions of A Christmas Letter yet, do give it a whirl.
