The days of Dunder Mifflin may be long over, but to Brian Baumgartner and Kate Flannery, the staying power a tiny fictional paper company based in Scranton, Pa., has had for 20 years is a remarkable testament to all of the effort the cast and crew put into creating the series.
In honor of the 20th anniversary of The Office‘s premiere, Baumgartner and Flannery, who played Kevin Malone and Meredith Palmer on the show, respectively, tell PEOPLE exclusively about their takeaways looking back on the last two decades of the series’ success. Flannery particularly commends the “loyal and so wonderful” viewers who stuck with the show through thick and thin.
“I mean, 20 years is insane. I can’t believe it. But yeah, the fact that this is happening now and the fact that there are still … the audience continues to sort of repopulate itself,” Baumgartner, 52, adds.
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“I feel like The Office treats their fans — their audience — like they’re smart. You are never told when to laugh, and you can watch the same episodes several times and find different things that you’ve laughed over and find something new to laugh at,” Flannery, 60, notes.
Furthering that notion, Flannery adds, “Kids today are really smart, so that when they catch onto this, it feels like their own. I also think being in an office is very much like being in a classroom where you’re stuck next to a desk next to someone. You didn’t pick Creed or Stanley or something. But then Michael Scott is the boss, and that’s kind of like your teacher. So even though we’re in more virtual situations [nowadays], it all checks. It’s a similar situation.”
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Speaking of younger fans, Baumgartner recalls, “Kate and I were sitting having dinner in Scranton and a bunch of the lacrosse team, shout out to the lacrosse team at Trinity College, they were in town to play the University of Scranton. I don’t know how old they are, I didn’t ask, but 18, 19, 20 years old. I mean, literally not born, some of them for sure, when the show started [in 2005], and there was great enthusiasm about seeing us. So, the fact that the show keeps repopulating a younger audience is really cool.”
And even after 20 years of filming, watching and talking about the show, both Baumgartner and Flannery can quickly call to mind the top moments they recall from filming that they still consider hilarious to this day.
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Flannery highlights “the injury, which was when Michael Scott Burns his foot on the George Foreman Grill,” as well as “Dwight [having] a concussion … driving in Meredith’s minivan. I mean, the whole thing. And then I have to say ‘Casual Friday.’ ”
“I think for me … I was talking before about ensemble episodes, moments, scenes where everyone has something to do,” Baumgartner says. “I think for me, and here’s a curve ball, being a big sports fan, and the fact that the episode aired after the Super Bowl live when it happened for me, the opening scene of ‘Stress Relief’ with the fake fire drill, that for me is number one.”
Ultimately, Flannery concludes, “I just think it’s a really smart, funny show, and I’ve always been so proud to be associated with it. I love the fact that it just keeps growing and growing and growing.”
The Office is available to stream on Peacock.
