Trivia / The Office USS 2 E 1 The Dundies

• Cast the Expert: Jon Bosshart, the Chili's employee who gives the Talking Head regarding the chain's alcohol serving policy, was an actual Chili's employee, not a professional actor.
• Defictionalization: In 2017, after Jenna Fischer made a joke on Twitter about Pam's permanent ban from Chili's, the restaurant chain issued a press release saying that they'd finally decided to lift the ban because of "good conduct."
• Enforced Method Acting: A mild example. Jenna Fischer had never been drunk before filming this episode. B.J. Novak took her to a bar and gave her a few drinks—enough to get her buzzed, but not completely wasted—and then, once she was sober, explained what she'd done that night. Fischer used the experience to play Pam's drunk scenes.
• Real Life Writes the Plot: The original script had Pam being served too many drinks, but Chili's requested a change, as they hold a strict "two to a customer" limit on all alcoholic beverages to prevent drunk driving. The writers agreed and had Pam steal drinks off of other people's tables instead. They later admitted that this made it funnier.
• Throw It In!: The argument between Pam and Roy as they leave Chili's was intended to not have any audible dialogue. Jenna Fischer and David Denman ended up being accidentally recorded, and this was left in the episode.
  • Similarly, Jenna Fischer wasn't supposed to fall off of her stool; it happened by accident, and Rainn Wilson (Dwight) rolled with it.
• What Could Have Been: Greg Daniels conceived the storyline as a potential pilot for the show, before the decision was made to have the pilot be a remake of the UK pilot. Instead it became the Season 2 premiere and Mindy Kaling wrote the episode.
• Write What You Know: The Dundies were inspired by "The Swampys", an annual awards dinner/party for the people who worked on King of the Hill, showrunner Greg Daniels' previous show.