Why Meredith Was Played by a Different Actress in 'The Office' Pilot

The Office launched its pilot all the way back on March 24, 2005. It's hard to believe the six episodes which made up Season 1 aired nearly fifteen years ago, and we're all certainly even more obsessed with the show than audiences were then. Even younger generations have joined the fandom, with big-name celebs such as 18-year-old Billie Eilish showing her love for the series.

With the show still being many people's favorite, the podcast Office Ladies, hosted by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, is a delight to listen to. The two actors reminisce about filming and offer listeners a bunch of behind-the-scenes secrets we never knew previously. While speaking about the pilot episode, as Insider notes, they dropped some information about why a character was re-casted.

The actress who plays Meredith Palmer in the pilot actually was not Kate Flannery, the star we came to know and love over the seasons. Instead, Henriette Mantel played the role for the first episode, before Flannery took over for the rest of the show. The original actress might not be a household name, but she had been featured in various TV shows, such as Will & Grace, as well as a role in The Brady Bunch film series.

Well, as Office Ladies explained, Mantel was already attached to a different project after the pilot was picked up and a full season of The Office was ordered, which led her to drop out of the role of Meredith. Then, Flannery was casted, and the rest is history!

While the episodes are consecutive, there was actually a six-month gap between the pilot and the rest of Season 1, as the cast and crew hoped for the show to get picked up. We can say, though, without any doubt, Flannery did a fantastic job as Meredith.