Angela Kinsey Discusses Missed Role In Canceled “The Office” Spin-off, “The Farm”

Fans of The Office may remember Angela Martin as Dwight Schrute’s sharp-tongued, no-nonsense love interest. But what they might not know is how close Angela Kinsey, who played Angela, came to being part of a whole new chapter in Dwight’s story. In a recent episode of the Office Ladies podcast, Angel opened up about the scrapped spin-off, The Farm, and how her character was nearly involved.

Angel, along with her co-host and fellow Office alum Jenna Fischer, discussed the 17th episode of the final season, originally intended to launch a spin-off series centered on Dwight’s life away from Dunder Mifflin. The episode, aptly titled “The Farm,” was filmed in August 2012 and was meant to be a backdoor pilot. If things had gone according to plan, The Farm would have aired alongside the final episodes of The Office in early 2013.

In this spin-off, Dwight was to leave behind the paper company and return to his beet farm to deal with a quirky extended family. The show was envisioned as a new journey for Dwight, separate from the antics of Scranton’s Dunder Mifflin office. As Angela explained, NBC’s decision not to move forward with The Farm led to the episode being re-edited to include more scenes at Dunder Mifflin, eventually airing as just another episode of The Office in March 2013.

But here’s where it gets interesting – Angel’s character wasn’t supposed to be part of The Farm spin-off. During the podcast, Angel shared how Rainn Wilson, who played Dwight, broke the news to her. “He said, ‘Angela, I’d love to talk to you about The Farm.’ And I went to his trailer on my lunch break, and he said, ‘Listen,’ he said, ‘Ang, I’m gonna do this show,’” she recalled.

Rainn saw Angela’s role as similar to Lilith in the Frasier spin-off — popping in occasionally, but not a mainstay of the show. Rainn wanted The Farm to represent a “clean break,” focusing solely on Dwight’s new life.

“…They really didn’t want my character kind of bogging down Dwight’s future,” Kinsey explained. As a result, Angela wasn’t included in the funeral scene for Dwight’s aunt, even though her character had cared for the aunt in a previous episode. This omission didn’t sit well with Angela, Jenna, or some fans who found the absence jarring.

Jenna shed light on the last-minute changes that reshaped the final season of The Office. Once The Farm was axed, the writers had to scramble to reintegrate Dwight into the storyline, leading to some awkward and “clunky” episodes. 

Jenna mentioned that Dwight’s depression and the DNA test revealing he wasn’t Angela’s son’s father were all part of the original plan to set up his departure for The Farm.

In hindsight, Kinsey and Fischer agree that the decision to abandon The Farm left a few loose ends, especially concerning Dwight and Angela’s relationship. As they noted, the spin-off’s cancellation forced the writers to reverse course, ultimately leading to Dwight and Angela tying the knot in the series finale.