Jenna Fischer said the long hours she worked on Splitting Up Together changed how she viewed future television roles. The actress returned to a regular TV role on the ABC comedy in 2018 after spending nine seasons as Pam Beesly on The Office.
Jenna Fischer walked away from TV roles after facing exhausting 70-hour work weeks
During an appearance on the “Dinner’s On Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson” podcast, Fischer said the schedule became difficult to manage while raising her two young children. She estimated that she worked between 65 and 70 hours a week.
After the series ended, Fischer decided that leading a TV show or working as a regular cast member would no longer suit her.
“I just decided after that that being, like, the lead of a television show or even a regular on a television show was not going to be a fit for me anymore,” Fischer said.
Afterward, Fischer and her former The Office co-star Angela Kinsey launched the Office Ladies podcast. The show gave them a chance to revisit episodes of the NBC series and share behind-the-scenes details.
Fischer said the podcast gave her both a regular income and more control over her schedule. She could attend her children’s school drop-offs, pickups, teacher conferences and concerts.
“I was now at every school drop-off, every school pickup, every teacher conference, every concert,” Fischer said. “I didn’t have to beg someone to go to the Halloween parade.”
Fischer later faced a separate health issue when doctors diagnosed her with Stage 1 triple-positive breast cancer in December 2023. Further testing followed an inconclusive mammogram.
She underwent a lumpectomy in January 2024, followed by chemotherapy and radiation. Fischer said the cancer had not spread to her lymph nodes or elsewhere in her body. She publicly shared her diagnosis in October 2024 and announced that she was cancer-free.
TELL US – WERE YOU AWARE THAT JENNA FISCHER CHANGED HER APPROACH TO REGULAR TV ROLES AFTER SPLITTING UP TOGETHER?
