Amy Ryan's memorable role as Holly Flax on The Office ironically has many connections to her appearance as Jan on Hulu's Only Murders in the Building. With the latter show releasing a decade after her final appearance as Holly, there are notable references to her time in the workplace comedy. Both of the characters that Ryan portrayed could not be more different from each other. Holly was introduced as the new human resources representative at the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch, and she eventually developed a relationship with Steve Carell's Michael Scott. OMITB's Jan played a professional bassoonist who starts dating Steve Martin's Charles-Haden Savage and has a surprisingly dark past. Yet both Holly and Jan have interesting connections to each other.
The most obvious connection between The Office and Only Murders is that Amy Ryan's character in the latter series is named Jan, the same name as one of Michael Scott's main love interests at Dunder Mifflin, who is portrayed by Melora Hardin. Another significant connection is that in The Office season 5, episode 17 "Lecture Circuit Part 2", there is a screensaver on Holly's computer at her office in Nashua that displays a picture of her Only Murders costar Martin Short from his time on Saturday Night Live.
How The Office References Steve Martin
Actor, comedian, and star and co-creator of Only Murders in the Building, Steve Martin has been referenced numerous times on The Office. In season 5, episode 25 "Broke", Michael states that the worst day of his life (when the Michael Scott Paper Company went broke) is how he felt when Steve Martin died. Pam quickly corrects him and says the comedian is still alive, but Michael reiterates he "always thought that the day that [Steve Martin] died would be the worst day of my life," but it was actually his company going under that hurt more than that. Only Murders later made their own reference to Steve Carell's Michael Scott in return.
Steve Martin is referenced on The Office once again in season 7, episode 18 "Todd Packer". After Holly's most controversial decision in hiring Michael's longtime friend Todd Packer, whom most of the staff despised, she comes to realize that she was wrong to hire him. When she explains to Michael why she doesn't like Packer, she compares Todd to high-profile comedians Bill Cosby and Steve Martin and states that Packer's sense of humor is wildly offensive and simply unfunny. After Michael witnesses his friend insulting Holly, he realizes that Packer is "an ass" and allows Dwight and Jim to go ahead with pranking Todd into accepting a job in Florida.
Steve Carell Also Worked With Martin Short
Fellow comedians Steve Carell and Martin Short have worked together outside of referencing each other in their respective acclaimed television shows. In 2020, Short guest-starred as Mitch Kessler's (Carell) energetic friend Dick Lundy on Apple TV+'s drama series The Morning Show, in which both are portrayed as sexual predators. Perhaps they could work together again should The Office star, Steve Carell, make a guest appearance in Only Murders in the Building season 3.