While the main character on The Office might be the ones that make the show so great, many of the supporting characters are just as essential. While characters like Michael, Jim, Pam, and Dwight entertained fans in many ways, without a great cast of supporting characters, the show wouldn’t have been nearly as popular as it was. Other characters like Stanley, Phyllis, Angela, and Andy were also almost main characters in their own right, so this list will look at some of the less obvious supporting characters that should have gotten more attention.
Here are the ten most underrated supporting characters from The Office who deserved more screen time.
BOB VANCE
Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration was Phyllis’ husband and a recurring minor character on the series. He was clearly in love with Phyllis, and he was also someone that didn’t put up with the crap of other people around such as Michael.
We only really hear a lot of details about him from Phyllis, so it would have been nice to see more of him. Seeing more of their relationship and how it functioned outside of the office would have been rather fascinating and entertaining to watch.
HELENE BEESLY
Pam’s mother was featured a little bit in the series during the season where Michael briefly dated her. Helen definitely got the short end of the stick with that whole situation as Michael was really into her and then broke up with her when he learned her true age, and he did this on her actual birthday.
While Helene wasn’t a main character, it would have been interesting to see more about her that was separated from her relationship with Michael. Seeing her interact more with Pam could have been engaging.
JO BENNETT
When Dunder Mifflin was bought out by Sabre, The Office introduced fans to Jo Bennet, the CEO of that company. This was especially a treat because Jo was played by Kathy Bates. Jo was on quite a few episodes in season seven, and she was rather interesting.
Her backstory sounds fascinating, and seeing Kathy Bates on television is always a treat. While she didn’t last very long on the show, it’s rather a shame as she was more interesting than some of the other characters brought in later such as Deangelo Vickers.
MEREDITH PALMER
Meredith Palmer is a character that has an extensive recurring role, but she’s definitely a supporting character. While you have the four main characters and then the next ring of office characters that get a lot of screentime, Meredith was featured less than them.
In the finale of the show, Meredith mentions that there was more to her than was featured. It would have been interesting to learn about these other sides of her. Plus, her wild antics would have made for some interesting storylines if the show had decided to focus on her more.
KELLY KAPOOR
Kelly Kapoor is another character who was featured regularly, but her appearances kind of ebbed and flowed. She wasn’t in the show that much at the beginning, but she was featured more in the middle of the series.
However, Kelly became such a hilarious and entertaining character that it would have been great to see even more of her. She was so dramatic and over the top, and her lines were pretty overrated. Plus, Mindy Kaling's performance was truly one of the best on the show.
KAREN FILLIPPELI
Karen Filippelli is one of the characters from The Office who gets a raw deal. Because she was cast as Jim’s love interest and a rival to Pam, many fans didn’t like her. However, the character could have been more than this. She was smart, capable, and good at her job.
The fact that she became manager of the Utica branch, later on, says a lot. It would have been nice to get to see more of her outside of her relationship with Jim after they broke up, but at least the series did show us a few things about her life after.
HOLLY FLAX
Holly Flax is a character who was brought into the series later on who was integrated quite well into the story. While she was never on the show for long stretches, the times she was there were engaging.
It would have been nice to get to see more of her and Michael’s relationship or even to see a few snippets of their life after they moved to Colorado. It would have been even better to get to see Holly and the kids come with Micahel to Dwight’s wedding in the series finale.
PETE MILLER
Pete Miller is another character who was introduced later on and slowly became more important to the show. While the final season built up a love story between him and Erin, we never really got enough time to get to know him.
He seemed like a decent guy, and he definitely was better for Erin than Andy. It’s too bad that the series didn’t focus on him and who he was more thoroughly.
HANK TATE
Hank Tate was the security guard at Dunder Mifflin for many seasons. He was a recurring minor character that only showed up a few times, but he was definitely interesting.
He mostly had to just put up with a ton of annoying things from the staff of Dunder Mifflin, and they literally didn't even remember his name. While he didn’t need to be a main character, it wouldn’t have hurt to feature him a little more.
JIM AND PAM’S KIDS
For many fans of the series, Jim and Pam’s romance was one of the best things about the show. So, when they had kids, it would have been nice to see more about them.
While Cece appeared a couple of times, it would have been nice to see a little bit more about their family life. They didn’t need to be the main focus, but many fans would have enjoyed this.