"Gay Witch Hunt" is the premiere episode of the third season. The Office fans have seen their fair share of awkward and insane moments over the past three seasons, but this episode was unlike the rest.
In the episode, Michael is reprimanded for his inappropriate and offensive language after learning that Oscar was gay. Instead of keeping the news to himself and respecting Oscar's personal life, he outs him in front of the whole office. He even takes it a step further and kisses Oscar in front of the office to prove that he was okay with Oscar's sexuality.
Now that the series is over, Jenna Fischer (Pam) and Angela Kinsey (Angela) are talking about the show and just touched based on "Gay Witch Hunt." To find out everything behind-the-scenes about that kiss, keep scrolling!
The Kiss Was Not Scripted
Devoted listeners of The Office Ladies have learned that most of the hilarious moments on-screen were actually scripted. That's how amazing the writers are. However, Jenna explains that the kiss performed by Michael Scott wasn't scripted at all — it was all improvised. Steve Carell has been credited for being an incredible improv performer, and this kiss proves he knows when to keep a straight face.
The Looks On The Characters Faces Were All Genuine
When the camera leaves Oscar and Michael and pans to the rest of the office watching it all go down, all their reactions are incredibly genuine. The bugged eyes, the open mouths, and the shocked expressions were all real-life reactions by the cast.
Funny enough, viewers' facial expressions matched the characters! Everyone watching this hilarious moment go down was shocked Micahel thought kissing Oscar was an appropriate move in the workplace.
Oscar Broke Character
At the beginning of the interview with Oscar Nunez, the women ask him about his experience auditioning and what he knew about the show before joining the cast. Funny enough, this was a time before social media and texting, so he didn't know Angela Kinsey (whom he knew from before The Office days) was cast as his deskmate.
Since the two knew each other from improv groups before the show, Kinsey knew when Oscar was breaking character. Oscar said, “A laugh came from my stomach but I stopped it." The small laugh sounds like a small grunt if fans re-watch the moment Michael kisses him.
The Original Script
Jenna Fischer is one of the select few castmembers who still have the scripts to the episodes. While preparing for this episode of Office Ladies, she went back in the script to see if Michael's kiss with Oscar was planned, but as fans learn, it was all improvised.
Jenna explains the original script included a kiss but it went a little differently. Speaking to Oscar, she says, “He hugs you and then he was supposed to go in for a kiss but he chickens out and is supposed to like kiss you on the forehead.”
They Did 3-4 Takes With The Original Script Before THAT Kiss
After learning that the original script included a kiss on the forehead of sorts, the three Office stars explained that they ran through the original script three or four times, but on the last attempt Steve improvised the big reveal.
With this improvisation being so incredible, the cast and crew knew they had to behave in order to make the take usable. The real-life reactions from the cast had to still match their character's personality so the show could keep the take.
What Was Going Inside Oscar’s Mind?
Since both Oscar, the character, and Oscar Nunez, the actor, didn't know what Michael Scott was up to, Jenna and Angela asked Oscar what was going through his mind when Steve Carell went off-script. Holding back laughs, Oscar said he was thinking “Pick a side!” He explains that when someone goes in to hug someone, they usually pick a side to lean towards.
Steve never chose a side for a hug — he went right in for his face, which is when Oscar knew he was going to land a kiss on him instead. Since he wasn't sure what Steve was going to do, he stood still and just let it happen, creating the perfect moment.
Oscar’s reaction after the kiss was also improvised
What does an actor do after the character their interacting with goes off-script? Improvise! Since sharing a kiss in front of their co-workers wasn't part of the drill, Oscar Nunez laughed thinking about how he reacted to the kiss.
While standing there in fear, he believes he said “We don’t have to do this” and "thank you" after Michael kissed him. He's not sure why he thanked Michael but it's what felt right in the moment and made the scene even better.
BJ Broke Character Too!
It's not just Oscar who broke in the middle of the scene, BJ Novak (Ryan) also broke character. As Jenna Fischer re-watched the episode, she kept her eyes on Ryan and said “BJ turns away in that moment when he’s sitting next to me because he started laughing.
The reason he turned away is because he lost it.” As his hand goes up to his mouth, fans can see him turn away slightly so the camera doesn't see him laugh. Laughing at something like this wouldn't have been something Ryan would have done.
Angela Covered Her Face For Two Reasons
BJ wasn't the only one who had a hard time holding back laugher — Angela admitted she too couldn't hold it together. Seeing Steve inch closer and closer to Oscar after saying "I want you to burn this into your brains," altered everyone that something off-the-cuff was about to go down. Angela recalls bringing her hand up to her face for two reasons: 1.) she was laughing and 2.) her character would have been disgusted by Michael and Oscar kissing, she wouldn't have laughed.
That Time Dwight Wanted to Kiss Oscar Too...
After Michael kisses Oscar and Oscar thanks him, Michael looks at the office and says "See? I'm still here! We're all still here." It's as if he thinks he's the hero who saved the day for kissing another man in front of other people.
While the two men are separating, Dwight decides to jump in and kiss Oscar, too. After all, Dwight idolized Michael Anything he did, Dwight had to do. Funny enough, both women admitted that Dwight kissing Oscar was also improvised! It wasn't in the script. When Michael pushes Dwight away and says "no!", the women admit fans can see Rain Wilson break character and laugh a little.