'The Office's Most Expensive Scene Cost $250K and Was Completely Unexpected
5 days ago
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Published Feb 22, 2026, 8:41 AM EST
Shawn Van Horn is a Senior Author for Collider. He's watched way too many slasher movies over the decades, which makes him an aficionado on all things Halloween and Friday the 13th. Don't ask him to choose between Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees because he can't do it. He grew up in the 90s, when Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, and TGIF were his life, and still watches them religiously to this day. Larry David is his spirit animal. His love for entertainment spreads to the written word as well. He has written two novels and is neck deep in the querying trenches. He is also a short story maker upper and poet with a dozen publishing credits to his name. He lives in small town Ohio, where he likes to watch professional wrestling and movies.
When The Office debuted, it struggled at first and barely survived Season 1, like due to it being stuck in the shadow of Ricky Gervais' original version. In Season 2, The Office finally found its way by doing its own thing. This included making Michael Scott (Steve Carell) less mean, and focusing more on the will-they-won't-they between Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer).
Jim Proposed to Pam on 'The Office' in the Rain at a Gas Station
The romance between Jim and Pam took its time, but never overstayed its welcome. In Season 2, Jim lets his feelings for Pam be known, only for him to get rejected. Because of this, he takes a job at the Dunder Mifflin Stamford branch and begins a relationship with Karen (Rashida Jones). It's Pam's turn to pine, before Jim makes a choice and decides to come back to Scranton for his one true love. In Season 4, Jim and Pam are an official couple. Now one of TV's best romances had to find the perfect proposal scene.
Season 4 of The Office teases the moment several times. It almost even happens during an outdoor scene, with fireworks in the background, as Jim pulls out the ring, only for Andy (Ed Helms) to ruin the moment by proposing to Angela (Angela Kinsey) first. In the Season 5 premiere, with Pam leaving for the summer to study in New York City, they decide not to force a proposal. After all, it wouldn't be the best time to get engaged, only to then spend so much time apart.
Jim meets Pam halfway between Scranton and New York for an impromptu lunch. There, in the rain, standing between gas pumps, Jim gets down on one knee and pulls out the ring. "I just... I can't wait," he tells her. Jim proposes to Pam, who immediately says "yes" in a moment everyone saw coming, although not in this way.
'The Office's Proposal Scene Cost $250,000
On the Office Ladies podcast that Jenna Fischer hosts with Angela Kinsey, the actress who played Pam Beesly recalled the proposal scene, saying showrunner Greg Daniels "really wanted Jim's proposal to Pam to be in the season premiere." Adding, he thought, number one, that would be unexpected. You usually end seasons with proposals. So he thought this would be a real shock." Fischer also explained that he wanted the location to be surprisingly normal. "He wanted it to feel special, but he also wanted it to feel like Jim made the decision without a whole lot of planning."
Daniels broke it down in an article he wrote for the Washington Post. With the scene written to take place in the rain, it was first going to be filmed at the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut. However, because of the $100,000 cost and the inability to create fake rain, the choice was made to stay in Los Angeles. There, they set up in the parking lot of a Best Buy, and instead of using an actual rest stop, they built one. As for that traffic zipping by, Fisher said on her podcast, "To create the illusion of highway traffic, they built a four-lane circular racetrack around the gas station set." 35 vehicles, driven by professional drivers, then went round and round the track as they filmed the scene. Later, in post, digital artists replaced the L.A. mountains with Connecticut trees.
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It comes across as a simple scene, but Daniels had a deeper meaning behind what the audience sees. "I was trying to give the set a feeling of like Edward Hopper's painting in a diner, very dark and dramatic, but the interior is very brightly lit, and it makes it very stagelike." He did this by contrasting the dark and stormy day with the bright Snapple bottles in the background. It comes off as so mundane. However, because of all the tricks involved in bringing it to life, Daniels said it ended up costing roughly $250,000, making it the "most expensive and elaborate" scene on the show.
This Iconic 'Office' Moment Perfectly Symbolized Jim's Love for Pam
Image via NBC
The Office had spent four seasons working towards this moment, only for it all to happen at a rest stop. That doesn't work in a traditional sitcom, which is exactly why it fits in The Office. Despite its over-the-top characters, the series' docuseries format, combined with its rather droll setting of an office in Scranton, made The Office feel real. Jim and Pam were the "normal" ones in the chaos. They are who the viewer identifies with, and for them to have an over-the-top proposal wouldn't have fit.
Jim and Pam's romance existed in the simplicity. When Pam was in another relationship, their feelings were shown in a look that lasted too long, or in a shared prank against Dwight (Rainn Wilson). When Jim decided to go back to Pam, it was what she wrote to him on the lid of a yogurt cup that swayed him. Jim couldn't contain his love for Pam, which is why he had to propose in the rain at a rest stop. And we wouldn't have it any other way.
Image via NBC
Image via NBC
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