Exclusive! Office Sweethearts Tease Tonight's Return

It was a mob scene at 30 Rock this Thursday morning, as avid fans of NBC's The Office (returning tonight at 8:30 pm/ET) lined up for a Season 2 DVD-signing starring no less than Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski, aka the long-tortured Pam and Jim. Sitting down with TVGuide.com once their Sharpies were set aside, the actors talked about their "spoiled" on-screen romance, the big "I love you" and who Jenna wants Pam to kiss next.

TVGuide.com: You guys were like rock stars out there!
Jenna Fischer: Oh, c'mon....
John Krasinski: We are like B-level rock stars.
Fischer: That might be pushing it.
Krasinski: We are like rock stars who play in little clubs.

TVGuide.com: One of the fans said her skeeball team is named after you!
Krasinski: That is a momentous occasion.

TVGuide.com: Who even knew skeeball had teams?
Fischer: I didn't know anything about it until someone wrote me at ["Pam's"] MySpace [page] and told me that they had to pick a name, so they picked The John Krasinskees.

TVGuide.com: I saw you two on Today this morning with Meredith Vieira. Apparently Katie Couric is gone from that show...?
Fischer: That's true.
Krasinski: Nice. TV Guide not knowing that Katie Couric... no, I'm kidding.
Fischer: How did we do?

TVGuide.com: You were great! So how did you feel when, after going 99.9 percent of the summer without any word leaking out about the fate of Jim and Pam's romance, a New York Times article one about marketing, no less goes and spoils it?
Fischer: I'll tell you what, that's not accurate. Don't believe everything you read.
Krasinski: Look at how fiery she is!
Fischer: I'm fired up about it because it's a major newspaper and it's not accurate. I don't want to say too much more because I don't want to give away what the truth is, but... it's not accurate. I have not read anywhere where anybody has gotten the whole deal. There have been little things people have guessed, but they never guess the whole thing.

TVGuide.com: Obviously you each have had a summer full of people asking you what's next for your characters. What zinger replies did you come up with?
Krasinski: Twins. Jim and Pam were going to have just a child, but network TV wanted twins.

TVGuide.com: Were you surprised to get that season-finale script and see that they were cutting to the chase?
Fischer: I was surprised that we had both an "I love you" scene and a kissing scene. Typical television would have those different beats play out [far apart]. Like, at the end of Season 2 he says he loves her, then at the end of Season 3 [they kiss]. That's what I like about the show, is that the rhythm is like life unpredictable and messy sometimes and we're going to continue to have that going into Season 3. My hope is that we'll play it out for as long as everything feels authentic. I don't want us to ever try to force something.

TVGuide.com: John, what were we to make of that season-finale scene between Jim and Jan? It looked for a second like they might hook up.
Krasinski: It's so funny, everybody asks me that, and what I will say is on the DVD outtakes, they have a shot of me pretending to kiss Jan. [While filming it] I was like, "Whoa, that was a really weird moment," and it played that way on camera.

TVGuide.com: Maybe viewers felt that vibe just because Melora Hardin (Jan) was looking rather smokin' hot.
Krasinski: Yeah, she looked great, didn't she? I think it was just two people at the end of a rope and not sure to do with their lives, and that would definitely play into why [a hookup] might have happened, but no, it was definitely not intended.

TVGuide.com: A concern of some critics is that your story line threatens to make The Office, a comedy, too "angsty." Do you take that personally at all?
Krasinski: People have been saying that for a while, but the writers keep it so realistic that I feel like however it came out, you can talk to a number of people who have had a similar experience. I feel like we sort of answered a lot of questions, and I'm really glad that we ended [Season 2] the way that we did.
Fischer: Yeah, what happened needed to happen. It was time, and it was realistic....
Krasinski: She's talking as the actress, by the way, about the kissing. She wanted to kiss.
Fischer: [Laughs] What?!

Krasinski: She was hoping it was Steve [Carell], and then she settled for me.
Fischer: Well, I do have a list for Season 3....
Krasinski: And I am, like, No. 7.
Fischer: Well, I've kissed you already!

But wait, there's more. Coming up in Interviews & Features, TVGuide.com debriefs Fischer and Krasinski about the season-opener, where the state of Jim and Pam's... whatever... is officially revealed. Plus: The scoop on Dwight's cousin Mose (whom Office viewers will soon meet), and a peek at Jenna and John's upcoming Cineplex showdown.

Look for even more Office scoop in the Oct. 2 TV Guide.

Send your comments on this Q&A to: online_insider@tvguide.com.