What Was Really Behind The Mystery Door Near Accounting In The Office

It's amazing how many little details are packed into The Office. Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch isn't spacious by any means, and yet, even years after The Office ended, fans are still finding Easter eggs all over the place. It just goes to show how much time and care the creators put into the making of this beloved mockumentary sitcom, and how much fans appreciate that meticulousness.

Alongside these numerous details and Easter eggs are straight-up mysteries — things fans notice but can't quite put a collective finger on. While many of these mysteries have to do with the enigmatic Creed Bratton (who shares his name with the actor who plays him), one of the most glaring question marks is the door between Meredith's (Kate Flannery) desk and the accounting department. Viewers find out during season 9 that it's a place for the in-show film crew's equipment, but where does it really go?

If not for Office Ladies – the podcast run by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, the actresses who play Pam and Angela, respectively — the answer may have never come to light. Friends in real life, the actresses discuss episodes of The Office on the podcast, revealing fun behind-the-scenes tidbits and bringing in occasional guest stars who also worked on the show. In the November 25, 2020 episode of Office Ladies, Fischer and Kinsey finally unlocked the mystery door.

After discussing the time Pam tries to prove she jives with kids by showing Meredith's son Jake (Spencer Daniels) the barely used office shredder, Fischer quickly switched over to the door, since it isn't far from Meredith's desk. "We never used it," she said, building up tension. "We never go in it. We never go out of it. But, you know, what was really behind the door?" Ready with the answer, Kinsey dropped the long-awaited reveal. Behind that door — drumroll, please — are bathrooms and the crew's video village! Yep. That's it! 

Fans of The Office are familiar with the in-show bathrooms located in the break room (Jim moving Dwight's desk into the men's room, anyone?), but when any of the crew actually needed to go, it was behind the mystery door for them.

The video village, as Kinsey described it, is "the green room where producers could watch what we were filming." In other words, it's the place where the production-focused members of the crew, such as the director, could see what's happening on set without getting in the way of the camera crew. It's a common feature found on most modern Hollywood sets.

And with that, the mystery was solved, and the women moved on to other topics. It's easy to feel underwhelmed by the revelation, but it's admittedly pretty funny that the answer was so simple all along — and that, ironically, the least-used door on the show was probably the one used most often by the crew. Either way, there's sure to be plenty more The Office trivia as Office Ladies continues. What other doors will they unlock?