Ellie Kemper Discusses "Kimmy Schmidt" Legacy, "The Paper" & More

Posted in: NBC, Netflix, TV | Tagged: the office, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Ellie Kemper Discusses "Kimmy Schmidt" Legacy, "The Paper" & More

Ellie Kemper (The Elephant & Piggie Show!) discussed the legacy of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, interest in appearing on "The Paper," and more.

Published Fri, 24 Jul 2026 11:37:08 -0500
by Tom Chang
|
Comments

Article Summary

• Ellie Kemper reflects on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, saying she misses the cast, creators, crew, and New York most.
• The Kimmy Schmidt star says she hasn’t discussed a revival with Tina Fey or Robert Carlock, but she’d be game.
• Kemper looks back on her TV legacy, from The Office breakout as Erin to leading Netflix hit Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
• Asked about The Paper, Ellie Kemper says she hopes Erin could visit the Toledo Truth Teller in the Office spinoff.

Ellie Kemper will always be grateful for her two biggest shows that put her on the map, first with NBC's The Office, playing office receptionist Kelly Erin Hannon for the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, replacing Pam Beasley (Jenna Fischer), who left to work for the Michael Scott Paper Company, in season five, where she would remain until the series' end in 2013, appearing in 104 episodes. From there, she would land the starring role in the Netflix comedy Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as the titular character, who was kidnapped in the eighth grade and held prisoner at a bunker by Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne (John Hamm) for 15 years before getting rescued. Rather than returning home to Indiana, she decides to start a new life in New York City. The series, which ran for four seasons from 2015 to 2019, with an interactive special in 2020, was created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, who previously collaborated on NBC's 30 Rock. While promoting her work for Pirate's Booty snacks, the star of the upcoming The Elephant & Piggie Show!, which reunites her with her Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt co-star Tituss Burgess, spoke with Bleeding Cool to reflect on her legacy on the Netflix series and what she'll miss most about it, and if there's a shot that Erin might show up on The Office spinoff, The Paper, which her husband, Michael Koman co-created with The Office creator Greg Daniels.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Star Ellie Kemper Reflects on Series Legacy and If Her 'The Office' Character Will Visit The Toledo Truth Teller in 'The Paper'

Bleeding Cool: With 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,' it was something that became such a phenomenon as a whole. I guess there are so many different things I could ask about from the ensemble cast, and a guest cast most shows would dream of. Was there anything that stood out particularly about the series that you would miss most? If you had more than one, how would you rank them?

Kemper: I miss working with my castmates on that show. It was such a tight-knit group, and it was so full of icons from every aspect, from the creators to the actors to the producers to the crew. It was like one icon after another, so I miss seeing them and working with them, and I also miss New York. I'm going to include New York as the cast of characters, in the cast and characters, because New York was a character in that show, and I don't live in New York right now, and I miss it. In terms of ranking, I can't rank the people, but what if I did? What if I said, this is who I miss the most? I miss all of them equally the most.

Did you talk with Tina Fey or Robert Carlock about maybe doing a revival on it somehow?

I haven't talked to them, but I would be game.

Some part of me wishes also, as well, that aside from that I'm hoping that Erin somehow makes her way over to Toledo, Ohio, at the Truth Teller on 'The Paper.'

Very, very, that! Listen, I will also carry that hope and put it out there. Someone else, as you said, will carry the mantle. That would be amazing. I love that show!

The only The Office alum to bridge into The Paper is Oscar Nunez, who reprised his role as Oscar Martinez. For more on Kemper's work with Pirate's Booty, you can check out Captain Bob's Summer Quest here. You can stream The Office on Peacock, and all four seasons of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which also stars Carol Kane and Jane Krakowski, on Netflix.

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!