On Episode 56 of Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey's podcast, "Office Ladies," they broke down the "Fun Run" episode with Kate Flannery, the actress that played Meredith on the show. Not only did Flannery initially think Meredith had been killed off when she first read the script, but she didn't know until much later just how close her character had come to actually getting murdered by Michael Scott. Flannery explained, "I literally said, 'Does she live?'" She continued, "There's been articles saying that one of the writers decided that, ya know, they wanted to pitch that Meredith didn't live and then they thought that was too dark." 

It's a good thing they didn't write Meredith out of the show so early on because there was so much more to explore with her hilarious character. Can you imagine if there was no episode where she flashes everyone in that tiny romper on casual Friday?! More importantly, how would the writers get past making Michael Scott a cold-blooded killer? It would have definitely brought a more sinister tone to the light-hearted show we all know and love.