When Regina Krasinski wants to catch up on what her grandson John Krasinski is doing these days, she just turns on the television.
He's one of the cast members of the quirky NBC situation comedy hit "The Office," which stars "Comedy Central" alumnus Steve Carell of "40 Year Old Virgin" movie fame.
When Krasinski, a Boston native, visited, he played football in his grandparents' Natrona Heights, Harrison, backyard. On the sitcom, he portrays Jim, the sales rep. Jim has a crush on Pam, the receptionist, played by Jenna Fischer.
The show is paired with lead-in "My Name Is Earl" Thursday nights. Both programs have been renewed for next year.
Krasinski is a son of Boston internist Dr. Ronald Krasinski, a graduate of St. Joseph High School, Harrison, and Catholic University.
"It's great to be able to watch him," says Regina, whose husband was the late Leo Krasinski. "Everybody in the family is watching. They call each other when something new is coming out on the show."
She hopes to see her grandson at a family reunion planned this summer on Cape Cod.
"This is the second year of the show, and he has been on it from the start," Krasinski says. "He's made a lot of commercials and been on other shows, including Jay Leno, but this is his first big break."
"Office" is based on the British series with the same title that starred Ricky Gervais as an inept boss who was followed by a documentary crew.
The NBC version debuted with the same approach.
The show can be an acquired taste, Regina Krasinski says.
"It's a little bit different. It takes some time. The ratings are good. A lot of the things that happen in it, happen in a normal office," she says.
She says her grandson has "a lot of personality."
"When you start him talking, he can talk your head off," she says, laughing. "He stands and talks with you with a lot of motions. You never see him sitting."
He always could make the family laugh, she adds.
Now John Krasinski is bringing that laughter to an estimated 8 million weekly viewers of "The Office."
