Production
"Ben Franklin" was the second episode of the series directed by Randall Einhorn. Einhorn had previously directed "Initiation", as well as the summer spin-off webisodes "The Accountants". "Ben Franklin" was written by Mindy Kaling, who acts on the show as customer service representative Kelly Kapoor. The episode was the sixth of the series written by Kaling.
Jackie Debatin, who appeared in "Ben Franklin" as Elizabeth, is used to playing strippers and hookers. Debatin had previously been a stripper on Friends, a stripper on That '70s Show, a stripper on Two and a Half Men, a madam on Veronica Mars, and a call girl on Boston Legal. In an interview, Debatin said playing Elizabeth was "probably the best experience I have had in TV work", because the cast and crew were "down to earth, fun, grateful to be there". Although actor Andrew Daly, who played Gordon the Ben Franklin impersonator, had already known John Krasinski, Angela Kinsey, B. J. Novak and Kate Flannery, he said that The Office cast and crew "could not have been more welcoming to me." Daly especially liked it when the actors "depart from the script and improvised a little."
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