The Office’s future hangs on Jones
-
- May
- 7
About a month ago I ranted about news that slipped out at the premiere for Blades of Glory, the box office smash co-starring Jenna Fischer.
It seems Fischer showed up with other Office cast members hours after they shot two different endings to the season finale. I was blind with rage—well, actually just a little miffed—that the show’s creators had come to the end without an ending in mind. It seemed emblematic of a season that has meandered at times and gotten off track at others.
But I didn’t dwell on why that might have been. Now, it seems, we know why.
It has to do with another rant of mine back in early February, when it became known that Rashida Jones—who plays chief thorn in JAM’s side Karen Filippelli—had a Fox pilot in the works. All I thought that meant at the time was that Jones’s days were numbered at Dunder-Mifflin.
Turns out, the future of The Office hinges on whether Fox greenlights the show.
According to E!’s Kristin Veitch, whose spoiler alerts usually carry about as much weight as a Peter Gammons trade rumor, if Fox nixes The Rules of Starting Over, Jones will reprise her ever-extending role in The Office’s fourth season.
Just to be clear, I’m a big fan of Jones. She’s eminently talented, incredibly attractive and she has handled a tough role well. But I fear her presence will be used to justify ever more procrastination and obfuscation, the likes of which have hampered the speedy resolution of the most ridiculously drawn-out storyline in prime time right now.
Forget the romance, I want Jim and Pam to get together so we can move on. I don’t know why we’re stuck in this holding pattern, but I have no confidence things won’t continue this way for another year, frustrating fans and jeopardizing the show’s long-term success.
One thing I’m counting on is Fox’s dismal record this past season with new launches. The network that changed television with The Simpsons and Married, With Children struck out in 2006-07. Vanished? Standoff? On the Lot? Talk about needing a hit.
It’s no surprise Veitch reports that her sources say Fox is high on the Jones pilot.
It’s just one more reason to look forward to next week’s upfronts (where networks lay out their fall schedules and advertisers lay out their cash) with anticipation.
Want another reason? Well, not only is NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker expected to announce whether The Office will return in the fall as a one-hour show, but a timeslot shift could be in the works too.
Variety.com has reported that the show could move to the prestigious 9 p.m. slot (think Seinfeld, Cheers and Frasier). Keep in mind, that would mean going head-to-head with powerhouses Grey’s Anatomy and CSI.
And you thought Karen Filippelli was stiff competition?
This entry was posted
on Monday, May 7th, 2007 at 11:27 pm by Brian Howard.
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