Karen's return and a Giant, Human? Suddenly there's Office spin-off scoop galore
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- June
- 13
Man, what’s a blog? That’s what summer does to me, and it’s not even summer yet. If not for Weeds I don’t know what I’d watch on TV once Battlestar Galactica wraps for the year.
But there’s nothing like a little concrete Office spinoff scoop to shake me loose from my hiatus-induced TV coma.
Kristin dos Santos at E! forwarded the rumor yesterday that Karen is not gone for good. In fact she could star in the aforementioned Dunder-sequel, if the scuttlebutt is true. Well, Kristin’s sources are split on the rumor and NBC Universal isn’t talking
A lot of Office fans think a Rashida Return is bad idea jeans. I’m OK with it. Just keep her away from Scranton.
For what it’s worth, by the way, Kristin shared a reassuring quote from Steve Carell earlier this week. Asked about who’s bolting the branch for the new show, it sounds like the entire current cast is safe.
“As far as I know, nobody is leaving ship,” Carell said. “At least at this point, from what I’ve heard, I don’t think it’s based on any of the characters from the existing show. It’s an entirely new setup with new characters.”
Now for the good news: The Office II will have a Human Giant flavor. Variety reported last night that HG’s Aziz Ansari has been tapped for the spin-off
“We met him pretty early on and thought he was very funny,” Daniels said of Aziz, who has inked a one-year deal with Universal. “We loved his work in Human Giant, which I’m a huge fan of, as is Mike, and we have a good character for him.”
The mag speculates that the spinoff won’t be a true spinoff, in that it won’t be based on any current character, which is in keeping with Kristin’s scoop above. Instead, the comparison is made to Mork & Mindy, which spun off from Happy Days after Robin Williams’ character was briefly introduced within the context of the show.
It doesn’t sound like the show’s concept has been nailed down at all yet. The writing team so far includes Tucker Cawley (Everybody Loves Raymond), Dan Goor (Late Night with Conan O’Brien) and Alan Yang (South Park).
Fellow Remote Accessory Chris Serico is a big Human Giant fan, but I know Ansari as the confused racist produce vendor from Flight of the Conchords.
Variety confirms Rashida Jones is under contract with Universal.
Meanwhile, with writers Jen Celotta and Mike “Mose” Schur helming the spin-off, Classic Office has added Freaks and Geeks creator Paul Feig, Everybody Loves Raymond and New Adventures of Old Christine writer Aaron Shure and Saturday Night Live writer Charlie Grandy to the writers room.
And if you’re wondering how long the original Office will be around, Carell and Jenna Fischer dropped some recent hints. In an interview with US Airways Magazine, Carell was asked if films like his upcoming Get Smart will take him away from TV for good.
No, I’m committed for at least a full seven seasons, and I love it. I’m extremely close with the cast and the writers. I can’t imagine a better work environment. I think it’s smart, and Michael Scott is a fun character to play.
Less reassuring is a quote from Fischer in a St. Louis Today interview from this morning. (Bold added by me.)
“I’m pretty picky. I’m not interested in being the aw-schucks wife, standing behind some A-list comedy actor. I know that I will be doing another season of The Office, but after that, this could be a very fickle business. That’s why I’m branching out. I am producing my own film, which I can’t really talk about yet, and I have a documentary idea and a reality-show idea, which I am interested in developing without starring in them. Job security comes from creating things from the ground up.”
Maybe she should try to get in on that spinoff action if she’s so worried about her job security.
Anyway, check out here appearance on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson over at OfficeTally.
This entry was posted
on Friday, June 13th, 2008 at 12:09 pm by Brian Howard.
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