Paul Lieberstein, The Office’s showrunner and the actor behind Toby Flenderson (the face of evil from HR), shared a few insights into the post-Michael Scott world in an interview with New York Magazine. Did he tell us who the new guy or gal is? Nope. But did he give us something to go on? For the most part.
First, he emphasized that the secrecy is all part of the plot for the characters at Dunder Mifflin Sabre, so we should probably just play along. However, he also admitted that no one knows for sure who the replacement is. They’ve yet to sign anyone. Lieberstein suggests that they’re not going to place a no-name in the role, adding “…it’s very unlikely it would go to someone without Steve’s [Carell’s] experience.” So, that just opens up the possibility for us to speculate about those big name actors slated to show up on the show’s finale. Unfortunately, we already know it won’t be Will Arnett — who would actually be a fantastic replacement — because he’s already signed on for a full-time gig on another NBC pilot. This means, that Ray Romano, Catherine Tate or James Spader could be in line to take the Scott throne. But once again, this is a big maybe. As Lieberstein said, “I’m not guaranteeing it. But there’s a real possibility.”
Since these folks are possibly in the running for the regional manager position, it’s also worth sharing what Lieberstein said about their characters:
“Will Arnett plays an ex-Navy meteorologist who recently broke into the paper world. Catherine Tate — we don’t reveal much about her backstory. She appears to be a person struggling for a vision of how to manage. Yet she’s bizarrely confident. And Ray Romano, he’s not too far away from the Ray that we’ve come to love.”
I guess that’s not much for character bios, but Arnett’s is absurdly perfect. And it makes me really sad that he won’t be the next one with a World’s Best Boss mug. No matter who the next boss is, these next three weeks (Michael’s last) will be tough. Luckily, Lieberstein also shared that he’s open to Carell returning for cameos here and there. We are too, Steve. We are too!
Source: NY Mag
