Man, The Office just keeps the teasing coming. James Spader is in early talks to join the show – and this is a potential spoiler for the first few episodes of the upcoming season – but even though he will accept the Scranton manager position, he’ll eventually wind up as CEO. His character, Robert California, will find the manager position too small for him and will sweet talk his way into the CEO job. It also means that Kathy Bates time as Jo will be up as the actress starts to spend more time on the second season of Harry’s Law. Spader, as CEO, will have a greater presence on the show than Bates had, though who will replace him has yet to be determined.
As I said after the finale, Spader was the only guest star to make me laugh so his addition will be welcome, if not a little creepy. I am a little wiffed that they’re going to drag out the process of finding a new manager for longer but Spader’s addition will likely stir things up in an interesting way. With him as CEO, I think there will be enough new blood and energy for the show and they should hire internally. I’m still going to go with Daryl or Andy for the position.
Source: EW
