The planned continuation of the workplace comedy is reportedly eyed for the 2018-2019 season and may feature old and new cast members.
- Dec 19, 2017
AceShowbiz - Dunder Mifflin's Scranton, PA., branch may be back in operation soon. More than four years after "The Office" ended its run, NBC is reportedly developing a continuation of the beloved workplace comedy that aired from 2005 until 2013.
According to TVLine which first reported the news, the revival is eyed for the 2018-2019 season. The new series will feature a mix of old and new cast members, but Steve Carell, who starred as the branch's regional manager Michael Scott in seven of the show's nine seasons, will not return for the revival.
The search for a new boss is reportedly already underway. Other details, including who will shepherd the project and which old cast members who will return for the revival, are currently not available as NBC declined to comment on the report.
Back in August, however, NBC's president Bob Greenblatt revealed that "The Office" was included in his revival wish list. "We often talk about 'The Office'," he told Deadline. "I've talked to Greg [Daniels, executive producer/showrunner] four times over the past few years. It's always, 'Maybe someday, but not now.' There is certainly an open invitation, but we don't have anything happening right now. If he wants to do it, I would do it."
Meanwhile, Jenna Fischer, who starred in all nine seasons of the series, expressed her skepticism that there would be a new installment of the comedy. "I don't think it'll ever happen," she said in November. "I would do it if there was some circumstance where everybody got back together, and could be brought back together in some amazing way, I would say yes. But I'm not sure it's realistic."
She went on reasoning, "The characters, they had arcs. They had growth. Jim and Pam left Dunder-Mifflin. Michael left Dunder-Mifflin. And it would be hard to manufacture why all the people were back working together. And I'm not sure the show works if we're all in different locations. ... I immediately start thinking, how did Jim and Pam get back from Austin? And Michael's living with Holly now. It would almost have to be a scenario where it's 'the lost tapes of 'The Office',' where you somehow go back in time and there's all of these lost stories where we weirdly look 5 years older."
Based on the BBC series of the same name created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the U.S. version of "The Office" had a long run on NBC and received widespread acclaims during its second through its fifth seasons. It won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2006. Many of the stars, such as Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Ed Helms and Mindy Kaling, enjoyed rising fame through their roles on the mockumentary.
