A Fond Farewell to Steve Carell...

           Hell yeah that rhymed! Tonight at 9pm on NBC the hit series The Office will say a final goodbye to it's lead character Michael Scott. While fans have known about his departure for a little over a year, I think the reality for us is finally starting to sink in. The show will survive based entirely on whether or not NBC can successfully nail down a solid replacement for Carell. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill. I personally own every season of The Office on DVD and I still go back and watch my favorite episodes from time to time. While every character brings something unique to the table (my personal favorite being Andy Bernard), Michael Scott is the glue that holds the whole thing together. 

 

Like I said..BIG shoes to fill..

          It has already been established that, to finish off this season, there will be a 4 episode story arc that will feature Will Ferrell as Steve Carell's replacement. After that, the future is still unclear. I sincerely hope that they are just trying Ferrell out to see if they want to continue to use him on the show going forward. I'm fairly certain he will knock it out of the park. He already has some experience playing this type of character. Maybe he'll watch some of his old SNL skits for inspiration.

Sorry for the poor video quality. SNL must keep pretty strict tabs on their content.

           It would appear that Will Farrell is a big enough star with the right skill set to live up to the lofty expectations of the fan base if he chooses to stick around. If not, I have a few suggestions for a Michael Scott replacement of my own...even thought NBC hasn't officially asked me for my opinion...yet....

Most people think Ricky Gervais is the obvious choice. He was on the original Office series in the UK (by the way for all of you British version honks out there. It wasn't better. Stop lying to yourselves. It's embarrassing.) He did a great job on that version and his character David Brent could be directly ported to it's American counterpart. The fact that NBC brought Gervais in as a goof on the fans earlier this season leads me to believe that Ricky probably won't be the new full-time guy, but I think people would be fine with it if he were.

After he wraps up everything going on with Iron Man 3 Robert Downey Jr. might want to take things down a notch. He has a tendency to do some lower level and independent projects for a while after he finishes with a big one. Also, he has some sitcom experience from his time on Alley McBeal. That show was terrible, so he may want to make things right with God by taking over on The Office. They may have to up the budget a little to get him though.

Before you ask, yes I did try to find pictures of all my picks for Michael Scott winking. And no I didn't succeed. Danny McBride has already been rumored to join the office cast. He would probably have to play a character who is a bit more egotistical and brash than Carell did, but I think McBride could pull it off, assuming East Bound and Down won't be in line for a 3rd season on HBO. Watch that show if you haven't already. 

Zach Galifianakis (spelled checked) would be my wild card pick for a role like this. From his Between Two Ferns web series, we already know he can be both funny and awkward, which is a fine foundation for a Michael Scott replacement. I'm not sure how keen he'd be on 'selling out' and going the sitcom route, but if he warmed up to it, he could do some great things. How many sequels to The Hangover can he really count on for his next big pay day?

Paul Rudd would be another nice free agent acquisition for The Office. He's quick witted and versatile. Also, like Will  Ferrell, he has a working history with Steve and could probably get a good word in with NBC execs if he were interested in the role. Plus he kinda looks like the middle management type. This one might be the biggest stretch of all because he probably isn't a big enough name just yet. Either way, I think we can all agree that Role Models was bitchin'.

While I realize most of my ideas are probably far from a realistic possibility, I also think it could be an interesting curveball if The Office brought in a female as Steve Carell's replacement. Kathryn Hahn and Kristen Wiig, in my opinion, are the two funniest women in the biz without a steady comedic gig. (Lisa Lapanelli is the funniest woman on earth, but she's a bit blue and might not translate well to network television. Jane Lynch already has Glee, but she's hilarious too.) Anyway, most people view SNL (also on NBC) as a stepping stone and The Office could be a nice jump up for either of these two ladies.

           Thanks for tuning in, and be sure to watch The Office on NBC tonight at 9pm so we can talk about it later. Who did I leave out? As always, send your thoughts, things I've mispelled, and death threats to trox@troxtalk.com and you can follow me on Twitter @troxtalk if it suits you.

                                                                      Warmest Regards,

                                                                       Trox