Ricky Gervais visited “The Office” last night. On Golden Globe night, you may recall, he told me: “Watch the show on January 27th. It will give you a good idea who’s going to run The Office next.” Uh huh. It does seem from the clip (below) and Ricky’s comments, that Gervais’s original character, David Brent, may be replacing Michael Scott (Steve Carell) at Dunder Mifflin. It would be a coup for NBC and for everyone. The British “Office” only had a short run. And it does seem that Carell is leaving the American show four weeks before the end of the season–not in sweeps but in April–to give the show a cushion between stars. Who else would run the paper company? None of the existing characters, not Kathy Bates (who has her own show), not Harvey Keitel (rumored but just a rumor). Gervais told me he thought Will Arnett was the perfect choice, but he has a show on Fox. Is it Ricky? Barring complications from the ridiculous Golden Globes show (he was great), I’d say so.
Ricky: “Where are you working?”
Michael: “Dunder Mifflin”
Ricky: “Any jobs?”
Michael: “Not right now?”
http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/video/ep-714-michaels-new-friend/1277371
