The Office

August 21st, 2012 | 6:06 pm by Jordan Runtagh (@JordanRuntagh)

It’s Official: This Is The Final Season Of The Office

Some sad news to pass on from the world of television. NBC has confirmed that the upcoming 9th season of The Office will be its last. Yes, we know that most of you probably stopped watching after Jim and Pam got married *belated spoiler alert* and then the rest of you probably stopped watching after Steve Carell ended his incredible run as Dunder Mifflin Regional Manger Michael Scott in 2011. But none of that matters. Nine years is a hell of a long time when scripted television is concerned, and we feel like our heart has been ripped out and placed in Jello.

NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt released a statement today praising the cast, crew and producer/original showrunner Greg Daniels. “The Office is a classic, award-winning television comedy and all of us at NBC couldn’t be prouder to have produced and telecast the series as it heads into its ninth season,” he said. “Greg Daniels, the cast, and crew have some terrific storylines planned for the final season. Fans are in for a treat. It’s always difficult to see these kinds of shows come to an end, but we are honoring the cast’s and producers’ desire to make this the final season.”

Daniels himself weighed in this afternoon at a press conference. “This year feels like the last chance to really go out together and to make an artistic ending to the show that pays off a lot of the stuff that has mattered most to fans with the core characters,” he told the assembled reporters. “This will be the last season of The Office. We’re planning a very big exciting last season.” Despite the devastating news, fans can at least get pumped for the plot details he spilled for Season 9. “We’re going to Roy’s wedding. David Wallace is running the show, the Dunder-Mifflin show. We have a lot of funny stories, we’re telling some crazy Dwight stories we’ve wanted to tell for years.”

Ed Helms Talks The End Of The Office

Fans of NBC’s The Office were cautiously optimistic when star Steve Carell departed the series last spring. Although quite clearly the heart and soul of the show, many hoped that the incredibly strong ensemble cast would carry the series through at least a few more successful seasons without the hapless Michael Scott at thte helm. But sadly, it already looks as though the remaining Dunder Mifflin crew is starting to splinter. James Spader has announced his exit after a year on the show as office jedi Robert California. Show writer and actor Mindy Kaling has an uncertain future on the show, depending on whether her her pilot is picked up over at Fox, and head-writer Daniel Chun has signed a deal with rival network ABC.

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VH1 News caught up with current Dunder Mifflin boss Ed Helms while he was promoting Jeff Who Lives At Home last weekend. In addition to talking about his new film, Helms opened up about how he’d like the see The Office wrapped up when the time finally comes. “I hope whatever it is — I hope it’s after a nice long run and has a real celebration of the amazing cast.” We have to admit, even as the cast starts to pursue other opportunities, we’ll still be sad to say farewell to the prime-time mainstay that’s been bringing laughter to homes (and offices!) for nearly seven years. Even without Carell, The Office has always left us smiling and satisfied.

That’s what she said.

[Photo: Getty Images]

August 19th, 2011 | 12:55 pm by Jordan Runtagh (@JordanRuntagh)

Josh Groban Gets A Guest Spot On The Office

The producers of The Office are really pulling out all the stops to try and fill the vacuum left by Steve Carell. Guest stars are like CPR for elderly sitcoms, and the end of last season was loaded to the brim with big names, including Will Ferrell, Kathy Bates, Ricky Gervais, Will Arnet, Ray Romano, and more. Plus James Spader has been tapped for a recurring role on the show, but as Dunder Mifflin’s new CEO and not Carrel’s replacement, as previously assumed. And it looks like the parade of guest stars is about to continue with Josh Groban.

The pop-opera crossover heartthrob (and mom favorite) will appear as the brother of Ed Helm‘s character, Andy Bernard. Andy is a passionate a capella singer, so we have our fingers crossed for a hilarious in-office duet! Groban has been flexing his comedy muscles lately, playing a small but memorable role as Emma Stone’s douchey boyfriend in this summer’s Crazy Stupid Love. The flick starred none other than Steve Carell, so who knows..maybe that’s how Josh got the Office job in the first place. We’re excited by all of these famous faces showing up around Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch, but we just hope the show go the Love Boat route and drive the guest stars into the ground.

[Photo: Getty Images]

July 6th, 2011 | 3:43 pm by Kate Spencer (@katespencer)

James Spader Joins The Office, Revives Our Crush From 1986

Sure, James Spader‘s career has spanned decades. He most recently won three Emmys for his work on Boston Legal in 2004, 2005 and 2007. But truly, there is no better version of James Spader than from 1986, when he played the world’s sexiest a–hole, Steff, in Pretty In Pink. Second runner up: Spader as a sexy dom in Secretary. Now there’s a new Spader for us to love, as the new CEO of Dunder Mifflen (and Sabre) on The Office, replacing Kathy Bates.

“James will reprise his role as Robert California, this uber-salesman that has a power to convince and manipulate, like a high-class weirdo Jedi warrior,” said Paul Lieberstein, who plays HR dud Toby and is also a producer on the show. “He’ll have been hired over the summer as the new manager, but within hours, got himself promoted. Within days, he took over the company. James has an energy that is completely his own, and The Office has no tools for dealing with this guy. We’re thrilled he’s joining our cast.”

We’re thrilled too, as he was great on the finale and can totally hold his own among the show’s veteran cast. The more Spader we have in our life, the better. Now please tell us who’s replacing Steve Carrell, will ya NBC?

[Photo: GettyImages]

May 24th, 2011 | 1:00 pm by Lauren Olson (Deiman)

Summer Movie Guide: Boob Tube Stars On The Silver Screen

As temperatures rise and blockbusters flood the movie theaters, prepare to swim in celebs who became household names via the boob tube. While some have since established themselves as movie stars, we grew to love them on a weekly basis from our couches.

A brunette version of Gossip Girl‘s Blake Lively will play leading lady opposite Ryan Reynolds in Green Lantern. Mad Men‘s January Jones will trade her 60s housewife getup for a shimmery push-up bra for her role as Emma Frost in X-Men: First Class. Ever the uptight but lovable nerd, The Office‘s Ed Helms will reprise his role in The Wolfpack in The Hangover: Part II. This summer’s token fluffy comedy Monte Carlo features plenty of TV’s hottest stars such as Glee‘s Cory Monteith, GG‘s Leighton Meester and Katie Cassidy, and Wizards of Waverly Place‘s Selena Gomez.

Before the heat and humidity makes us all flee to the movie theaters for relief, check out what TV stars to keep an eye out for in this summer’s biggest flicks.

[Photos: Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Splash News Online, Warner Bros.]

May 13th, 2011 | 4:19 pm by Halle Kiefer (@hallekiefer)

Parks And Recreation Star Nick Offerman Fantasizes Death Battle With The Office

Can you feel how nervous we are talking with Parks And Recreation‘s Nick Offerman? You can’t tell through your computer screen, but he is radiating unadulterated testosterone and the piquant scent of cedar chips. Metaphorically speaking. We spoke to “The Nick,” as he refers to himself, mere minutes before he taped his appearance on VH1′s new morning show, Big Morning Buzz Live, yesterday morning. The upcoming finales of Parks And Recreation and The Office has Offerman imagining how Ron Swanson would manage the gang at Dundler-Mifflin, aside from the inevitable bloody cage match with Rainn Wilson‘s Dwight Schrute, of course. Who would the winner be? (Hint: It’s Phyllis. It’s always Phyllis).

And after the jump, you can experience our full, 5 minute and 28 second long interview with the hirsute Offerman, in which he shares his tips on woodworking a bamboo bong, using beard lard as an aphrodisiac and admiring Tom Haverford’s giant balls. They are beautiful balls, really: great music, excellent appetizers, everybody dressed to the nines. Just how Nick Offerman likes it.

Is Jenna Fischer Pregnant?

Normally we avoid baby bump speculation, but we spotted these pictures of Jenna Fischer out to dinner last night with her husband Lee Kirk and our Preggo Siren went off at full blast. There’s nothing on the web about her being knocked up, but check her out — stretchy shirt, glowing face, luscious hair and a big ol’ bump for days. And we say this not as gossip mongers but as baby bump experts (because we just got rid of ours five months ago). In March she told Redbook, “I already wanted kids, but even more so now.” Hm, was she dropping hints back then? While we wait for Jenna to confirm our suspicions on her MySpace page (she may be the last person using that site) we’ll offer our congratulations just in case we happen to be right. Way to go, Pammy B!

[Photo: Splash News Online]

April 29th, 2011 | 4:00 pm by Jordan Runtagh (@JordanRuntagh)

Steve Carell Says Goodbye To His Office Fans

Alright, we’ll level with ya: we teared up at this wayyyy more than we did as the Royal Vows were exchanged. Steve Carell’s final episode on The Office aired last night, forcing us to say farewell to our favorite boss (to our actual bosses who are reading this, we mean “second favorite boss.”) As a tribute to Dunder Mifflin Regional Manager Michael Scott’s last ride, NBC released a short interview conducted by Carell’s co-star Angela Kinsey on the last day of filming. In it, he shares some of his favorite memories of the last seven seasons, and signs off with an honest, emotional and touching farewell to all of his fans. Safe travels, Michael. We’ll always have syndication.

April 22nd, 2011 | 4:15 pm by Jordan Runtagh (@JordanRuntagh)

Jim Carrey Heads To The Office

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Steve Carell’s departure from NBC’s The Office mayÃ‚Â be a week away, but the producers are keeping the halls of Dunder Mifflin well stocked with big-name comedians. Will Ferrell has been seen in the last few episodes as temporary manager DeAngelo Vickers, and now the show is getting another shot of concentrated wacky by welcoming Jim Carrey into the fold. Carrey has officially signed on to appear in the season finale, and there’s even a rumor that it may be a recurring role.

The 50-minute special, set to air on May 19th, will include numerous other celebrities competing for managerÃ‚Â of Dunder Mifflin, including Ray Romano, Will Arnet, James Spader, Catherine Tate and series creatorÃ‚Â Ricky Gervais. It’s still undecided which of them will be taking over for Carell, with even other cast members being left in the dark.

“We don’t know who will replace Steve yet,” Office star John Krasinski told HitFix.com.Ã‚Â ”It might not even be a replacement of Steve, it might be more of a shift. Everybody was talking about there being a spin-off of the show years ago and I feel like this is our spin-off.”

[Photo: Images]

March 28th, 2011 | 1:15 pm by Anthony Miccio

Could Will Ferrell Join The Office For Good?

It’s possible he was joking (when isn’t he?), but Will Ferrell is hinting that his upcoming four-episode arc on The Office as Michael Scott’s replacement Deangelo Vickers could turn into a permanent position. “That’s a very distinct possibility,” he told the New York Daily News at the Comedy Awards this weekend, similarly suggesting “a regular, full-time gig” with The Office wasn’t out of the question to Entertainment Weekly. But why would a guy who collects mega-movie paychecks bother signing on for a long-running sitcom? Isn’t that why Steve Carell is leaving?

A clue might actually be in the same article where Rainn Wilson dismissed rumors of Ferrell taking over last January. While Wilson thought Ferrell making “$20 million a film” means “he’s got other fish to fry,” Dwight Schrute’s channeler also said the show would become “even more of an ensemble show,” with the boss “more of a secondary fixture.” Ferrell would be an expensive hire for NBC, but with the focus shifted to his staff, maybe Deangelo Vickers can stay on as a more neglectful, less present father figure than Michael Scott was. It sounds like Will is enjoying himself on set, and as long as the show doesn’t ask too much of him (and he doesn’t ask too much of the budget), why wouldn’t they keep it going as long as they can?

[Photo: Getty Images]