Ricky Gervais Talks ‘Office’ Cameo & Steve Carell’s Decision to Leave the Show

Whether you approved of his Golden Globes performance or not, Ricky Gervais is undoubtedly one of the most significant voices working in comedy today.

As one of the masterminds behind the brilliant comedy series The Office, Gervais gave audiences some of the edgiest mainstream comedy in years, constantly pushing the limits of our social mores via his obnoxious character, David Brent. Likewise, as an executive producer of the American version of The Office, Gervais also left an important imprint -- namely by choosing not to be too involved in the creative process.

That decision, which many original Office fans were nervous about, allowed the U.S. Office to take shape on its own and become one of the most popular television shows of the last ten years. Interestingly, Gervais is now set to return to the American version of The Office as the character that started it all, David Brent.

In an interview for Piers Morgan’s new CNN show Piers Morgan Tonight, Gervais talked about his decision to make a cameo appearance on The Office and why he told Steve Carell that he was doing the “right thing” in leaving the show after its seventh season.

Check out the segment below:

Even though he can come off quite brash, I really admire Gervais for his attitude toward comedy. In all of their shows thus far, Gervais and creative partner Stephen Merchant have never forced a show past its expiration date. For example, the UK version of The Office ran for only 14 episodes, yet it is continually hailed as one of the best comedies in recent memory. Likewise, Gervais and Merchant’s show Extras only ran 13 episodes. They both know how to quit while they’re ahead.

Some would argue (and many have) that the American version of The Office has gone on too long -- and there are good arguments for either side. The important thing to remember, and the thing that Gervais gets across the most in his interview, is that the American Office is something special all by itself and that, regardless of what happens to the show after Steve Carell leaves, it was something to enjoy.

Source: CNN

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Steve Carell’s Final ‘Office’ Episode Airs in April

When it was announced last year that Steve Carell would be leaving The Office at the end of its seventh season, fans of the series began preparing themselves for the departure of Michael Scott.

Unfortunately, series show-runner Paul Lieberstein (Toby) revealed today that Carell’s final episode would not, in fact, be the season finale as everyone expected, but one month before, in April.

While this news will certainly shock fans that were relishing every last moment of Dunder Mifflin’s (now Sabre, Scranton) Regional Manager, Lieberstein, while speaking with Vulture, explained the decision behind Michael Scott’s early departure and what they’re looking to accomplish with this season’s final four Michael-less episodes:

“Steve will have a number of episodes that dramatize and lead up to Steve leaving. Then we’ll continue on for about four more episodes, and the spring will prove to be not about an actor leaving, but what happens in an office when a manager leaves and the chaos ensues and people vie for the job and are uncertain about their future.”

Of course, with Michael Scott gone, a managerial position opens up and viewers have been speculating who would be filling the shoes of the “World’s Greatest Boss.” While Lieberstein hinted that they’re “talking about guest stars” who could come in and apply for the position, the job will ultimately go to one of the series’ current characters. Currently, Darryl (Craig Robinson), Dwight (Rain Wilson), Andy (Ed Helms) and Kelly (Mindy Kaling) are all in the running.

Previously, we reported that Darryl was hinted at being the most likely candidate, but today Kaling gave an interesting pitch on why it might be good for her character to take over:

“People who aren’t necessarily qualified to be the boss are sometimes put in positions that management hopes they grow into. And the boss [doesn't have] to be the starring role. Most shows are about all the underlings. I could see a world where Kelly becomes the boss, and it’s not a show about Kelly.”

Even though hell might freeze over before Kelly is given the position of Regional Manager, Kaling’s statement touches upon an interesting topic. With Carell gone, The Office has to, on some level, reinvent itself. With one cornerstone character gone, the writers will have to find other avenues to sustain the series’ comedic stylings. Fortunately, it looks like they might just be doing it.

Lieberstein says:

“This time last year there was probably a lot of dread, but right now there’s a lot of excitement. We’re having the kinds of conversations we had in seasons one and two about, ‘What is the show?’ It feels like we … can really influence the show in a way we couldn’t last year. It feels really cool.”

Despite Lieberstein’s acknowledgment of the writers’ eagerness to persevere, viewers won’t know exactly what potential the series has without Carell until we see the story unfold for ourselves. While many might have their doubts about The Office, we shouldn’t count the series out – the perfectly executed transition from the first to second season most certainly proved that.

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The Office airs Thursdays @8pm, on NBC

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Steve Jobs Action Figure Looks Amazingly Real

November 21st, 2010 | Twitter

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Coming Soon: Murdoch’s (and Steve Jobs’?!) iPad Newspaper, “The Daily”

November 21 2010 by admin in News |

The name and existence were confirmed during an interview with Fox Business Network where Murdoch claimed The Daily to be one of the company’s most “exciting projects” (along with the relaunch of MySpace we assume).

Unfortunately the Australian mogul wouldn’t go into specifics but a piece recently published in US elite fashion industry journal Women’s Wear Daily, described The Daily as “tabloid sensibility with a broadsheet intelligence.”

What may come as a bigger surprise is that The Guardian is claiming the project is a collaboration between Murdoch and Apple’s Steve Jobs. That’s the first we’ve heard of Jobs’ involvement and so until we hear confirmation from Apple itself, we’re not convinced. We’re sceptical because you would assume Jobs would be aware of the flood of “conflict of interest” complaints from competing iPad publications if Apple were to invest in a publication for a platform it entirely controls.

A staff of over 100 have reportedly been lined up for the project with three managing editors: Mike Nizza, a veteran of The New York Times, AOL News and The Atlantic; Steve Alperin, a producer at ABC News, and Pete Picton, an online editor at UK Newspaper, The Sun. While the focus will be on old-school reporting, there’ll be a sizeable video and design team as well.

The Daily is expected to cost 99 cents a week, or about $4.25 a month and will reportedly launch in beta mode sometime around Christmas. No print or web edition of Daily will be available, only iPad and tablet versions – potentially one of these.

Murdoch began his career with a single newspaper and is Chief Executive of News Corp., the third largest media conglomerate in the world, generating revenues in excess of US$30 million per year. While the company operated hundreds of publications, television channels, and websites around the world, Murdoch has made no secret of newspapers being his one true obsession. Lets hope he doesn’t die trying to save them.

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