NBC, 'The Office' prepare for life without Steve Carell
The 'Office' star's contract runs til the end of next season
Steve Carell of 'The Office'
Credit: NBC
While promoting the release of "Date Night" earlier this month, Steve Carell mentioned that his contract for NBC's "The Office" ends after next season and that he didn't expect to continue after that point.
The "Evan Almighty" and "Get Smart" star later clarified that his comments weren't merely a negotiating ploy.
Speaking with reporters about the network's scheduling plans for the 2010-2011 season and beyond, NBC brass acknowledged the very real potential of Carell's departure from the network's top-rated comedy series.
"'The Office' is a great ensemble, and the producers of the show are preparing in the event he chooses to go on," said NBC Universal Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin.
Gaspin was following up on NBC Primetime Entertainment President Angela Bromstad's comment, "Steve is incredibly important to the show and we hope we can keep him for a long time. Whether or not he stays with 'The Office,' it's a big priority for us to develop a new hit."
In this case, that meant moving the Emmy-winning comedy "30 Rock" out from its long-term position at 9:30 on Thursday nights into the less cushy confines of 8:30 p.m. and giving the post-"Office" slot to the new comedy "Outsourced." Gaspin acknowledged the possibility that "Parks and Recreation" might also conceivably land that slot come midseason, but didn't come close to committing to the idea.
One way in which NBC won't be keeping Carell around is as the producer of the attempted update of "The Rockford Files," or at least not currently.
The David Shore-scripted root of the gumshoe classic, featuring Dermot Mulroney in the James Garner role, wasn't included in NBC's fall or midseason schedule, though Bromstad said that the property might still be redeveloped in the future, saying that the pilot was an A-/B+ effort, when NBC is only picking up A+ pilots.
Would you watch a Carell-free version of "The Office"?
A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupJoe
May 16, 2010 at 8:57PM EST Reply to CommentSo what we're seeing is the A+ pilots?
Flap Jackson
May 17, 2010 at 12:55AM EST Reply to CommentOnly A+ pilots? Oh NBC, you have such a great sense of ironic humor!
Wait, they were serious? Oh crap...
May I also point out that LOLA doesn't even have a pilot yet? What are we supposed to make of that NBC? Did you really just mean A+ ideas? Because if that was the case, you must be using a grading system where the highest score is actually F. Or maybe you have a grading system that starts going into numbers after it's done with letters, as in a grading system that goes to 1, after A.
I mean, your accounting department isn't the most reliable in the world (NBC lost lots of money during these past Olympics), but I find it conceivable that your accounting system uses a "unique" system of grading to fit the standards of your currently hemorrhaging network.