Cool News
The One To Beet!!
NBC Is Developing A
DWIGHT SCHRUTE Spin-Off!!
More money for Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais!
NBC is developing a family comedy that would center on Dwight Schrute, the beet-farming quasi-Nazi quasi-Amish sci-fi fanatic and paper salesman played by Rainn Wilson on “The Office,” according to Deadline Hollywood.
The “Fawlty Towers”-ish/“Newhart”-ish spin-off would focus on Shrute’s bed-and-breakfast business, his plain-living cousins and his rural Pennsylvania neighbors.
NBC hopes to have it ready to air in about a year. Ed Helms, John Krasinksi and Mindy Kaling are not signed for any “Office” episodes beyond this season, according to Deadline, and, indeed, “The Office” itself is not yet renewed for 2012-2013.
Wilson currently receives top billing on “The Office,” and has since the 2011 departure of Steve Carell.
“Office” showrunner Paul Lieberstein will oversee the project. Not involved in the Shrute spin-off is the other “Office” showrunner, Greg Daniels, who is busy not only with “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation,” but also several other potential NBC sitcoms.
Sadly, we’re not likely to see a lot more of Mose Schrute, the maniacal cousin played by Mike Schur. Schur has his hands full serving as the primary “Parks” showrunner, and "Parks" looks very likely to get picked up for next season.
Find Deadline’s exclusive on the matter here.
Readers Talkback
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it's just not working anymore.
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and funny on the Office, but as the main character? Not too sure
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I think they've done a pretty great job keeping the show entertaining after losing their lead.
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The new Office at it's BEST isn't as good as Steve Carell's Office at it's worst. I used to look forward to it every week. Now I haven't watched it in weeks. I just don't find it funny period. I'd tune into a Dwight show though. I hope the Office ends this season.
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It was back in 2008... It's a smart career strategy for Rainn though. 1. Get a ton of upfront money to sign for the show 2. It will tank after six weeks and get cancelled 3. Go back to doing character work in movies while having plenty of money in the bank
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This will work about as well as when they gave Klinger his own show...
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i miss steve, but i still love the show
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Jan. 25, 2012, 10:47 p.m. CST
Stopped watching, basically, after last season. Would watch this.
by Al
The only office episode I watched this season was the one with Dwight and the "Doomsday Device" e-mail, and I only watched it weeks after it aired because it sounded like a great Dwight episode. and, while I enjoyed "checking in" on the characters I don't see much reason to go back, but it was a fun watch because I still dig Dwight. So bring on this spinoff because Dwight is still pretty gold no matter what season you put him in.
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More Dwight is one of the main reasons The Office sucks now.
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http://twitter.com/#!/rainnwilson/status/162378066088312832
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Carell's Office departure has left the show without a hook or a heart. It's like the show has a huge hole to fill, (that's what she said), and they're counting on these one-note, good-in-small-doses characters to fill the void. I kind of like Kevin... but dammit after the fifth fat, dumb, or kool-aid man joke of an episode, I just want to change the channel. Thank God for Parks and Rec.
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And should turn out just as well for NBC.
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You mixed up two M*A*S*H spinoff's there. It was just AfterMASH whereas the other spin off was W*A*L*T*E*R. So technically it would be more like D*W*I*G*H*T
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Jan. 26, 2012, 1:27 a.m. CST
This sounds great, but who is gonna be the straight man?
by sweeneydave
We have to have one of those don't we?
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As sweeneydave mentioned, we need a straight man. This just sounds terrible. I don't see how it'd work or why it'd be worth watching.
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Jan. 26, 2012, 3:21 a.m. CST
Frasier Crane was a much funnier character after he moved to Seattle...
by jamesonian
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Late yesterday Rainn tweeted that we shouldn't believe everything we read, which I took as him shooting down the idea. Perhaps I'm wrong. Just as long as this doesn't screw up Parks & Rec, I'm fine with this spin-off.
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Looks like mgmontgomery beat me too it. Or should that be "BEET" me to it? See what I did there? /clever
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Jan. 26, 2012, 6:20 a.m. CST
I think The Office has had some of it's best episodes in years
by beastie
The end of last week's Pool Party was reminiscient of when the UK office went to trivia night. It does need to get dryer like it was in the beginning, but it's really working... for me at least. I was really hoping that the show would keep going after this season as I feel it was gracefully and slowly ushering in a new cast - something that I think more shows should try. BUT, as much as I would like for this to be the next Frasier, it will most likely be the next Joey. At least Rainn Wilson is funnier than Matt LeBlanc.
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Jan. 26, 2012, 7:04 a.m. CST
If they reveal he's married to Pam's hot as fuck friend Isabel...
by OldDickLemon
I am there.
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So might as well try. They might as well also try spinning off Jim - he leaves Sabre and finds a new career. Can't hurt, and might work. If it sucks then cancel it but it won't be as bad as Whitney.
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Jan. 26, 2012, 7:11 a.m. CST
It wasn't Carell's departure that killed the show, it was
by ThrowMeTheIdol
Greg Daniels. The Office was his baby and he abandoned it a few years ago. Almost no good show can survive that kind of thing, it's very rare for a handoff to work. Greg is very very talented and had a unique grasp of the characters.
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The season Daniels left for Parks and Rec, is the season the Office started to dwindle. The 2 best episodes since then(jim and pam's wedding, michael's departure) were both written by Daniels.
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Ponder that for a (brief) moment. I don't think my eyes have even recovered yet from Kevin's segments in the pool party episode.
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One of the reasons Fawlty Towers was so good was that it was only 6 episodes a season. It's going to be a midseason show, but will still be like what? 12 episodes or 14 episodes? I just think the idea of the show will get old fast. The thing that made Schrute Farms funny on the show was that it would pop up here and there. I don't think the idea is strong enough for a full season. Plus you'll have to intruduce more of his family and possibly a love interest. I just don't see how this will be good. They really need to find a great cast to make this work. I just don't think Dwight is a strong enough character for his own show. The thing that made Dwight work was his relationship with Jim. So I don't see how they're going to have a straight man in this. Is he going to be some B&B inspector? Will one of Dwight's family members be a normal guy who is brought in to help make the B&B successful? It'll be interesting to see what happens with this.
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The Office has been firing on all cylinders this season. I say don't mess with it. The show survived losing Steve Carrell, and has been excellent with Ed Helms as the lead. Don't take away Dwight and ruin a good thing.
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Jan. 26, 2012, 8:47 a.m. CST
THE OFFICE peaked in season 2; has been shit since season 4. Why would I bother with a spinoff? Although, I must say...
by Tigger Tales
If they promise at least one cameo per ep, that would pique my interest. I'd love to see Karen Filippelli get a flat tire and be forced to stay at the farm.
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...it had some slow parts, but it was the writing. Wilson really has some chops.
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Puts the office out of business. They released yesterday that Helms wants like 15 million for Hangover 3. Krasinki is good buddies with Clooney and Damon and probably doesn't see himself on TV any longer anyway.
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I'm of the mind that anything can work if done right, but I just don't see where you can go with a Dwight Shrute show that the office hasn't already done. Maybe I'm wrong, but this news does not excite this fan of The Office.
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Jan. 26, 2012, 10:05 a.m. CST
I highly disagree with most of you. I think The Office hasn't been this good as it is now since season 4.
by Dogmatic
Steve Carell's departure forced the writer's to think outside the box more and gave a chance to develop the other characters more and it has been great TV IMHO.
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He is not likable enough to carry a show on his own
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There was talk before the parks days of a dundler mifflin headoffice or warehouse spin off, It would air after the office and teal with the same plotline as that nights office episode, But at a writters retreat we felt it was to epic in scope to handle so he wen't with the park and rec idea that i had pitched a few months before that. We also had a jim and pam family comedy planned in which the new couple with child moved to san diego (even went into some pre production filming) but NBC felt fans wouldn't follow and they pulled the plug The shrute Farms spin off was actually suggested as a joke back when writters where worried where the show would head with Carrells departure, but the more we thought about it the more NBC liked it
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Jan. 26, 2012, 10:37 a.m. CST
Finally realized what's wrong with the Office now that Carrell is gone...
by MrEkoLetMeLive
Andy Bernard, while great as a supporting character is just not proactive enough to fill the shoes of Michael Gary Scott. Let's look at last week's episode - Andy loses his engagement ring. The girls find it, and for some reason Andy can't just walk up to them on the sly and get his ring back before his girlfriend notices. If it was Michael Scott in that situation, he'd have come up with some convoluted ploy to get his ring back without the girlfriend noticing and blowing his secret. Instead we just get Ed Helms looking mopey and not really doing much. Sure, James Spader is great. Sure, Rainn Wilson and Krasinski continue to be hilarious. But without the central wheel of Steve Carrell to move things along, the show just feels like it's drifting and aimless. They shoulda just ended it last season.
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That's a really great film in the already overcrowded "normal guy wants to be a superhero" genre.
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Jan. 26, 2012, 11:43 a.m. CST
dogmatic-One of many shows that was ruined by the WGA strike
by Samuel Fulmer
For me that middle of season 4 when they came back from the strike was when the show just wasn't the same.
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Jan. 26, 2012, 12:05 p.m. CST
Will there ever be a payoff regarding the documentary?
by StanGrossman
Just wondering. Have they ever commented on that?
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to the camera about letting him know when it would be on.
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When it comes to the finale of the show however, they have to offer some kind of memorable conclusion to that. Perhaps something that would explain why they've been filming for so many years.
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But the character was taken about as far as it can go. Carrell did the right thing leaving when he did. I'd love to see Rainn in something different built around him. Another character.
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They should end the show with Michael Scott returning as manager, life in the office continues as usual...fade to black. Either that or DM goes out of business and they all go their separate ways in a tear jerking send-off. Wait, or Stanley finally snaps and blows up the building with everyone in it...except Creed - who gets a spin-off.
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Jan. 26, 2012, 2:54 p.m. CST
This is a horrible idea... But I'm tired of people bashing the Office
by Andrew Coleman
I know because it became trendy to just ditch the show after last season. I keep watching it and it's still funnier than most stuff on television. Just giving up because you think that's what you should do is pretty lame. This show idea sounds terrible. Dwight is funny because we get him in smaller bits. This will just be too much.
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My point was they have commented on it fairly recently, and by that comment we learn that nothing has come of it yet (or at least Michael's never seen it - and you know he'd be first in line). It also tells us the writers are still embracing the conceit (rather than simply the style) which gives me hope we will get some closure to it.
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Jan. 26, 2012, 3:30 p.m. CST
moneygrab, I think you're on to something, except it should be Creed who goes postal
by Joe Plumber
and starts shooting up the office only to have Dwight save the day and take him down. BEST SERIES FINALE EVER!!!
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Jan. 26, 2012, 3:40 p.m. CST
The only character to make me consistently laugh is Kevin
by FrodoFraggins
The show has never really gotten me to watch it live or seek out reruns. I'm just glad it's not Jim and Pam. They are pretty much guaranteed to not deliver laughs.
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As The Office dwindles down on the comedy, whose idea was it to make a spin-off? This MIGHT have worked 4 years ago during The Office's peak, but not now. If this goes to series, it will be cancelled before the 5th episode. Hopefully it's dismissed.
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Dwight turns the beet farm into a bar and Mose dies of a stroke at the beginning of season 2.
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Name me one comedy on CBS that is worth watching. Or even has a joke funnier than the idea of Dwight-centric show.
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if some of his friends stop by to wish him good luck.
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With the lowpoint being the Gettysburg episode. But since then it's regained it's footing and the last four episodes or so have been great. Not to mention Ellie Kemper is a doll.
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The fuck it did. The last few seasons have been on the downside, but anyone who thinks it peaked at season 2 probably thinks the Simpsons did at season 3.
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He'll be looking for work, I'm sure. Also, that sucks about the Office basically being in its last year without any fanfare going in. Fuck. I like this season, though I was hoping they would give everyone more and they haven't.
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People have been shitting on it for years (when Steve was still on it) but I just keep on laughing. Fuck you hipster douchebags and your Community and Arcade Fire. Oh, and the spin-off is a retarded idea.
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Jan. 29, 2012, 2:56 p.m. CST
The Office is done. I never missed an episode, now, I can barely remember to turn it on.
by bat725
And when I do, I might a get a few laughs, but nothing like before. Oh, well, it was fun while it lasted.
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