‘The Office (U.S.)’ is getting a reboot, but there’s a catch
Since last year, rumors have been circulating about a reboot when “The Office” cast reunited on “Saturday Night Live” to beg Steve Carell to reprise his role as Michael Scott. While this may have seemed to be just another “SNL” skit at the time, it turns out that our favorite mockumentary series is back, subtly announcing via Twitter that “The Office” is officially rebooting in summer 2019. However, there’s a catch.
Executive producer Howard Klein and showrunner Greg Daniels have made a few changes to the workplace comedy. Daniels and Klein appeared on “Good Morning America” on March 18, where they explained their commitment to fixing Hollywood’s diversity problem — starting with the critically acclaimed series “The Office” — where 90 percent of its original cast were played by white actors.
Netflix has recently released a statement on March 17 about the series reboot — as they have secured full production rights for a tenth season, which will only be available to stream exclusively on Netflix. There’s no official release date yet, as they are still filming.
Carell has also broken the news about the reboot via Twitter, introducing the new man who will take on his legendary role as Michael Scott — Eric Andre, creator and host of “The Eric Andre Show” on Adult Swim.
“I mean, he’s certainly not a model boss [Michael Scott],” said Carell. “A lot of what is depicted on that show is completely wrong-minded. That’s the point, you know? But I just know that he [Andre] is perfect for the part, the role suits him.”
Netflix has also confirmed that the tenth season has replaced the entire cast — except for Kaling, who will remain as Kelly Kapoor. Old faces from the original series have been replaced by well-known Asian actors — a handful of them from the cast of the popular rom-com “Crazy Rich Asians.”
Here’s what we know:
Eric Andre as Michael Scott
Randall Park as Jim Halpert
Constance Wu as Pam Beesly
Ken Jeong as Dwight Schrute
Sandra Oh as Angela Martin
John Cho as Andy Bernard
Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor
Ryan Higa as Ryan Howard
Jimmy O. Yang as Kevin Malone
Jackie Chan as Stanley Hudson
Margaret Cho as Phyllis Vance
Awkwafina as Meredith Palmer
Nico Santos as Oscar Martinez
Ki Hong Lee as Toby Flender
James Hong as Creed Bratton
Brenda Song as Erin Hannon
“I was honestly shocked about the casting — I couldn’t believe they all agreed to it,” said Krasinski, who portrayed Jim Halpert throughout the original series. “There are a few big names in there that we haven’t heard from in years, some I thought were dead. But I love the idea [of the reboot] and I’m looking forward to it.”
Considering what a staple many of the old faces were to the fictional paper company of Dunder Mifflin, it’s truly a step forward for Hollywood being able to look past the decision of re-casting the same people and opening up the roles to newer and more diverse actors — especially to those who aren’t typically visible in mainstream media.
Aside from all the changes in casting, most of the original writers are here to stay. Ricky Gervais, Michael Schur (Dwight’s cousin Mose), Kaling, Novak, and Lieberstein have all agreed to return as writers, with new additions to the writing team such as Michael Cera, James Franco and Seth Rogen.
“It’s not going to be exactly the same, obviously, but it’s better than nothing,” said Rogen.
Disclaimer: Sorry to get your hopes up, but this is an April Fool’s joke. However, if you’re a producer or director interested in this idea, email me at Lamjen@uw.edu and let’s talk.
