Image Credit: Mitchell Haaseth/NBCRainn Wilson failed to snag an Emmy nomination for The Office this morning, but he still has reason to pop open the champagne today: The actor has emerged as the odds-on favorite to succeed the departing Steve Carell as boss.
“I’d love to see Rainn Wilson in that position,” says coexecutive producer/costar Mindy Kaling, who snagged a much-deserved Emmy nomination for co-writing last season’s four-star Jim/Pam wedding episode. “Dwight has become so nuanced — you actually care about him now. I think if [we did a good job laying the groundwork] this coming season, he would be a fantastic boss.
“But that’s my dream,” she adds. “It certainly hasn’t been approved by people that are more powerful than me and who make those kinds of decisions.”
Kaling says she’s always been a “promote from within” kind of gal as opposed to “trying to throw in an element of the show that people don’t know. It’s like the stand-up [expression]: The audience doesn’t want someone whose hand they haven’t sniffed.”
Of course, in Kaling’s perfect world Carell wouldn’t be going anywhere. (Carell recently confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that he’ll be moving on when his contract expires at the end of next season.) “We’re still infatuated with Steve and love him so much that we’re hoping for some 11th hour like, ‘I really do like this schedule and I like craft services here, so I don’t want to go.’ But I’m going to take him at face value and [assume] he’s not being coy and that he really wants to [leave].”
Regarding her Emmy nod for co-writing the nuptial-themed “Niagara” (with EP Greg Daniels), Kaling says the recognition is especially sweet because “so many people were invested in that moment being done right.” She reveals that one of the episode’s funniest bits ended up getting cut because it took the focus away from Jim and Pam’s big day. “There was a very long extended Monty Python-type scene at the reception desk of the hotel that Greg and I wrote, but it never made the episode because it had nothing to do with story. It centered around this curmudgeonly innkeeper and we were like, ‘America doesn’t want to see this. America wants to see Jim and Pam making the right decision.’ So that got cut.”
Here’s to hoping that long Monty Python scene makes the DVD cut.
I have all “The Office” DVDs and pretty much every episode has deleted material.
Unlike most deleted material (which gets cut because it’s simply not good enough to make the final version), a lot of the “Office” deleted scenes are gold and likely sacrificed for time.
So true! Each episode has like 10-15 minutes of deleted scenes and they are just as entertaining (some more so). I can’t wait for this!
From what she said, it sounds like it was written but not filmed.
Nah I think they shot it. If they include lots of deleted stuff then they probably film lots of things. Sometimes I feel like the show has random moments at times but I think they couldn’t this ep since it had a time issue.
That’s a terrible idea. The storylines where Dwight takes over the office are some of my least favorites.
I agree. Of course Mindy would love that idea, they’re very very close friends. Check their twitter accounts.
Agree. I actually care about Dwight *less* now. It’s gotten to be too much. At least when Shirley left Laverne, you still had the more appealing one left.
I agree, Dwight is a background character. I feel like if he were to be the boss it would be like when Joey got his own show after Friends. Some characters are meant to be background.
I would honestly stop watching if Dwight became the boss. He is way over the top and I actually care less for him after this last season than I ever have. The whole subplot of him trying to get Jim fired was awful and pointless. I think the one who may make the most sense would be that new guy from Sabre who is totally wimpy because it would be funny to see a complete suit in the position like most people have to deal with.
I agree with Yes…the wimpy guy would be hilarious! Dwight needs to stay there as the underdog who thinks he is smarter then everyone else.
I agree to an extent, but I’d also like to see Andy take over Michael’s position. I think there could be just as much humorous awkwardness with Andy at the top of The Office hierarchy as with Dwight or Michael.
I hated Dwight these past two seasons. He’s not the obsequious but realistic geek he was in the beginning. He’s really a twisted perv and psycho now and has absolutely no redeeming qualities. I think that the writers are losing touch with who the character is and just writing things that they think would be funny for Rainn to do.
i think he’d be a great boss….but what about jim?
jim was alrady “co-manager” and that was horrible and boring
Maybe the question, would Jim allow the office to be run by Dwight, given he already has experience, and Jim is kind of the Jack Shepherd of the show?
I think the best thing for The Office is to be done after Steve Carrell leaves. I honestly can’t imagine the show without him. It won’t be the same.
I agree. Put the show out of its misery already.
I agree. We don’t need another comedy going past its due (*ahem!* Scrubs *ahem!*)
Totally! 7 seasons is a great run and the show’s going to suck with out him.
I think Will Farrel would be a great replacement for Michael Scott. He would be as clueless as Michael Scott and just as annoying.
This will be the seventh season! That’s a damn good run for a situation comedy and I think if NBC is smart (which they probably aren’t), they would promote this as “the final season” of THE OFFICE and end it the right way. Rather than trying to change the dynamic of a show. They will lose millions of viewers when they lose Steve Carrell…
Agreed. Unfortunately, NBC will probably keep it on until it is not longer remotely funny or enjoyable to watch.
That’s what happened to Friends. NBC just couldn’t let it go out on a high note. I hope that doesn’t happen this time around.
Why are you guys so quick to end a show you like? Give the writers a chance to put together some good material and see what happens. I have faith that they will be able to come up with something entertaining.
The problem is that while Carrell is only under contract through the seventh season, the rest of the cast is under contract through the eighth. NBC won’t give up a guaranteed money maker that requires very little work on its part.
GetAQ, it’s because it hasn’t been that funny in years. No disrespect to Mindy Kaling or anyone else, but Carell is the only one associated with the show, if anyone, who should have been nominated this morning. Some funnier comedies were completely shut out.
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Agreed. I am not hating on the show, but there is something to be said about ending on a high note and I think this gives them the perfect opportunity.
Zach, the people that don’t want it to end think it is still funny.
Ricky Gervais gets transferred from a Europe branch for the final season. End the show with the man who made it.
Didn’t you watch the Office special where David Brent is a travelling celebrity? He can never go back to paper. Gareth on the other hand…
Oh, I’d love to see Gareth make an appearance.
I think David Brent would totally take a job in paper if the money was right. He has no shame! I think it would be a great idea. Brent has even bigger problems tackling political correctness than Michael Scott, making for lots of cringeworthy humor!
outSTANDING idea, with the potential for some EPIC hilarity!
Phyllis!
yes!
this doesnt sound like the odds on favorite….just one persons opinon?
but a person who writes for the show as well as is a cast member
I love this show and I selfishly want it to go on forever, but I think that when Carell leaves the show is done for. I don’t want to see an ugly half-assed ending – I’d rather they just be done with it.
Yes.
I totally agree with you…I couldn’t have said it better, myself.
Learn from Scrubs: end it well, but actually end it. It’s better to leave at the right time or leave early than it is to overstay your welcome.
Exactly. They had the perfect finale for the show, and they just had to ruin it.
For the most part, I have left The Office after Jim and Pam’s wedding episode. Most of the show has become “meh” for a while, and I think that Carell is smart for bolting the show.
Making Dwight the captain of this sinking ship is a terrible idea. I really just wish they would have ended it with Jim and Pam’s wedding. That was such a great way to wrap up a lot of little ends.
MAKE KELLY THE BOSS!
Agree!!! Kelly was going for executive training so it would make sense to have her become boss!!!
Hasn’t been the same for a couple of years. Once Pam and Jim got engaged, it went downhill.
agreed. sadly.
Ya, that was the subplot that kept fans engaged every week and gave the show heart. One other thing that has been missing and needs to come back is Jim and Pam messing with Dwight. All 3 of them now sit next to each other the possibilites are endless.
If they make Dwight the boss I will stop watching the show. I find most of Dwight plot lines the most excruciating part of the show. He is no longer funny.
I think that is a terrible idea…Too much of Rain Wilson…is just WAY too much! Without Michael Scott to bounce off of, all of the other characters just overwhelm eachother. Whenever the show starts to lean heavily on any two or three characters…it’s boring, and a little obnoxious.
Please just end the series with Michael Scott departing. Promote Jim to Manager…then end the show. He’s really the only choice. He’s the straight man for the crazies to bounce off of. But even too much of him wouldn’t work. End the show on a high, and leave it to the memories of those that loved it for 7 years.
But above all, Dwight is only good as the buffoon who over reacts to everyone else…but when there’s too much of him…he just about makes you nauseaus. No way!
THIS.
THIS THIS THIS. I can’t stand Dwight, but at least he’s checked and balanced by Jim, Pam, Michael and the other characters. Putting Dwight in charge would be far too much for me to stand.