After months of speculation over who would take the place of Steve Carell’s Michael Scott on NBC’s long-running British comedy remake The Office, the wait is finally over. Today NBC has announced that James Spader has signed on as a regular cast member – the new boss around town.
Spader, widely known for his roles in shows such as Boston Legal along with countless films, joins the cast of the flagship series after a relatively short period as a front runner for the role. He, along with many other famous faces, appeared in the seventh season finale of the show (Carell’s final episode), but was not widely reported as being in talks for the role until recently.
Throughout April and May, Will Ferrell was the talk of TV land about a possible starring role, but today executive producer of the show Paul Lieberstein said "James will reprise his role as Robert California, this uber-salesman that has a power to convince and manipulate, like a high-class weirdo Jedi warrior.”
The Office is set to return for its 8th season on September 22nd, so fans will have a little while to wait to see how it all turns out. But until then, they are free to rejoice or complain about the casting decision.