Skip to main content

Spin Doctors: Is "The Office" About to Hatch a Spin-off?

I was out of the office yesterday but received nearly a dozen emails yesterday from impassioned (and irate) readers about the rumor spreading like a paper warehouse on fire of a potential Office spin-off.

I'm highly dubious about the rumor of the proposed spin-off. TV Guide's Michael Ausiello says, "Multiple sources confirm to me exclusively that the Peacock is developing an episode of The Office that would introduce several new characters who would then be spun off into a new series à la Private Practice."

Personally, I've heard not even a peep about this purported backdoor spin-off, which according to Ausiello, would not include any characters from the original and instead focus on all-new characters to be introduced later this season. (So, sorry Kinsey fans, but there will be no Angela! spinoff in works about the feline-loving accountant.)

My sources indicate that this rumor is just that: a rumor. Greg Daniels has often floated the idea of a spin-off to his writing staff in past seasons but nothing has ever been set into motion. As for NBC actively courting a big-name star to anchor this spin-off? That seems unlikely as well as no one I spoke to had seen a script for this alleged spin-off.

Given the fact that The Office has been suffering creatively lately, methinks that Daniels and the writers need to focus on a way to save the original Office before even contemplating expanding the brand to another series. At the end of the day, this is just a spectacularly bad idea that seems borne out of commerce rather than creatively. (I do not want to see The Office: Miami nor The Office: NY.)

Some spin-offs have gone on to become fully appreciated, brilliant series in their own right--I think now of NBC's Frasier in particular, which only launched AFTER Cheers ended, or Angel, which broadened the Buffyverse in unexpected ways--but most of the time they are mawkish, sub-par attempts to cash in on the success of a series. (The Tortellis, I am looking at you.)

Let's focus on getting back to basics now that The Office has finally returned to its half-hour format and concentrate on telling the best possible stories for THIS group of characters. There's a reason why viewers return to The Office each week. It's not the workplace comedy setup, it's not the pranks or the gags, and it's not the quirky Scranton location. At the end of the day, it's about the people. Huh, maybe David Brent was on to something after all...

Comments

Anonymous said…
Yes - terrible, terrible idea.
The CineManiac said…
I agree, I was not happy to hear about this, what-so-ever.
Like you said, lets get the original back on track before we head to spin-off territory.
One great spin-off you forgot about it 'Joey' one of the best recent examples of a successful spin....
Sorry I can't even pretend to continue that paragraph. Spin-offs are only good in very few situations and I think you named the best two: Angel & Fraser.
Anonymous said…
The only good reason for an Office spin-off would be if the original was ending and they continued the storyline with one of the other characters (as you mentioned with Cheers and Fraiser). Otherwise, this is just a silly, Dunderheaded idea.
rockauteur said…
I hope this isn't true. Horrible idea.

Popular posts from this blog

What's Done is Done: The Eternal Struggle Between Good and Evil on the Season Finale of "Lost"

Every story begins with thread. It's up to the storyteller to determine just how much they need to parcel out, what pattern they're making, and when to cut it short and tie it off. With last night's penultimate season finale of Lost ("The Incident, Parts One and Two"), written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, we began to see the pattern that Lindelof and Cuse have been designing towards the last five seasons of this serpentine series. And it was only fitting that the two-hour finale, which pushes us on the road to the final season of Lost , should begin with thread, a loom, and a tapestry. Would Jack follow through on his plan to detonate the island and therefore reset their lives aboard Oceanic Flight 815 ? Why did Locke want to kill Jacob? What caused The Incident? What was in the box and just what lies in the shadow of the statue? We got the answers to these in a two-hour season finale that didn't quite pack the same emotional wallop of previous season

Pilot Inspektor: CBS' "Smith"

I may just have to change my original "What I'll Be Watching This Fall" post, as I sat down and finally watched CBS' new crime drama Smith this weekend. (What? It's taken me a long time to make my way through the stack of pilot DVDs.) While it's on following Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars on Tuesday nights (10 pm ET/PT, to be exact), I'm going to be sure to leave enough room on my TiVo to make sure that I catch this compelling, amoral drama. While one can't help but be impressed by what might just be the most marquee-friendly cast in primetime--Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Jonny Lee Miller, Amy Smart, Simon Baker, and Franky G all star and Shohreh Aghdashloo has a recurring role--the pilot's premise alone earned major points in my book: it's a crime drama from the point of view of the criminals, who engage in high-stakes heists. But don't be alarmed; it's nothing like NBC's short-lived Heist . Instead, think of it as The Italian

The Daily Beast: "How The Killing Went Wrong"

While the uproar over the U.S. version of The Killing has quieted, the show is still a pale imitation of the Danish series on which it is based. Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "How The Killing Went Wrong," in which I look at how The Killing has handled itself during its second season, and compare it to the stunning and electrifying original Danish series, Forbrydelsen , on which it is based. (I recently watched all 20 episodes of Forbrydelsen over a few evenings.) The original is a mind-blowing and gut-wrenching work of genius. It’s not necessary to rehash the anger that followed in the wake of the conclusion last June of the first season of AMC’s mystery drama The Killing, based on Søren Sveistrup’s landmark Danish show Forbrydelsen, which follows the murder of a schoolgirl and its impact on the people whose lives the investigation touches upon. What followed were irate reviews, burnished with the “burning intensity of 10,000 white-hot suns