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The Daily Beast: "Steve Carell to Leave The Office: End the Show"

Steve Carell made headlines earlier this week when he restated his intentions to leave The Office after the end of next season . Over at The Daily Beast, I discuss why NBC should cancel The Office after Carell leaves rather than attempt to rejigger the ensemble cast or bring in a new manager for the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin. You can read my latest piece, "Steve Carell to Leave The Office : End the Show" here. Be sure to head to the comments section to discuss your own feelings about whether the creative spark has gone out at the once superb workplace comedy and what the network should do with the series post-Carell.

Channel Surfing: Steve Carell Confirms Office Departure, Janeane Garofalo Circles Criminal Minds, Being Human Lands Sam Witwer, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Steve Carell has confirmed that he will leave NBC comedy The Office following the conclusion of next season, the series' seventh. "I just think it's time," Carell told E! Online's Kristina Guerrero while promoting his new film Despicable Me . "I want to fulfill my contract. When I first signed on I had a contract for seven seasons, and this coming year is my seventh. I just thought it was time for my character to go... It doesn't certainly mean the end of the show. I think it's just a dynamic change to the show, which could be a good thing, actually. Add some new life and some new energy... I see it as a positive in general for the show." Carell pointed to the series' ensemble cast and the strength of the writers and didn't seem to feel that his departure would negatively affect The Office at all. ( E! Online's Watch with Kristin ) Wait, what? Entertainment Weekly 's Michael A

Channel Surfing: Eddie Cibrian Cut from CSI: Miami, Dexter Lands Hernandez, Woods Bumped to Regular on The Office, Community, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. SPOILER! E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Eddie Cibrian is leaving CSI: Miami . "With original castmember—-and fan fave!—-Adam Rodriguez (Delko) returning this fall, a source close to the series confirms Eddie's departure, and tells me the Powers That Be are more interested in focusing on the core cast next season," writes Dos Santos, "which eliminates the need for the poor Cardoza character." Meanwhile, Dos Santos has the dirt on just how Cirbian's Cardoza will be written out of the crime procedural, but--beware!--it's highly spoilery. ( E! Online's Watch with Kristin ) April Lee Hernandez ( ER ) has been cast in a recurring role on Season Five of Showtime's serial killer drama Dexter . She'll play a police officer in the homicide department of Miami Metro. Hernandez's casting comes on the heels of news that Julia Stiles, Shawn Hatosy, and Maria Doyle Kennedy have

Channel Surfing: Tamsin Greig Lands Episodes, Steve Carell Looks to Leave The Office, History Casts The Kennedys, and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Cast changes are afoot at Showtime's upcoming Matt LeBlanc-led comedy Episodes , with Thomas Haden Church pulling out of the project due to a scheduling conflict with a film and Claire Forlani being recast after the recent table read earlier this week. But with Forlani out, Showtime has had the luck of landing British actress Tamsin Greig ( Black Books, Green Wing, Love Soup ) to replace her. [Editor: I think Greig is a much better fit and is a comedy genius. Showtime is beyond lucky to have nabbed her. Grieg's Black Books character, Fran Katzenjammer, remains a perennial favorite.] Greig will step into Forlani's role, as the female half of a husband-and-wife writing team whose British series is adapted for American television... and ruined in the process. Showtime has ordered seven episodes of the series, which is created by David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik, who executive produce alongside Jimmy Mulville. ( Variety ) Ste

NBC Renews "Community," "30 Rock," and "The Office"

Oh, happy day. NBC has announced that it will keep its Thursday night lineup intact next season, renewing Community, The Office , and 30 Rock for the 2010-11 season. The news comes on the heels of an early third season pickup for fellow Thursday laffer Parks and Recreation . "We are happy to give these early pickups to these critically acclaimed, incredibly funny comedies," said Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios, in a statement. "As a result, we look forward to continuing our rewarding partnership with the respective creative teams and talented show-runners for 30 Rock, The Office and Community as they all consistently deliver quality shows.” The news is especially good for Community , the sole freshman comedy among the pack, which will be returning for Season Two this fall. Renewal comes after Bromstad yesterday said she was "hopeful" about the Sony Pictures Television-produced series returning next season.

Channel Surfing: Daniel Dae Kim Finds "Hawaii Five-0," David Goyer Leaves "FlashForward," Zach Gilford Lands "Matadors," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Daniel Dae Kim won't be leaving the island. Or, Hawaii, rather. The Lost star has landed a lead role in CBS drama pilot Hawaii Five-0 , where he will play Detective Chin Ho Kelly. Kim's co-star, however, is still unknown. Reports have indicated that former Moonlight star Alex O'Loughlin had been offered the role of Detective Steve McGarrett, but no deal has been reached yet for him to star in the remake project, which hails from executive producers Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Peter Lenkov. ( Hollywood Reporter ) FlashForward co-creator David S. Goyer is leaving the ABC drama series, where he has served as showrunner since taking the creative reins from Mark Guggenheim in October. No replacement has been named for Goyer on the series, which still has roughly five more episodes to produce for this season's 23-episode order. Goyer, meanwhile, will segue back into film but will retain his executive producer credit

Channel Surfing: Lilly and Fox to Quit TV After "Lost," Broderick Finds "Beach Lane" for NBC, Kurtzman and Orci Sign 20th Deal, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Lost co-stars Evangeline Lilly and Matthew Fox plan to quit television after the end of the ABC drama series and that Lilly wants to leave acting behind altogether. "I think this will be the last time you see me on TV," Fox told Dos Santos. "I'm either going to do the kind of things I want to do in the film world, or maybe I'll just do something else entirely... I've done almost 300 hours of [TV]. It's been two really great experiences between Party of Five and Lost . I'm ready to take it to the next step and see what I can do in that [film] world." As for Lilly, she is looking to continue in the film world in a capacity other than being in front of the camera and focus on philanthropic work in Rwanda. "I just haven't found where that is yet. I don't know if anything has gelled yet. I don't know if it fits," she told D

Channel Surfing: "Lost" Here to Stay?, NBC Unveils New Strategy, "Day One" Cut Down to Backdoor Pilot, "The Borgias," and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Variety 's Michael Schneider takes a look at how ABC executives are attempting to stake out a strategy for the future of Lost , which will wrap up its run in May... but might be sticking around via ancillary products and potential sequels. "We've been talking about this for a couple of years now," ABC marketing exec VP Mike Benson told Schneider. "We want to keep it alive but make sure we maintain the integrity of the franchise. We're not about milking this thing for all that it is right now; it's important to see this live for years to come... What Lost becomes after it ends its run is up in the air. It really depends on who comes in to interpret it next." But whatever that future might hold, whether it be novels and comicbooks or indeed a spinoff series down the line, it won't involve current Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, who will end their oversight on the franchise once

Tricks and Treats: Quick Thoughts on NBC's Halloween-Themed Thursday Night Lineup

I've never been much of a Halloween guy. Some people love to dress up and head out to parties but I've always taken the view that Halloween is one of those holidays that you either believe in with all of your being or you can't quite wrap your head around. Last night, NBC's two-hour Thursday night comedy block all offered Halloween-themed diversions but happily each did so in their own inimitable way with Community focusing on a Mexican Day of the Dead after-school party, Parks and Recreation splitting its focus between Leslie stalking a notorious Halloween teen vandal and Ann throwing a costume party, The Office keeping it all confined to the cold open, and 30 Rock offering a celebration of "gay Halloween." I have to say that I thought that Community and Parks and Recreation were by far the funniest two entries in last night's comedy block, comprising a strong one-two punch of humor that seems to be gathering more confidence week to week. Last night

Tune-In Reminder: Thursday Night Premiere Bonanza

Just a quick reminder that there's a ton of new television launching tonight, between series premieres, season premieres, and a secret advance peek at a new FX comedy series kicking off next year. So what should you be sure to set your DVR for tonight? Here goes? Season Five of Bones kicks off tonight at 8 pm ET/PT with a premiere ("Harbingers in a Fountain"), in which Brennan returns from a dig in Guatemala; Angela's psychic, Avalon Harmonia (Cyndi Lauper) reveals while reading Angela's tarot cards that there are multiple bodies buried under a Washington, DC fountain; Sweets certifies Booth mentally fit to return to duty after his brain surgery, but Booth is still experiencing some side effects from his coma. (You can read my advance review of the season premiere here .) At 8:30 pm, it's the start of Season Two of comedy Parks and Recreation on NBC. (You can read my advance review of the first two episodes of the season here .) Fringe returns to FOX at 9 p

Channel Surfing: Ed Norton Drops By "Modern Family," Bryan Fuller and Bryan Singer Team Up at NBC, Anna Camp Heads to "The Office," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Ed Norton will guest star on an upcoming episode of ABC's new comedy series Modern Family . Norton will play "the bassist of a famous band whom Claire (Julie Bowen) hires as an anniversary surprise for husband Phil (Ty Burrell)," writes Ausiello. His episode is slated to air in November. ( Entertainment Weekly 's Ausiello Files ) Pushing Daisies ' Bryan Fuller and Bryan Singer are teaming up to develop SelleVision , a comedic one-hour adaptation of Augusten Burrough's novel, which is set behind the scenes at a home shopping network. Fuller will write the pilot script while Singer is attached to direct; both will executive produce with Mark Bozek and Russell Nuce. Universal Media Studio is behind the adaptation. "We were all big fans of Augusten and the book, and we all got along great," Fuller told Variety . "So we decided to get

Channel Surfing: Lena Headey Crowned for "Thrones," HBO Goes to the Mattresses for "Boardwalk Empire," Pam Gets New Mom on "Office," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. The Chicago Tribune 's Maureen Ryan is reporting that former Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles star Lena Headey has signed on to star in HBO's fantasy drama pilot Game of Thrones , based on the novel series by George R.R. Martin. Headey, who toplined the now-canceled Terminator , would play Cersei Lannister, described by Ryan as "a woman of royal blood who is every bit as smart, cunning and devious as the powerful men around her." She joins a cast for the pilot (directed by The Visitor 's Tom McCarthy) that includes Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage, Mark Addy, Jennifer Ehle, and a slew of others. Headey's character is the sister of Jamie Lannister (Coster-Waldau) and the wife of King Robert (Addy). ( Chicago Tribune 's The Watcher ) Elsewhere at HBO, the pay cabler has given a series order to period drama Boardwalk Empire from executive producers Martin Scorsese and Terence Wint

Channel Surfing: Mindy Kaling Gets Universal Deal, Josh Schwartz Talks "Chuck," HBO Goes to New Orleans with "Treme," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. The Office co-star/writer Mindy Kaling has signed an overall deal with NBC and Universal Media Studios under which she will continue to write for and star in The Office as well as develop a new comedy project which will be a vehicle for the actress. "This is my first step in a Transformers-style way to take over the whole world," joked Kaling. "I've only ever worked for NBC, and I've felt an enormous amount of support from the executives there." Kaling says she is drawn to workplace comedies as well as buddy series such as HBO's Flight of the Conchords or projects focusing on women. ( Variety ) There's still no news on the fate of NBC's Chuck , despite a massive fan-based initiative to create buzz for a third season of the action-comedy. The Hollywood Reporter 's Matthew Belloni talks to Chuck co-creator/executive producer Josh Schwartz about the series' rabid fan base, Lily , the