The Office Season 7 spoilers and news
Wednesday, May 11th, 2011 | 383 comments
July 30, 2010: Hitfix.com
Excerpts from Hitfix’s interview with Paul Lieberstein:
We’re going to try to replace Michael Scott in a way that he would be replaced on the show, where they would search for someone new. And we will do it on air.
I want to know what Dunder-Mifflin would do. I think they would take a good look at who’s there, who’s capable. They might try someone. Maybe it will work, maybe it won’t. They might bring in someone from the outside first, and maybe that will work and maybe it won’t.
[Gabe] has no personal strength, even though he has the authority. And that dynamic, I find very funny. I think we’ve got to bring that out more. And then, when we brought in Kathy Bates, we talked about a lower-level Ross Perot. That’s a fun character, and things can happen a little more emotionally. She can get a little bit angrier, whereas before everyone was corporate.
Craig’s one of the candidates for coming up and being manager.
So we’re going to find out relatively early that Michael is leaving?
No. People in the real world know, but it doesn’t feel real to me that you know you’re going to leave a job in a year – at least a job like that. Again, we’ll try to respect the world.
We got [Amy Ryan] back for an arc. And then I expect it will play into Michael leaving.
In our premiere, we deal with nepotism. Michael hires his nephew. He’s not the most conscientious worker. We deal with the office dynamic about that. Timothy Olyphant’s going to come, and he’s going to play this salesman who is just kind of a threat to Dunder-Mifflin. He’s fantastic. He ends up beating out Michael, Dwight and Jim together, and selling at higher prices. So they do a little bit of a sting: they set up a fake company to try to figure out how he sells so well. Michael is going to come in with a cold sore one day, and he’s going to learn that that’s a form of herpes, and he’s going to feel that he has to contact every woman he’s ever been with and let them know that he has herpes.
Tipster: Anthony C.
July 30, 2010: Examiner.com
Excerpts from Examiner.com’s interview with Angela Kinsey:
I do know that Holly (Amy Ryan) is going to come back a few episodes so that’s going to be interesting. There’s a lot more Dwight and Angela stuff already just in the first week back. It’s kind of fun because we have this procreation contract, and Angela’s really holding him to it! She’s wanting to get preggers! So there’s some really funny stuff with her pressuring him for sex and making appointments for sex and things like that.
I know that the whole Erin / Andy thing is going to have a twist, though I’m not sure how. They’re sort of like this cute couple who is always miscommunicating, and I think that’s going to come into play. Jim and Pam — there’s going to be an episode where [Cecelia] is baptized and everyone weighs in on it. That hopefully won’t be too horribly inappropriate! (Laughs.)
One storyline I left out that is hilarious — there’s an incident where Michael is required to go to counseling with Toby. That’s going to be hilarious because he hates Toby, and now he’s going to have to open up.
July 30, 2010: TCA Press Tour
During the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour today, NBC announced the following tidbits about ‘The Office.’
- Kathy Bates is returning: Oscar and Golden Globe Award winner Kathy Bates (“Misery,” “Titanic”) will reprise her guest-starring role in “The Office” next season as Jo Bennett, the tough CEO of Sabre who re-visits the Scranton office.
- Show runners are planning Steve Carell’s replacement, but it will be a “mystery” who it will be. Angela Bromstad, NBC’s Primetime Entertainment President, said “It’s just become publicly known that Steve is leaving, but we have known for some time. [Executive producers] Paul Lieberstein and Greg Daniels have a plan in terms of who will replace Michael so there will be some storylines leading to that and there will be a mystery as who it will be.”
July 29, 2010: Michael Schur
From Mike’s Twitter page:
“I just ‘acted’ in a scene wearing wool clothes and a neckbeard. Nice to see all my old buddies again. Not nice to wear wool clothes in July.”
July 26: Michael Schur
From Mike’s Twitter page:
“Fans of visual nonsense: it seems Mose Schrute will be appearing, once, briefly, at Dunder Mifflin next season. Prepare yourselves.”
Best. News. Ever.
July 16, 2010: Melora Hardin
From Melora’s Twitter page: “It’s official!!! Jan is gonna be BACK this season!!!!!”
Holly and Jan are coming back? Oh boy…
July 15, 2010: Zap2It
[Paul] Lieberstein tells Zap2it that [Amy] Ryan will appear in a whopping eight episodes. That’s right: you’ll get to see the Holly-Michael magic for a full third of the season.
The groundwork for Holly’s return was laid in last season’s finale, when Michael asked Sabre CEO Jo (Kathy Bates) if she could bring Holly back. The show was preparing for it behind the scenes as well; Lieberstein says the producers were already talking to Ryan when they were writing the finale.
Season 7 will find Jo making good on her promise to Michael, but “Holly is not happy at all about coming back to Scranton.” She’s built a pretty good life with boyfriend A.J. (Rob Huebel — Lieberstein isn’t sure yet if he’ll return as well) and doesn’t want to leave it.
Dwight’s (Rainn Wilson) efforts to buy the building that houses Dunder Mifflin were successful, which Lieberstein says will result in the salesman/beet farmer becoming overworked and open up new avenues for Jim (John Krasinski) to pull pranks.
[Kathy] Bates will return as Jo in the season premiere, but she’s also starring in NBC’s midseason series “Harry’s Law,” so Lieberstein isn’t sure if she’ll be able to do more than that.
Jo’s son (who hasn’t been cast yet) will come to Dunder Mifflin as part of a series of “low-level” jobs he’s doing at various units of Sabre.
Andy (Ed Helms) will perform in a community theater production. “We think it will be ‘Sweeney Todd,’” Lieberstein says.
We’ll let Lieberstein describe the last one himself: “Michael gets a cold sore, and he finds out that’s [a form of] herpes, so he feels the need to call every woman he’s ever been with and inform them.”
Tipster: Anthony C
July 14, 2010: Ask Ausiello
Question: Though I can’t imagine The Office without Michael Scott, I’m more concerned about Holly and Michael getting their much-needed reunion before he bids adieu. Any chance this will happen? —Meaghan
Ausiello: I’d say there’s a very good chance considering the fact that [exclusive scoop alert!] Amy Ryan (a.k.a. Holly) is not only returning to The Office, but will be playing a sizable role in the show’s upcoming seventh season. “We set her return up in the finale, so it would be the biggest [cop-out] of all time if we didn’t [follow through] on it,” says coexec producer and cast member Mindy Kaling. “She’s definitely coming back.”
June 29, 2010: TV Guide
How will they explain Steve Carell’s departure from The Office? — Lowell
MICKEY: Well, obviously it’s still very early, but our mole tells us that one plan reunites Michael with his “soupsnake,” Holly, over the course of Carell’s final season and then transfers them both back to Nashua. Here’s the interesting part: In this scenario, nobody would replace Carell in the cast. Instead, the already large and talented ensemble would step up to fill the void, with Jim and Dwight’s back-and-forth taking center stage. But maybe talented British actor Ricky Gervais is available?
June 28, 2010: Watch With Kristin
Neil in Santa Fe, N.M: Please tell me that Holly will be back on The Office next season! Michael needs his other half.
How about I promise that another ex will be back? Is that the same? No? Well, take what you can get because Jan is about to be all up in Dunder Mifflin, er, Sabre next season. “I am going to be back,” Melora Hardin happily tells us. “I’m going to be doing a guest starring thing next year.” A guest starring thing? Perhaps that means more than one episode, but whatever it means, we hope this thing involves another inappropriate baby shower. Also, since we now know Steve is serious about leaving The Office, can we please get Holly Flak back ASAP?!
June 26, 2010: Access Hollywood
Some excerpts of Steve Carell’s recent interview with Access Hollywood:
“I don’t think [Michael Scott's departure] should be made into a big deal,” he told AccessHollywood.com’s Laura Saltman of his “Office” character’s departure at the junket for his latest film, “Despicable Me,” on Saturday. “That’s what I would favor.”
The star, who previously stated that the upcoming season will “probably” be his last year on the NBC show, added that he’d like to surprise people with his exit.
“I always like when the show surprises people, because [a party] may be what you expect when he leaves,” Steve said. “Maybe not tie everything up in a really pretty bow. I like that grey area of life.”
He added that the show, which has chronicled the lives of an awkward group of Dunder-Mifflin employees for six seasons, will go on.
“The show is going to continue,” Steve said. “It’s such a great ensemble, there would be no reason to not continue.”
June 18, 2010: New York Magazine’s Vulture
At the Webby Awards, held earlier this week at Cipriani Wall Street, we asked host B.J. Novak what he thought of recent web phenomenon ChatRoulette. Turns out, Novak has already tried to use it for a plotline on The Office. “We had our Office writers’ assistant Kelly Hannon go on ChatRoulette for us to do research for a potential story line,” he told us. “I’m surprised we haven’t been sued for putting her through that. It’s a dangerous place, ChatRoulette.”
June 16, 2010: Ausiello Files
Sources confirm to me exclusively that the NBC hitcom has just promoted Zach Woods — a.k.a. Sabre VIP (Very Insecure Person) Gabe — to series regular for season 7.
June 15, 2010: MSNBC
“I think Steve Carell is the greatest actor alive,” [B.J.] Novak said at the 2010 Webby Awards, which he hosted. “The only way to keep the show wonderful is after he leaves — if he does leave — is to show more of everyone else. We have a lot of characters that people would like to see more of.”
Though Novak is concerned about the future, he’s focusing all his efforts on the show’s upcoming eighth season. What to expect? Novak said that Michael Scott will finally grow up as he resolves some of his issues, and Andy will play a bigger role along with fan-favorite Dwight (who “will learn the perils of power,” Novak said).
As for his own character, Novak said that the spiteful office temp will be balancing a chaotic relationship with Kelly while trying to break into the online world with his social networking tool “Woof”.
“There’s a lot of great character moments this year,” Novak said reassuringly. “I think it’s going to be a really funny year.”
June 6, 2010: Mindy Kaling, Twitter
big basketball sporting event tonight guys and i’m prepared to live tweet it. but first: hastily finish this office episode about a party
April 2010: BBC Radio
In a BBC Radio interview, Steve Carell states that The Office Season 7 may be his last:
Question: How long will you stay with The Office for? How many more series? How long does your contract run?
Steve: Contract through next season.
Question: And will you stay after that?
Steve: I don’t think so. I think that will probably be my last year.
Listen to a clip of that portion of the interview here.
March 5, 2010: NBC
NBC has renewed three more of its Thursday-night comedies – “30 Rock” (9:30-10 p.m. ET), “The Office” (9-9:30 p.m. ET) and the freshman series “Community” (8-8:30 p.m. ET) for the 2010-11 season. The returning programs join the previously announced “Parks and Recreation” (Thursdays, 8:30-9 p.m. ET) that also will return for next season.
Currently in its sixth season, “The Office” is network television’s #1 primetime scripted series among adults 18-34 and is NBC’s #1 scripted series in the key demographic of adults 18-49.
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I think the cliffhanger is that Pammers is preggers!
I never thought they would. All the guest stars are just a distraction for the cliffhanger.
Argh. Just as I suspected. They’re going to leave us hanging for yet another summer! Should have known. Sigh.
[from tanster: saw that, thanks!]
Thanks for catching that, you guys!
The PR release that I took the original information from incorrectly omitted John’s name. I asked NBC and they said John is definitely in next week’s ep, so I added his name back on this post. :)
Is it possible they just omitted John’s name by mistake? It’s a big mistake, but it could happen. Even so, even if he isn’t in the episode, his name would still be in the credits yes? This is strange.
I think “Goodbye Michael” worked in such a way that, if the next few episodes don’t work for me, I can feel satisfied in not watching anymore and having that be the finale. It has a very very sweet conclusion, and with slight exception there’s a neat little conclusion to several things (Angela’s senator thing clearly not, but oh well.) Even Erin is given a nice little neat wrapping, though it’s clear that future episodes will be opening that again. I could make the final scene with Deangelo as one of ironic humor, being that Michael is gone but now they are stuck with this nutty guy.
But I’ll give it a few episodes to see how it feels. At the start of season 7, I promised myself I’d watch til the end of the season thinking that Michael’s farewell would be the finale. And I will still do that.
I wonder where Jim and Toby will be when Dwight takes over..
Krasinski isn’t one of the supporting actors for Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager.
I don’t know if anyone caught this:
You can see Cody Horn in one of the scenes from the promo last night.
right after Dwight’s gun goes off (hilarious) the camera moves over to show creed go for cover, and in Dwight’s seat is Cody Horn. New employee!!
[from tanster: thank you! :) ]
[from tanster: saw that, thanks!]
Yes, DJ Jazzy, they definitely should have had Tanster in the finale – her character already has experience in the paper industry from her time at the Buffalo branch before it closed – she could have interviewed for Michael’s job and given Merv Bronte a run for his money!
[from tanster: lol, awesome!]
Merv bronte is the greatest name i have ever heard for a t.v show. Whoever/whomever?? the boss is should have had that name
Aww, they’re already done filming? Tanster, I was hoping you’d announce news like you’re visiting the set for some finale goodies :(
[from tanster: sorry, not this year. :( ]
Tanster, do you know if there has been any recent word on whether Kathy Bates/Jo Bennett is back for the season finale? I know that it was mentioned earlier this year, but lately not at all. Who else would be conducting the interviews for regional manager? (I guess Gabe or Toby, but still…) Thanks!
[from tanster: thanks, saw that!]
Love the name Bronte! (Reminds me of the movie Green Card.)
P.S. Can I renew my call for Gabe as boss? He’s turning into such a jerk – he would make a perfect boss!
[from tanster: thanks!]
Robert California! HAHAHA!