Sequel Series to The Office Greenlit for Peacock

Television

Hollywood is going back to yet another well for some easy money. According to a piece from The Hollywood Reporter, NBC Universal has greenlit a sequel/spin-off/continuation/milking of The Office, the massively popular sitcom based on the British original. There is no title yet, but the new series will take place in a Midwestern newsroom, where the documentary crew that filmed the goings on at Dunder Mifflin has found a new subject. Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore will play the leads. The new show comes from Greg Daniels, the first and last showrunner for The Office, and Michael Koman of  Nathan for You, with the creators of the original, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, producing. The series, which is currently untitled (they’re probably steamed that The Newsroom is taken), will air on Peacock. Here’s the synopsis:

“The documentary crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch is in search of a new subject when they discover a dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters.”

This sounds like it’s barely connected to The Office, but it’s being set in the same universe so Steve Carell and the other Office cast members can make guest appearances. Well, that and the built-in goodwill it’ll have by saying it’s a sequel to a wildly popular show. Peacock is, to say the least, struggling, so a move like this isn’t surprising. The Office ran for nine seasons, and it’s consistently one of the most-streamed shows, so it behooves NBC to try to capitalize on its popularity. Creatively, I don’t care one way or the other; this is the most hipsterish thing I’m in a position to say, but I’ve only seen the British version of The Office. I’ve seen bits and pieces of the American one, but never a full episode. That wasn’t a conscious choice or anything; I just never watched it. The British one is fantastic, however, and my biggest hope for this spin-off is that Rickey Gervais could show up as David Brent, perhaps asking the newspaper if they want to do a story about the band he manages. It’ll be interesting to see if this works for NBC; tying it to The Office is smart, but if it’s an entirely new cast in a new setting, will people still watch?