'The Office' Reboot: Who Could Return for NBC's Potential Revival?
As Angela Kinsey and Creed Bratton have expressed interest, THR examines who may or may not be available to reprise their roles.
Let's be clear to start: NBC reviving The Office for a potential tenth season is far from a done deal. The network has yet to comment or confirm any details about a potential revival of Greg Daniels-created workplace comedy.
Sources confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that NBC is eyeing a potential revival of the comedy about paper supply company Dunder Mifflin, with a search under way for a new regional manager to replace Steve Carell's Michael Scott. Carell, sources confirm, is not expected to be part of any potential revival. Sources caution that a deal is far from set for a revival, which could include some returning faces as well as a new cast of characters.
The biggest test for any Office revival will be in discovering new faces as the original series made stars out of Carell, Rainn Wilson, Mindy Kaling, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Craig Robinson and Ellie Kemper, among others.
With that said, THR takes a look at what some of The Office's central staff are up to and examines the chances that they could return — should, you know, NBC actually greenlight a revival — and should the stars actually want to revisit the past. (Listed below are actors who appeared in half of the show's 201 total episodes.)
Steve Carell (Michael Scott): He exited the series in season seven, returning only for the series finale, and has focused on TV producing (TBS' Angie Tribeca) and feature films since.
Chances of returning: Zero.
Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute): Since being eyed to topline an Office spinoff of his own (RIP, The Farm), Wilson has explored drama with Fox's short-lived Backstrom and a current role on CBS All Access' Star Trek: Discovery. On the feature side, he's remained busy, voicing Gargamel in The Smurfs: The Lost Village, and roles in indies like Permanent and Thom Pain, among others.
Chances of returning: 50-50
John Krasinski (Jim Halpert): The actor will make his first TV return since wrapping The Office in 2013 with the lead role in Amazon Studios' Jack Ryan franchise (due in 2018). That series is produced by Paramount Television, making a return in any regular capacity to NBC's Universal Television-produced reboot highly unlikely. On top of that, Krasinski has focused on raising his profile with features, including a role in awards vehicle Detroit and executive producing Manchester by the Sea, among others.
Chances of returning: Highly unlikely.
Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly): Fischer has ABC midseason comedy Splitting Up Together awaiting a slot on the schedule in 2018 and has feature The 15:17 to Paris also due next year. Since wrapping The Office, she's retained close ties with NBC, with a role on short-lived comedic drama You, Me and the Apocalypse and an arc on the since-canceled The Mysteries of Laura. Fischer was set to star opposite Matt LeBlanc on CBS' Man With a Plan but was recast after the pilot. Splitting Up Together is produced by Warner Bros. Television and should that series work, it would limit her availability for an Office visit. That said …
Chances of returning: 60-40
Leslie David Baker (Stanley Hudson): The actor, whose character retired at the end of the series, has retained a low profile since wrapping The Office, with roles on CMT's since-canceled Still the King and animated features Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie and the upcoming Happytime Murders.
Chances of returning: Why wouldn't he return?!
Brian Baumgartner (Kevin Malone): Baumgartner, whose character was fired from Dunder Mifflin in the finale, has floated from show to show after The Office with a steady stream of guest gigs on series including Life in Pieces, Hand of God, Chicago Fire, The Goldbergs, Scream Queens and Good Behavior. He had an uncredited role in Ghostbusters and a few minor film roles. He also reteamed with Office creator Greg Daniels for a project at ABC in 2012 that didn't go forward.
Chances of returning: Again, why wouldn't he come back?!
Angela Kinsey (Angela Schrute): A slam dunk here as Kinsey tweeted that she's just waiting for NBC's call to return. She also has remained busy post-Office, with roles on Fox's New Girl, NBC's Bad Judge, TBS' Your Family or Mine and Netflix's since-canceled Haters Back Off on top of a steady stream of film gigs.
Chances of returning: All NBC has to do is make the call.
Phyllis Smith (Phyllis Vance): The actress took a break after The Office and recently returned with a role on Netflix's The OA and a voice role in Inside Out.
Chances of returning: Again, why wouldn't she come back?!
Kate Flannery (Meredith Palmer): A regular voice on Cartoon Network's OK K.O.!, the actress has guest-starred on a long roster of series including Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, American Housewife, New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine on top of a handful of roles in low-budget films.
Chances of returning: Again, why wouldn't she come back?!
Creed Bratton (Creed Bratton): Per Kinsey, he's down to return as well. Bratton still has love for The Office, most recently performing a sing-along to his own version of the show's theme song (watch that, below).
Chances of returning: A lock.
Oscar Nunez (Oscar Martinez): We're going to consider Nunez a lock should Daniels run the Office revival and here's why: The duo remain close as the actor is starring on the prolific producer's TBS comedy People of Earth. Yes, that's produced by a different studio (Warner Horizon Television), but it'd be highly unlikely for both shows to be in production at the same time, especially given People of Earth's 10-episode orders. (Our best bet is that any revival of The Office would also be a short-order series, a la Will & Grace.)
Chances of returning: A lock.
B.J. Novak (Ryan Howard): Novak has been selective with his career choices since The Office. He's largely remained close with co-star Kaling, with a long-running role on The Mindy Project as well as film roles in both Smurfs features as well as The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and The Founder.
Chances of returning: Maybe for an episode or two.
Mindy Kaling (Kelly Kapoor): Here's where things get dicey. Many of The Office's stars who popped are unlikely to return for a revival, as most have made it a point to move beyond the show that helped make them a star. Kaling, fresh off the birth of her first child and wrapping The Mindy Project, next stars in big-budget features Ocean's 8 and A Wrinkle in Time. That said, she's keeping her hand in television with Champions, NBC's midseason comedy which she wrote, executive produces and recurs on. It's also produced by Universal Television, which helps open the door for a guest gig or two.
Chances of returning: As a guest star? Maybe.
Ed Helms (Andy Bernard): Helms has largely focused on features since The Office ended, including We're the Millers, Vacation, Love the Coopers, Central Intelligence and Chappaquiddick.
Chances of returning: Slim to none.
Paul Lieberstein (Toby Flenderson): The one-time Office showrunner (who would have also served in the same capacity on The Farm) remains close with Daniels after recurring on People of Earth and with Kaling after directing and guest-starring on Mindy Project. He's currently in postproduction on the feature Song of Back and Neck, in which he stars, directed, wrote and produced.
Chances of returning: A good bet.
Craig Robinson (Darryl Philbin): Robinson currently stars on Fox comedy Ghosted, produced by 20th Television. While the series is currently on the bubble, a new showrunner was recently brought in — which often is a good sign the network is committed to investing in a show's future beyond its freshman run. But that's not the biggest hurdle to getting the in-demand Robinson back, as the actor remains a prolific talent on the feature side with the Hot Tub Time Machine franchise, This Is the End, Sausage Party and multiple films in the works including Zeroville and An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn.
Chances of returning: Slim to none.
Ellie Kemper (Erin Hannon): Kemper went from NBC's The Office to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which moved from the network to Netflix, where it has become a critical favorite. The series is produced by Universal Television — opening the door for Kemper to have a larger role in an Office revival should she want to — but her time may be best spent on the feature side, where she's had roles in Smurfs: The Lost Village, The Lego Batman Movie, The Secret Life of Pets, Sex Tape and 21 Jump Street.
Chances of returning: Slim to none.
Who would you need to be included in an Office revival? Sound off in the comments, below.
