As all followers of the hit NBC comedy, "The Office," should certainly know by now, the series wrapped its seventh season without having found a permanent person to run the Scranton branch of the company. We learned from a recent Yahoo! TV article that the characters played by James Spader and Catherine Tate seemed to have the best interviews among a highly bizarre collection of candidates. No, wait, let's rephrase that: they seemed to have destroyed their chances for the job the least among the candidates.
At present, nothing is yet officially set for the coming season, but there has been considerable speculation, verging on belief, that James Spader, in the person of Robert California, will get the job. But wait, you may well ask, where does that leave Catherine Tate, a/k/a Nellie Bertram? You have only to read on.
Those who remember the Season 7 finale will recall Spader's character as a ruthless, ambitious individual; sort of a Dwight Schrute with brains. Yes, he will get the Scranton position, as the plan tentatively goes, but it will not be enough to satisfy him. At some point in the coming season, he will be gunning for CEO Jo Bennett's job and, lo and behold, he will get it. When that happens, Catherine Tate's character will occupy what was once Michael Scott's office.
If this seems to be a somewhat convoluted turn of events, there are practical considerations behind it. For one thing, the show's creators wanted more input from the CEO in the coming season. It turned out Kathy Bates, who plays Ms. Bennett, inexplicably got her show, "Harry's Law," picked up for a second season. And NBC wonders why it is not even close to being the number one network. In any case, "The Office" will need more of that executive's time than the incumbent can provide. The solution is to get a new CEO.
Also, Catherine Tate will not be immediately available, due also to scheduling conflicts. In the time it will take her to wrap those up, Robert California can busy himself plotting his coup d'etat from his base in Scranton.
This plot development can also fit logically in terms of the show's ongoing story. Remember, Nellie Bertram was present CEO Jo Bennett's personal favorite to get the Scranton job. Perhaps as the price for relinquishing her power to California, he has to accept her favorite to replace him in the local office.
Again, all these developments are still unofficial, but they would seem to make sense for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that both James Spader and Catherine Tate are excellent actors. Will either or both of them be in their positions when "The Office" ends its run? Now that is completely up in the air, which is where it belongs for now.
In the meantime, let us enjoy what promises to be a very entertaining season, even without Steve Carell to lend his comedic skills to the product.
Sources
http://www.ivillage.com/james-spader-new-office-boss/1-a-360754
http://www.officetally.com/the-office-season-8-spoilers-and-news
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/james-spader-talks-join-office-205504
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/offices-new-boss-british-actress-188306
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