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Steve Carell Shares His Thoughts On A Possible Reboot Of ‘The Office’

By Caitlin Albers
Published on: 03:20 PST, Dec 29, 2018

The world’s best boss won’t be returning to Scranton anytime soon, or at all for that matter. Steve Carell played Michael Scott on the hit NBC sitcom the Office from 2005 to 2011. Carell famously left the show early in the middle of Season 7, leaving the remaining Dunder Mifflin employees without their head honcho for two-and-a-half more seasons. There was a significant change in the sitcom’s ambiance after Carell’s departure and the show ultimately went off the air in 2013 with nine seasons and 201 episodes under its belt.

Now that television is in the era of the reboot, fans of the Office are begging and pleading for the show to come back. Sure, other fans would like to leave well enough alone and let the show be the great sitcom that it was, but there is always the curiosity. An Office reboot has been discussed for a few years, which is somewhat silly since it’s only been off the air for five. Most of the cast is asked about the possibility in interviews, and while some of them seem to be on board, Steve Carell has made it clear he won’t be returning. In a new interview with Collider, the actor breaks it all down.

“I’ll tell you, no… I just can’t see it being the same thing, and I think most folks would want it to be the same thing, but it wouldn’t be. Ultimately, I think it’s maybe best to leave well enough alone and just let it exist as what it was. You’d literally have to have all of the same writers, the same producers, the same directors, and the same actors, and even with all of those components, it just wouldn’t be the same. So, no. But, I love the show. It was the most exciting time, and all of those people are my friends. We all love it. It was a special thing. It was a special thing before people thought it was a special thing. It was special to us, before other people started feeling that way.”

While the show saw great success on NBC, it really didn’t gain its cult following until the last several years when it became available to stream on Netflix in 2013. The availability of nine seasons had old fans of the show ecstatic as they could forget the days of switching out DVDs every five episodes. New fans found the show perusing through the streaming platform after it was suggested to them for also watching Friends.

“Whether it does or doesn’t, the fact that other people have found it, over the years, is really cool. It’s really flattering that it’s somehow caught people’s attention, so many years later. But, I don’t think you can recapture that same magic. I really think it comes down to that. If it was magic. I don’t want to overstate it. It was just a TV show. I just wouldn’t want to make the mistake of making a less good version of it. The odds wouldn’t be in its favor, in terms of it recapturing exactly what it was, the first time.”

The magic Carell speaks of would be impossible to recreate as many of the show’s main characters have moved on to bigger projects and going back to Dunder Mifflin would be somewhat of a downgrade. Carell’s movie career continues to trend upward, with three movie debuts this year. Welcome to Marwen, Vice, and Beautiful Boy have all been praised in their own right, despite not doing stellar at the box office. The actor also has an untitled TV series in the works for 2019, as well as a part in the upcoming Minecraft movie.

John Krasinski (Jim Halpert) is on his way to becoming one of the biggest directors in Hollywood, after blowing the world away with The Quiet Place earlier this year. He also has one season of Prime’s successful Jack Ryan series under his belt and has starred in big-time flicks like 13 Hours and Detroit.

Jenna Fischer (Pam Halpert) is one of the former cast members who has been open to an Office reboot, despite currently having her own sitcom, Splitting Up Together, on ABC. The actress responded to a tweet from Office writer and star Mindy Kaling in 2016 about wanting a reboot.

While it seems highly unlikely at this time, fans will have to keep crossing their fingers for something to change in the future. For now, there’s always Will & Grace, Murphy Brown, and Gilmore Girls!

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