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6 Reasons ‘The Office’ Was At Its Best In Season 8

Anthony Ocasio — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:59:30 +0000

Let’s face it: television fans are a fickle bunch. While watching a particular series may be “must see TV” during the course of one season, that same series can be easily relegated down to a Netflix “wait” or an on-sale DVD release.

When The Office lost Steve Carell toward the end of season 7, fans were appropriately concerned with what might happen to television’s longtime comedy staple. Completely admitting that The Office has generally been hit-or-miss since its most famed seasons, one-time fans of the series should know that they’re missing out on some absolutely wonderful television.

Not only has The Office returned to its former glory with this past season, but it has also evolved itself in such a way that longtime viewers of the series might actually say that The Office season 8 is ...

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2012 TV Finale Schedule: A Complete Guide

Anthony Ocasio — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:19:20 +0000

The TV finale season is upon us! With over 70 television season finales airing during the month of May, bidding a summer farewell to your favorite television series may not be as easy as you think. Fortunately, we’ve attempted to take much of the hassle out of your upcoming viewing by creating a complete schedule for the May season finales.

Beginning slow with Impractical Jokers, Last Man Standing and In Plain Sight finales, the true viewing madness of May doesn’t start until the second week of the month, with New Girl, The Big Bang Theory, Fringe, as well as 16 other finales.

Continuing into the third week of May: the most television finale-packed time of the entire month presents 33 season finales for your viewing pleasure (or scheduling nightmare), including Bones, How I Met Your ...

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‘The Office’ Showrunner Steps Down For Dwight Spin-off

Scott Stoute — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 03:30:49 +0000

The Office showrunner Paul Lieberstein has created more than just simple water cooler gossip with his announcement to depart the hit NBC comedy in favor of a previously announced, potential Dwight-centered spinoff, currently dubbed The Farm.

Lieberstein currently heads up the writing staff and co-produces for the series, and he can be found in the on screen role of soft-spoken HR rep, Toby Flenderson. The possible spin-off would follow Dwight’s (Rainn Wilson) move from the city to the Schrute family beet farm, where he will also be running a Bed and Breakfast.

The Schrute farm has appeared in several episodes of season 8 and idea will be tested out on an upcoming episode of The Office later this season. If received well, it’s expected to make a midseason ...

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TV Picks: Thursday, March 8th – ‘Awake,’ ‘The Office’ & More…

Anthony Ocasio — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:52:55 +0000

Your television DVR skills need to be at their all-time high to fit everything in to your viewing schedule tonight. While most of the week has been quiet in terms of programming, Thursday brings a veritable treasure trove of comedies and dramas.

30 Rock has Kenneth join standards and practices; Parks & Recreation goes on hiatus after tonight, and returns on April 19; Jim tries to save Dwight from being fired on The Office; Awake finds Michael having to deal with grieving (in both realities); comedy legends Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner sit down with David Steinberg to talk about their careers on Inside Comedy; and much (much) more…

8pm

30 Rock – “Standards And Practices (NBC)
The Big Bang Theory – “The Weekend Vortex” (CBS)

8:30pm

Parks & ...

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James Spader Leaving ‘The Office’ After One Season

Kevin Yeoman — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:38:24 +0000

In the event that NBC orders a ninth season of The Office, actor James Spader has announced that he will not be reprising his role as Robert California, CEO of Dunder Mifflin/Sabre. Instead, Spader joins the growing list of actors and creatives opting out of the long-running sitcom to pursue other ventures.

Spader’s role originally consisted of two scenes meant for the end of season 7, in which a replacement for Michael Scott (Steve Carell) was to be named. However, according to The Office executive producer Paul Liberstein, the character of Robert California and Spader’s performance, caught on to the degree that the actor ended up sticking around for season 8. And as the decision to leave the program is entirely Spader’s, apparently, one season was all he had any interest in doing.

In ...

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Fox Orders Mindy Kaling Pilot; Will Leave ‘The Office’

Anthony Ocasio — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:14:41 +0000

Whether NBC likes it or not, the end may be near for The Office, as Fox orders a half-hour comedy pilot from series star Mindy Kaling – which, if picked up, will force her to leave the series at the end of The Office season 8.

The currently untitled project will star Kaling as an OB/GYN, who is described as a “young Bridget Jones type doctor trying to navigate both her personal and professional lives.” Kaling will also serve as an executive producer and writer, and will be joined by The Office producer Howard Klein.

Originally developed for NBC under Kaling’s current development deal with Universal Television, the network decided to pass on the concept, which allowed the pilot to be shopped to other networks. Aiming to find the perfect companion for their freshman series ...

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‘The Office’: NBC Developing Dwight Spin-off; Will Leave in Season 9

Anthony Ocasio — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:41:47 +0000

Dunder Mifflin may have another job opening come next year, as NBC is currently working on a spin-off of The Office centered around everyone’s favorite assistant regional manager, Dwight K Schrute III (Rainn Wilson), for a potential midseason replacement in 2013.

The spin-off series, which has yet to officially be announced by NBC, is described as a family comedy and will focus on the Schrute family beet farm and bed & breakfast that has been hilariously featured several times over the course of the series. Spearheaded by Wilson and The Office executive producer (and Toby) Paul Lieberstein, the proverbial seeds for Dwight’s upcoming spin-off series will be planted in an upcoming episode of The Office.

Speaking to Deadline, a source close to The Office reveals how the spin-off idea came about, as well as how they’re going to ...

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NBC Orders 8 Comedy Pilots From Roseanne, Fallon, ‘Friends’ Producers & More

Anthony Ocasio — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:17:59 +0000

These past few years have been incredibly rough on NBC. Ever since the late night war of 2010, which left the network’s primetime line-up in complete disarray, NBC has been struggling to regain the confidence of the viewers it lost. And from the looks of this year’s comedy pilot orders, it appears that the network may be pulling out the big guns to do just that.

With 8 comedy pilot orders in total, NBC is attempting to further develop their already successful primetime comedy block by securing potential new series from some of the entertainment industry’s heavy hitters, including The Office (US) producer Greg Daniels, The Hangover Part II writer Scot Armstrong, Community producer Hilary Winston, Weeds producer Stephen Falk, Late Night‘s Jimmy Fallon, two separate series from Friends producers Dana Klein and Scott ...

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The 12 Most WTF TV Moments of 2011

Anthony Ocasio — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:32:14 +0000

With 2012 in full swing, we took a cathartic look back at the entirety of 2011 to track down the 12 most WTF moments of last year.

While it’s highly likely that you may know a few of the moments on the list, there’s no doubt that you’ll be surprised by how many WTF moments simply passed you by.

So before your mind starts filling up with all of the new and returning programs of 2012, let’s take a look back at the 12 most WTF moments of 2011.

(Mild SPOILERS Included)

Want to look back at more TV moments of 2011?
The 15 Most Shocking TV Character Deaths of 2011
The 5 Most Popular TV Moments of 2011

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‘The Office’ Season 8 Premiere: And The New Boss Is… [Spoilers!]

Anthony Ocasio — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 02:03:45 +0000

After months of wondering who would take over Michael Scott’s (Steve Carell) position on The Office, it was finally revealed in the season 8 premiere who will be serving as the new regional manager for Dunder Mifflin. But he wasn’t the first choice.

As it was presented in the premiere, Robert California (James Spader) was originally given Scott’s old position. Unfortunately, upon walking in to the office for his first day, he quickly left in disgust of its inhabitants and headed to Florida – where he talked Jo Bennett (Kathy Bates) out of her old job and became the new CEO of Sabre, Dunder Mifflin’s parent company.

So who is the new boss? Cornell alum Andy Bernard (Ed Helms). Even though Andy was presented as the ...

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DVD/Blu-ray Breakdown: September 6, 2011

Mike Eisenberg — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:48:01 +0000

The highlight of this week’s home video slate is the release of X-Men: First Class on DVD and Blu-ray. While it does not come out until Friday, you’ll have some other worthy options on Tuesday.

Everything Must Go and Hanna both provide home audiences with indie film choices. On one hand you’ve got the latest Will Ferrell dramedy, and on the other is a unique thriller unlike any other this year.

In addition to the high profile new releases, one of the most polarizing classics of all time hits Blu-ray. Scarface is a film that people seem to either love or hate. Either way, Universal Studios has provided it with a special edition Steelbook release.

The following titles can be found on DVD and Blu-ray.

-

NEW RELEASES

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James Spader Joins ‘The Office’ Season 8, Replaces Kathy Bates

Anthony Ocasio — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:02:34 +0000

After a lengthy wait, it appears that the job search for Michael Scott’s replacement on The Office yielded the fan-favorite psychological manipulator Robert California, played by James Spader. Unfortunately, Mr. California was too manipulative, and he is now the new CEO of Dunder Mifflin’s parent company, Sabre.

For a brief moment in time during the fictional summer break that The Office documentary crew takes, the Scranton division of Dunder Mifflin had a new manager, and all was well in Pennsylvania. But that didn’t last long.

According to executive producer – and Toby Flenderson alter-ego – Paul Lieberstein, Robert California was “hired over the summer as the new manager, but within hours, got himself promoted. Within days, he took over the company.” Lieberstein describes California as an “über-salesman that has a power to convince ...

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‘Modern Family’ & ‘Hawaii Five-0′ Top DVR Ratings; ‘Supernatural’ & ‘Fringe’ Gain

Michael Crider — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:50:50 +0000

Television’s busiest number-crunchers at TV by the Numbers have released their list of the most-recorded shows in America, with ABC’s Modern Family leading the pack. Shows like House, The Event and Supernatural got a significant bump in addition to first-run ratings.

Recorded episodes are making up a bigger and bigger chunk of the television audience, and the trend has been consistent for the 2010-1011 season.

For example, Modern Family scored an average of 11.2 million viewers for every live episode, plus 3.5 million DVR viewers – a whopping 31% increase.

The landscape of television continues to shift as more and more homes are equipped with place-shifting DVRs. While most of the shows in the top 20 aren’t in serious danger of cancellation, the ratings bump from DVR viewers in the ...

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‘The Office’: You Haven’t Seen The Last Of Michael Scott

Anthony Ocasio — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 22:58:00 +0000

Last night’s episode of The Office may have been a tearful goodbye to one of television’s favorite characters, but as it turns out, we may not have seen the last of Michael Scott.

Speaking with The Office producer Randy Cordray on FusedFilm’s FusedTV podcast, Marc Vibbert, Justin Vactor and I discussed anything and everything related to television production with Cordray, including the evolution of the single-camera comedy and, most importantly, The Office.

While Cordray was quick to reveal that it costs $150,000 a day to take ‘The Office’ on location to film, the television veteran made sure not to reveal any SPOILERS of what’s to come. Fortunately, while talking in-length about Steve Carell’s final days on The Office, and the wrap-party that followed (including a cake ...

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The Office: ‘Goodbye, Michael’ Review & Discussion – Steve Carell’s Last Episode

Anthony Ocasio — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 03:12:59 +0000

Update: ‘The Office’: You Haven’t Seen The Last Of Michael Scott

Steve Carell’s final episode of The Office, titled “Goodbye, Michael,” proved to be a truly wonderful and extremely emotional farewell for one of television’s most beloved characters.

As the episode began, it was hard to see exactly how the departure of Michael Scott was going to be handled from a storytelling standpoint. With Michael and Dwight (Rainn Wilson) waxing poetic about possible ways to avoid being eaten by Colorado bears, the opening (with its abrupt ending) failed to lay the comedic and/or emotional groundwork for what was to come.

And that, for the most part, is how the first half of the special extended episode felt. While the audience knew that this was Steve Carell’s final episode, the actually implementation of that story ...

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2011 TV Season Finale Schedule

Anthony Ocasio — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:39:22 +0000

Ready your DVR and replace the batteries in your remote (and, no, switching them around doesn’t count), because it’s that time of year again – to say goodbye to many of your favorite television shows.

While most, if not all, of your favorites shows will be returning this fall, there happens to be a select few series that are signing off for good – even if they’re not yet aware of it. The most notable television show coming to an end this year is Smallville. After 10 years on the air, fans will finally see Clark Kent embrace his destiny and become Superman.

Even though Smallville isn’t the only series coming to an end, it is one of the only shows to have officially scheduled its series finale. As many other series finales may ...

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Jim Carrey to Guest Star in ‘The Office’ Season 7 Finale

Kevin Yeoman — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 13:55:58 +0000

We all knew the season finale of The Office was going to be a big deal, but now NBC is pulling out all the stops by coaxing funnyman Jim Carrey into making a guest appearance.

Carrey is set to play one of several potential candidates to fill the shoes of departing office manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell). The list of other ‘potentials’ reads like a telethon’s dream. Will Arnett, Ricky Gervais, Ray Romano, Catherine Tate (Gulliver’s Travels, Doctor Who) and James Spader will join Will Ferrell in contending for the role of Scranton, PA head honcho.

Ferrell has already made one appearance in his four-episode stint as Deangelo Vickers (wonder how long he’s been holding on to that one). While it seemed that Mr. Vickers was all but handed the position, we can rest ...

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‘The Office’ Will Ferrell Promo; More Guest Stars Added to Season Finale

Rob Frappier — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:51:31 +0000

Will Ferrell and Steve Carell scored comic gold as co-stars in the 2006 film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Now, the pair are reuniting on the small screen as Ferrell joins the cast of The Office for a four-episode guest stint. Will the results be equally hilarious?

Following in the footsteps of other notable season seven guest stars – including The Office creator Ricky Gervais who reprised his role as the original clueless office manager David Brent – Ferrell lends a heavy dose of star power to Steve Carell’s final season on the show.

In related Office news: Ferrell isn’t the only big name helping the show close out its season: Ray Romano, James Spader and Doctor Who‘s Catherine Tate will all be guest starring in the hour-long season finale.

We covered the announcement of ...

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Ricky Gervais & Will Arnett To Appear In ‘The Office’ Season 7 Finale

Kevin Yeoman — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:43:07 +0000

Who will replace Michael Scott? This question has been lingering around The Office since the announcement of Steve Carell’s imminent departure.

For all intents and purposes, the answer may have already come with the announcement that Will Arnett and Ricky Gervais will be guest starring in The Office season 7 one-hour finale. As the door closes on Steve Carell’s tenure on The Office, NBC has lined up a bevy of guest stars to help close out the series’ seventh season.While it is speculative to assume Arnett’s involvement is anything more than a simple guest spot, the addition of the The Office creator, Ricky Gervais, does lend credence to the notion that everyone’s favorite Arrested Development star has landed the gig.

Though Gervais briefly reprised his role of Wernham Hogg Paper ...

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NBC Renews ‘The Office’, ‘Community’ and ‘Parks and Recreation’

Michael Crider — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 13:15:25 +0000

Three regulars on NBC’s Thursday night comedy lineup for the 2011-2012 season are sticking around for another year. Community, The Office and Parks and Recreation have all been given single-season extensions.

The Office is the longest-running scripted comedy on NBC’s schedule, currently in its seventh season. Despite the upcoming departure of longtime headliner Steve Carell, The Office has maintained its impressive ratings opposite CBS’s comedy lineup and is the #1 sitcom for NBC. The show has averaged 7 million viewers per episode for its current season.

Parks and Recreation is currently in its third season. The show is from the same creative team behind the US version of The Office and aims for the same demographics, with former Saturday Night Live cast member Amy Poehler starring. Parks and Recreation has lagged ...

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