When Michael Scott (Steve Carell) left Scranton, Dunder Mifflin was in need of a new manager, and The Office went with a controversial choice in Andy Bernard (Ed Helms). Andy served as the Regional Manager for the final two seasons of the NBC sitcom but he wasn't the most obvious candidate. Here's why Helms was chosen to fill the void left by Carell and how it did more harm than good.
Andy was first introduced in The Office season 3 as one of Jim Halpert's (John Krasinski) co-workers at Dunder Mifflin's Stamford branch. When Stamford merged with Scranton, Andy transferred to Pennsylvania along with Jim, Karen Filipelli (Rashida Jones), and a handful of others. Andy had a cheery demeanor, but he also had severe anger issues. His struggles with workplace romances didn't help with his emotions after a failed engagement with Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey) and a complicated fling with Erin Hannon (Ellie Kemper).
Despite Andy's eagerness to do his job well, he was a horrible salesperson. By The Office season 7, Dunder Mifflin was acquired by Sabre, but Michael remained as the branch manager. He decided to move to Colorado with his fiancée later that season, so Deangelo Vickers (Will Ferrell) was hired in his place. Deangelo's employment was brief which led to a number of people interviewing for Michael's old job, including Andy. Erin's ex, Gabe Lewis (Zach Woods), was the Sabre liaison so he tried to sabotage Andy's chances at being the manager. It wouldn't matter since Robert California (James Spader) was hired, though he quickly moved up to the CEO role, ultimately giving Andy the manager job. The Office cast and crew were outspoken about the decision, claiming that, like Michael, Andy was a "people person." According to Andy Greene's latest novel, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s (via Rolling Stone), Helms was chosen due to his celebrity status having starred in films like The Hangover. NBC wanted the actor in a more prominent role but it wasn't the best decision.
How Picking Andy As Manager Hurt The Office
When Andy was chosen as the manager of Dunder Mifflin Sabre's Scranton branch at the start of The Office season 8, he showed a lot of promise. Whereas Darryl Philbin (Craig Robinson) held a different leadership style and Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) was thought to be a risk, Andy had the potential to keep the workplace afloat. That quickly changed when the series tried too hard to make Andy emulate Michael's quirks and management style. His subplot of chasing after Erin, after treating her terribly, made Andy very unlikable. And then after traveling to Florida, Nellie Bertram (Catherine Tate) took over his manager position. The revelation caused Andy to have an angry outburst upon his return and he was ultimately fired.
Rather than go in a new direction, The Office gave Andy a chance of redemption when former CEO, David Wallace (Andy Buckley), bought back the company. In doing so, he also reinstated Andy as the man in charge. The character became cruel to some of his co-workers before disappearing for three months as he sailed to the Bahamas. After getting yet another chance, Andy left Dunder Mifflin behind to pursue a dream of being famous.
By having this back and forth with Andy, The Office missed a chance at giving someone like Jim, Darryl, and Dwight a chance to shine as the permanent manager with a different leadership style. Jim and Dwight had brief terms in the position, but those were never long enough to fully grasp what the characters would have been like if they were in charge for the long term. In fact, it was revealed in Greene's novel that many cast and writers wanted Dwight to get the promotion to being the manager. Certain aspects of seasons 8 and 9 of The Office were enjoyable but not when it came to Andy as manager. He was never focused on his role and clearly didn't take the responsibility seriously. Andy benefited the series as a prominent side character and it's evident that he should have stayed that way.