With the news that NBC content chief Susan Rovner is open to a reboot of The Office, speculation is rife over how the hit show might make a comeback. The Steve Carell-led comedy, which followed in the footsteps of Ricky Gervais' British original, ran for nine successful seasons on the US network. Since the finale aired in 2013, a potential revival has been hinted at on several occasions, without anything concrete. However, despite the excitement around Rovner's comments, there is only one way that the show can be a success – with Michael Scott returning front and center.
During The Office's initial run, Michael served as the series main protagonist throughout the opening seven seasons. Despite being a masterful salesman, Michael is a notoriously poor manager, either distracting employees from their jobs, delivering irrelevant and rambling seminars, or blaming members of his team for his own shortcomings. His main motivation throughout the series is to befriend his colleagues at the expense of all social or professional boundaries, often with cringe-inducing consequences.
Despite Michael's many shortcomings as both a manager and a person, there's no doubt that he is the star of the show. Not only is he involved in many of the major plot points throughout the series, but the character has developed such a cult following over the years that any episode without him feels like a wasted opportunity. As a result, it's essential that an Office reboot includes the iconic Dunder Mifflin Regional Manager.
Although Michael left his original role at the end of the seventh season to help his partner Holly care for her ailing parents, there are several key reasons why his return is a prerequisite. For starters, the show itself suffered a noticeable dip in quality once the character took a backseat. Despite the arrival of acting heavyweights like James Spader in order to fill the void left by Carell, fans and critics generally agree that seasons 8 and 9 represent a low point. Both series have the lowest two IMDb scores for the entire show, while season 8 scores a derisory 44% on Rotten Tomatoes. While there are many factors behind the negative reception, it isn't a coincidence that the show's nadir came when Michael was absent.
Beyond the impact that Michael's character has on the wider series, however, another key reason why his return is essential is Carell's performance itself. Although the role in many ways suits the Anchorman actor's particular comic talent, there's no doubt that Carell imbues Michael with genuine sympathy and charm. It takes both a specific character and a particular actor to pull off such a difficult tightrope walk. This is aptly demonstrated by the hostility many fans and critics displayed towards Spader's Robert California compared to Carell's Michael Scott. As season 8 already showed, The Office without Carell's award-winning performance seriously suffers.