38 comments

  1. Well he and John are good friends outside of the show so I’ll bet they’d have really good energy together.

  3. This would be amazing, Arnett was great on 30 Rock as Jack’s competition. A move like this could keep The Office as one of the funniest shows on network tv. I think right now Parks and Rec and Community are as good or better, but they have the advantage of being newer. Please please let this happen.

  4. Bringing in well-known actors totally takes me out of the Office universe. It’s not Scranton anymore when Will Ferrell or Will Arnett show up, it’s Hollywood. I know it’s not QUITE stunt casting, but it’s awwwwfully close. :( Major dislike.

  6. I agree that using well known actors is not the best for the show. But, Will Arnett is not nearly as famous or well known as Will Ferrell. IMO Arnett is great and would be terrific in the Office. If GOB was qualified for regional manager I think he’d be a great addition haha.

  8. Please, no Will Arnett. I enjoyed him on Arrested Development, but not on The Office. Please.

  9. Will Arnett has been my number 1 choice to take Michael’s job since I heard Steve Carell was leaving.

  10. I think Will Arnett would be an awesome idea. He’s hilarious. I like this idea better than the Will Ferrell idea personally.

  11. What Receptionitis said. No more bringing in new characters, please! At this point I’d rather Andy get the job and angst about his love life every episode, and I am really, really tired of Andy and his love life.

  12. ENOUGH FAMOUS GUEST STARS!!! For gods sake, wasn’t Kathy Bates enough? Idris Elba and Timothy Olyphant were fine because they weren’t too noticeable of faces in the media. Honestly, I’m a huge fan (started watching around ’06) but lately they’ve been killing the show’s realism.

  13. I’ve been a huge fan for years, but I’ve accepted the fact that the show’s realism ended back in Season 4. There have just been so many times where the presence of the cameras just didn’t make sense. There was a time when something would happen in the office and the camera would whip over to it or make its way over to the situation. Now the camera knows exactly what is going to happen and where it should be looking. The show won’t be enjoyable anymore if you focus on the reality instead of focusing on the comedy.

  14. This could be awesome…or it could be a train wreck. It all depends on the character that they create for him. Loved him in Arrested Development and his episode on Parks and Rec. Haven’t liked him in much else I’ve seen him in.

  15. I really like Will Arnett, and think he could be great on the show, but I also really don’t like them bringing in well known actors. It kills the documentary/real life conceit. Yeah, he’s maybe not as famous as Will Ferrell, but he’s famous enough. I remember when the writers used to be very adamant about not bringing in well known actors to guest on the show. I won’t say this is a bad idea, but I’m skeptical.

  16. @Jimothy: I still thought the show was still pretty realistic throughout Seasons 4 and 5 (I’m one of the few who defend the ‘Michael driving into a lake’ scenario in one of the episodes of 4).

    It was Season 6 where I thought the realism had started to greatly diminish.

  17. I’ve gotta go with the majority. It seems like everyone wants to literally replace Steve. The actors have mentioned it already, he’s irreplaceable. I don’t want someone coming in trying to do everything the same way. It’ll never feel the same.

    I feel like they’re trying to pull a Bewitched on us and replace one Darren with another. Yet everyone knows it’s just not the original.

  18. @Brad: Ahh yes the famous car in the lake. I remember the boards going nuts about that back in ’07. I agree the lack of realism was more subtle early on and it has been consistently getting worse each season. What made The Christening even worse wasn’t that the cameras were on the bus, but that they were on the bus before Michael. My point though is that with all the other stuff going on, the guest stars haven’t taken me out of the reality of the show as much as the situations so Will Arnett doesn’t bug me in the slightest.

  19. Will is gold and I would love to see him on my favorite show. Maybe the new Michael? OK! Love this idea, he is so much funnier than Ferrel!

  21. Sure the show isn’t as realistic as it once was, but look at it this way. What documentary, that is on now, does not have cameras knowing what happens exactly when it does. Has anyone seen Kate plus 8 or Cake Boss? Both documentaires, but they are all the same, staged. That is what a documentary is now. The producers set things on purpose to boost ratings. Happens to every documentary on TV now.

  22. @Jimothy: I guess it’s a little soothing that Will Arnett isn’t as big as Ferrell, but he’s still pretty well known within the mainstream media. Excluding Kathy Bates, the guy is much more recognizable than every other guest star that has appeared on the show so far.

  23. To me, having Will Arnett on the show makes more sense than Will Ferrell. If Arnett could play a character similar to his character ‘Gob’ on Arrested Development, I think that would work well with the other characters in The Office. I like this idea more than Will Ferrell.

  25. YES! I actually can’t believe I’ve never thought of this combo. I think he’d be perfect. He’s definitely not as well known as Will Ferrell, and he’s hilarious. I’d love to have a little taste of Arrested Development in my Office.

  27. I’ll wait & see how Will Ferrell as a guest plays out first.

    BTW, the pics accompanying “love the idea” & “hate the idea” gave me a nice chuckle :)

    [from tanster: thank you very much. it’s always fun looking for pics. :) ]

  28. People really need to relax. We may be wary of well-known (or fairly well-known) actors guest-starring on our favorite show, but let’s wait until we see the results before drawing our conclusions. I do like the idea of Will Arnett guest-starring, but it has to be done in a way that is realistic and enjoyable. Until then, I look forward to what he and Ferrell bring to The Office.

  29. Yes, I’ll take Arnett over every other actor previously mentioned. And there will be at least one new cast member. So come on, it could be a lot worse than Will Arnett. I just don’t want there to be too many people. The other post mentioning several other new characters joining worries me much more than this. The cast we all know and love are already losing screen time rapidly. I don’t want yet more time lost on new additions. I don’t care who they are.

  30. Guess this means his show on Fox has been dropped. :( Love him though and it could be a fun addition, I sure would tune in to see him every week.

  31. I LOVE this idea! I always thought he would be perfect for NBC’s Thursday Night Comedy Night Done Right :) Gob Bluth forever!!!
    PS- I LOVE the picture you used in the survey for “hate the idea” hahaha

  32. Will Arnett is so good, I could have accepted him as Michael if Steve Carell had said no several years ago. And he would have done a smashing job.

    To those people saying that they hate big names – point taken. But sometimes, these people are big for a reason.

  33. Will Arnett is one of the funniest people on the PLANET! As long as filming for The Office wouldn’t conflict with the Arrested Development movie they’ve been teasing for a billion years, I’m 100% for it!

  34. To heck with all the suggestions – I’ve been watching An Idiot Abroad and I’ve decided Karl Pilkington should be the new boss – they don’t even need to write dialogue for him… he can just “be.”

  35. I love Will Arnett’s work on Arrested Development and 30 Rock. He’s one of the funniest actors there is, as far as I’m concerned; however, if he were on TO, I couldn’t see him acting very different from how he did in AD or 30 Rock. It would feel like a weird crossover and ruin the show for me.

  37. Point taken, those who disagreed.. I’ll wait and see. I do love Will Arnett. Just.. Tanster asked how we felt and that is how I felt! :)

    I *had* to come and say that TobyFan WINS though.. Karl Pilkington for new Regional Manager!!! :D

  38. I’m with TobyFan on this one! Karl Pilkington all the way! He’d show Dwight what was what!

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