It has already been reported that Steve Carell does not plan on returning to play Michael Scott on The Office. This is some very disappointing news. While Jim Halpert and Dwight Schrute are great characters, it cannot be denied that Michael Scott is the driving force of the show. The real question now is who will replace Steve Carell?
A Michael Scott replacement needs to both be funny and able to move the story along. The biggest worry is The Office will grow stagnant without a character the exacerbates misunderstandings and is just an all around lovable idiot. That brings up another question: Should Michael Scott’s replacement be a Michael Scott clone? Steve Carell has been so great as Michael Scott that we will most likely look at the replacement and say that they’re no Michael Scott. That comparison just can’t be avoided. Whoever is brought in will be living in Michael Scott’s long and goofy shadow. That’s enough focusing on the negative, let’s look at who some replacement candidates might be.
Danny McBride could be a good replacement if he channels the Kenny Powers in him. Here we would have a boss character that is not too bright, very loud and egotistical, yet still just wants to be loved by everyone. We could also expect more episodes to focus on sexual harassment.
David Koechner has already been on The Office as Michael Scott’s friend Todd Packer, so he would be a familiar face to fans of the show. He has also already played an incompetent boss in the movie Waiting. Here we have another unintelligent replacement candidate, but once again we could expect a few more sexual harassment story lines. Then again, who says that is a bad thing?
