Ansari Signs On For Office Spinoff

Not much information has been released about the spinoff series for NBC’s The Office. Will any of the current Office characters be joining the spin-off? What is the series going to be about? Unfortunately, we don’t have the answer to either of these questions but on the positive side, there has been some casting news about the series.

MTV’s Human Giant star and comedian, Aziz Ansari has signed on to join the cast for the yet to be titled Office spin-off series. Variety reported the news saying that producers are still being tight-lipped about the details, including what kind of role Ansari will be playing.

While details are sparse at the moment, executive producers Greg Daniels and Michael Schur have apparently narrowed the premise of the show down to a couple of different ideas. Schur, who in addition to exec-producing and writing for The Office, also plays the role of Dwight’s weirdo cousin, Mose in the show said, "We're focusing on making the best show we can make as a companion to The Office. We're trying to come up with the best concept and hire the funniest writers. In the next couple of weeks, we'll be making the final move to one specific idea."

As eager as I am to learn the premise of the spinoff, I’m glad the writers are taking their time coming up with an idea that will work. Spinoffs have the potential to be total disasters, no matter how good the anchor series is (Friends spinoff: Joey). As 2009 gets closer, Office fans are going to start anticipating this series more and more. Needless to say, the hype will probably be huge by the time the premiere date arrives and people are going to be expecting a series that is at least as funny as The Office. Bringing Ansari on board is a good sign. He’s known enough to put a familiar face to the show but not so famous that he’ll overshadow the rest of the cast, even if they turn out to be a bunch of total unknowns. Plus he’s pretty funny. For a sample of his work, here’s a couple of clips from MTV’s Human Giant.

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