NBC Photo: Justin LubinCan you picture The Office without Steve Carell? Yeah, we can't either, but NBC's top brass just filled us in about their plans in light of his recent admission he's ready to walk. And gave you Heroes fans a teensy bit of hope too...
For the record, the Peacock net peeps seem just as willing to let Steve Carell abandon Dunder Mifflin as we fans are. "We hope we can keep him around for a long time," NBC's primetime entertainment president Angela Bromstad told reporters today. However, Steve's contract is up at the end of the 2010-11 season, and he told BBC Radio "I think that will probably be my last year."
NBC Uni TV Entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin added: "The Office is a great ensemble show, and the producers are preparing in the event he chooses to move on." So who would fill his shoes? Any ideas?
Meanwhile, NBC has decided to pull Heroes off the air as a series, but Bromstad says she'll talk soon with executive producer and creator Tim Kring about doing some kind of TV event to wrap up storylines. No dates yet. No details. Just that it could be a two-hour movie in 2011. It sounds as though nothing has been discussed yet with Kring himself so…we'll see.
"We have satisfied the viewers' desire for the show," Bromstad says, hinting at the plummeting ratings in the past two seasons.
They also explained (sorta) the decision to pull Parks and Recreation from the fall lineup.
I'll be interviewing some of your favorite NBC peeps tomorrow morning bright and early here in NYC, so check back and send any questions you have for new and returning series (30 Rock, Chuck, Community, Parks & Recreation, The Office, Love Bites, The Chase, Saturday Night Live, Undercovers, The Event, Perfect Couples, The Cape, Celebrity Apprentice, Outsourced…That enough for ya?) via Twitter to @kristindsantos, or comment below.