NBC/Justin LubinThe British are coming! The British are coming! And even better, one of those Brits happens to be Ricky Gervais, the original Office doofus.
NBC has confirmed that the creators of the original British version of The Office—Gervais and Stephen Merchant—have written an episode called "The Convict," which will air Nov. 30.
Mild spoiler alert! Sources tell me the episode will revolve around Michael Scott (Steve Carell) discovering that one of his new coworkers has a criminal past. (And psst...If you're wondering how he has "new coworkers," the upcoming episode title "Merger" should be your first clue.)
Meanwhile, if you've seen tonight's episode and are wondering what the holy heck is up with Michael's sneak smooch attack on Pam—I know I am!—as coinky-dink (and harassment) would have it, I sat down with the writer and star of tonight's ep, Mindy Kaling (Kelly). And she said this: "We've talked about [Michael's kiss attempt] a lot, because Toby has feelings for Pam, and obviously Jim has feelings for her, but I think that act of Michael's was just a bold act of desperation, like a last-ditch thing. And the moment he does it, he knows it's a stupid thing."
So, does Michael actually have feelings for Pam? "No," Mindy said. "I think Pam might have to quit if she actually thought Michael had feelings for her! This entire episode, to me, is Michael acting out on things he feels he's seen on TV and movies. Like, 'I saw Corbin Bernsen do this on L.A. Law, and I'm going to do it, too!' "
I'll have more scoop for you from Mindy in Tuesday's chat rundown, so stay tuned.