The long-awaited expansion to The Office universe has taken one step closer to reality.
Greg Daniels was tasked with creating a new series set in The Office universe, and he has tapped Michael Koman to join him, Deadline reported on Wednesday, March 20. The series, from Universal Television, remains in development and there is still no guarantee it will come to fruition.
The series would be a follow-up to The Office, not an actual reboot, Deadline reported. While some familiar faces from the American series may pop up, this mockumentary-style show would be set in a different office and would follow different characters. So don’t expect a return to Scranton, or even, necessarily, to the Dunder Mifflin paper company.
Daniels, who originally worked with NBC to adapt The Office for an American audience, opened up a development room to work on the project in January. The U.S. version of the BBC hit comedy premiered in 2005, starring Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, B.J. Novak, Jenna Fischer and others who rose to stardom during the show’s nine-season run.
Koman is no stranger to the genre. He cocreated docu-reality series Nathan For You alongside Nathan Fielder, guiding the hit series through four seasons on Comedy Central. He has also worked on The Colbert Report, MadTV and Late Night With Conan O’Brien. Koman and Daniels both got their starts as writers on Saturday Night Live.
Perhaps not coincidentally, Koman is married to Ellie Kemper, who joined The Office cast in its fifth season.
In addition to The Office, Daniels cocreated hits like Parks and Recreation and King of the Hill. He was also a writer for The Simpsons and wrote the classic episode “Bart Sells His Soul.”
Daniels has stated multiple times that he does not want to reboot the show using the same premise or characters, but NBCUniversal has long been interested in continuing The Office universe in some way.
Novak, who was also a writer on the show, previously told Deadline that fans shouldn’t get their hopes up for an all-out reunion, either.
“Definitely you wouldn’t get everyone back together, that ship has sailed,” he said.
More than a decade after The Office ended, the show remains a staple of American television and streaming. It currently airs in syndication on Comedy Central and Freeform. Fischer and her costar Angela Kinsey also host the rewatch podcast “Office Ladies,” which has continued to give the series life as they recap an episode per week.
The Office is currently available to stream on Peacock.
