Portia de Rossi
I think NBC will definitely be thinking about bringing in a woman, and I’m not sure any candidate would be better this fine lady. She’s a comedic veteran at this point, thanks to awesome performances on both Arrested Development and Better Off Ted. Moreover, those two characters were different enough that I think de Rossi could pull off a multi-faceted character who could command the room, but also be enough of a lovable goofball. The big question is whether or not she’s a big enough name at this point.
Bradley Whitford
I know he has The Good Guys in place right now, but let’s be honest, that series isn’t going to last. Whitford surely has a good relationship with NBC. He could play a know-it-all type from corporate that wants both Sabre and Dunder Mifflin to go way beyond their current potential. He could give lots of uplifting speeches about the future of the American economy. He could be completely idealistic to an annoying degree. Okay, so maybe I’ve been watching too much West Wing, but c’mon!
Quickly, here are some folks who are nowhere near possible of getting, but could be interesting in a role: Jason Bateman, Hugh Laurie, Sarah Silverman.
One more thing before we go, here are just a list of people who NBC would consider before all of these folks, people who are also not funny or surely totally wrong for the role: Dane Cook, Carlos Mencia, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Jack Black, Whoopi Goldberg, Ken Jeong.
Who are your picks? Should the series even continue?
My vote is No One. The Office doesn't have a history of bringing in permenant new characters. Instead, they work with what they have. Really the only exceptions are Andy and Erin, who both worked amazingly well.
Oh dear lord, the very first NBC name, Dane Cook, literally made me flinch
ellen degeneres… though oscar is already a gay character i think she could bring in a different but still funny atmosphere
WHAT? I think Season 6 is just as good as any other season. It's still the best ongoing comedy on TV, though only a little better than 30 Rock (neither of which, however, manage to quite match Arrested Development's amazingness). I literally don't understand why anyone would think it's quality is declining…That said, I actually don't mind whether or not they end it. All TV shows need to end at some point, so I'd be fine if the next season was the last – but at the same time, I reckon the show has enough hilarious characters for it work quite well without Carrell.