Will Ferrell is expected to join NBC’s “The Office” in a four-episode arc later this season. He will play a branch manager who arrives from the home office who’s just as inept and moronic as Michael Scott.
This move was planned by producers in hopes of boosting the show’s ratings near the end of the season by reuniting Ferrell with his Anchorman co-star. Here is what exec producer and show’s frontrunner Paul Lieberstein (aka Toby) had to say:
“We found Steve Carell when he was nothing but a movie star and we turned him into a television star. We are proud to continue The Office‘s tradition of discovering famous talent, and we hope that once America gets a good look at Will, they’ll see what we see: tremendous raw sexuality.”
Ferrel is expected to star together with Carell for three of the four episodes, with Ferrell working in the office by himself in the final episode after Carell’s departure.
Carell is expected to leave the show four episodes before the season finale. The countdown begins tonight with an all new episode that will guest star Ricky Gervais.