Greg Daniels Talks To The NYT

A little more specific information on when THE OFFICE will return, and how many episodes we should expect.

From the New York Times article today:

Greg Daniels, executive producer of “The Office,? said, “We’re going to do another six,? though he added, “We might be able to squeeze in seven if NBC asks for them.?

“The Office? had a script ready to shoot the week the strike began, and that will be the first one the show produces. A second script was going to be the Christmas show. “We’re going to throw that one out,? Mr. Daniels said. He added that the writing team would discuss this week how to advance the show’s story lines.

“I’m tempted to just leap ahead to where we would have been,? Mr. Daniels said.


Well... not quite the ten episodes I was hoping for, but I suppose six (or hopefully seven) episodes are definitely better than nothing.  I know that it's not exactly "April" material, but I find it a crying shame that this year's Christmas show will just end up in the garbage bin. 

So let's assume that Daniels and the writers decide to incorporate the strike gap INTO the actual storyline... another 3 month "fast forward" like we usually get over the summer? That would definitely be kind of weird... man, I can just see it now-- we come back from break, and Pam and Jim are already broken up. 

They can't be THAT evil, would they?

EDIT:

The AP posted a brief comment from Rainn Wilson today, regarding the end of the strike:

Rainn Wilson, a Writers Guild member and co-star of "The Office," said he was hearing that everyone on the show will report back on March 10 to shoot six more episodes.

Early on, the strike was a hiatus from the daily grind for some. By Tuesday night's overwhelming vote to end the walkout, it was clear they were eager to get back to work.

"The break has been long enough," Wilson said. "Everyone slyly around December was like, 'Actually, this is kind of cool.' Then it was January, February, you know, so we're ready to get back."