Producer for 'The Office' says Dwight Schrute should be put in charge of the Scranton branch

  Who should replace Michael Scott on NBC's The Office?  Could be...Dwight?

Last week, we reported that Steve Carell would be taking his leave of NBC's The Office following the show's upcoming seventh season.  This was depressing news, but understandable that Carell would want to move on to (potentially) greener pastures.  Much speculation has followed in the wake of that announcement, with some wondering whether Jim would move up to run the Scranton branch, if the show would simply wrap-up, or if some new boss would be brought on to the show to replace Michael Scott.  Now, according to one of the show's producers, Dwight Schrute appears to be a candidate for the Scranton branch's top spot.  Read all about it below, my gentle Examiner readers...

Last week, we had a poll wherein we asked Examiner readers who they'd like to see replace Steve Carell's Michael Scott as the boss on NBC's The Office.  Ricky Gervais' David Brent (from the original BBC version of the show) won that poll in a landslide, with Office Space's Bill Lumbergh the next best candidate.  As it turns out, Mindy Kaling-- who plays Kelly Kapour on the series and also functions as one of the show's producers-- has her own opinion about who should run the Scranton branch:

I’d love to see Rainn Wilson in that position,” says coexecutive producer/costar Mindy Kaling, who snagged a much-deserved Emmy nomination for co-writing last season’s four-star Jim/Pam wedding episode. “Dwight has become so nuanced — you actually care about him now. I think if [we did a good job laying the groundwork] this coming season, he would be a fantastic boss.  But that’s my dream,” she adds. “It certainly hasn’t been approved by people that are more powerful than me and who make those kinds of decisions.”

It's a bold choice, but also an obvious choice.  Frankly, putting Dwight into the captain's seat seems like the sort of idea that makes sense initially...but turns out to be disastrous in retrospect.  How many other sitcoms have made similar moves, only to see the changes blow up in their faces less than a season up the road?  This idea feels wrong, and though it's tough to put my finger on why, instinct tells me it'll only lead to weaker writing. 

The Office picked up three Emmy nominations today, which is pretty solid for the series.  Despite those nominations, though, fans have been complaining about the dwindling quality in the writing of the show for more than a season now.  Furthermore, it sounds like Kaling's hoping that Carell just decides not to leave after all, and then no decision will have to be made:

We’re still infatuated with Steve and love him so much that we’re hoping for some 11th hour like, ‘I really do like this schedule and I like craft services here, so I don’t want to go.’ But I’m going to take him at face value and [assume] he’s not being coy and that he really wants to [leave].

What do you think, folks: would putting Dwight in charge of the Scranton branch do more harm than good?  Would it revitalize the show?  Or should they just close The Office for business after Michael Scott vacates the premises?  Sound off in the comments section below, folks: we wanna know what you think about all this!

Stay tuned for more shenanigans from the Comedy Examiner's Office in the near future, including funny videos, news, reviews, interviews, recaps, prequels, waffles, and more.  Hit the "Subscribe" button up top to get all future Comedy Examiner articles delivered straight to your inbox (free of charge, of course), and if the article above wasn't enough for you, check out some of these other recent Comedy Examiner articles:

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(photos: nbc.com)