Updated: The top 5 people who should replace Steve Carell on NBC's 'The Office' (with poll)

   Steve Carell's leaving The Office, but the show must will probably go on

Yesterday, it became official: Steve Carell-- who plays Michael Scott on the cornerstone of NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup, The Office-- would be leaving after the show's seventh season.  That means, at best, we have about 23 more episodes left with Michael Scott running the show at Dunder Mifflin.  Whether or not Steve Carell should leave the show is totally irrelevant: the actor's made the announcement, his contract will be up, and there's no use trying to pretend it ain't going to happen.  So, what to do?  NBC's got a challenge on their hands, and because we're such big fans of NBC and its executives, the Comedy Examiner's Office has put together a list of the top five people they should get to replace Carell when he leaves after the forthcoming season.  See if you agree with our selections below, my gentle Examiner readers...

Steve Carell made it official that he'd be leaving The Office after its seventh season yesterday, setting the internet aflame with outrage and questions from fans who don't want to see him go: How could The Office continue without Carell in the lead role?  Would NBC hire someone else to do the job, or would they end the show altogether?  Would they just promote Jim to run the Scranton branch, or would Dwight step up?  So many questions, so precious few answers.  That said, we've got some suggestions on who NBC could hire to replace Steve Carell on the show (because, really, NBC needs all the help they can get). 

Of course, it should be said that anyone NBC might hire to take over as boss on The Office won't be able to hold a candle to what Carell's done over the years, and in all likelihood the show won't last longer than a season (and oh, what a brutal season it will surely be) without him, but if that's where this is headed, we may as well offer up some suggestions, right?  I don't want to see Steve Carell leave The Office, either, but that's neither here nor there at this point.  Here's what we've come up with:

5.  GARY COLE, THE BOSS FROM OFFICE SPACE:   In what would surely be the most meta sitcom casting decision of all time, The Office could bring on Office Space's Gary Cole to take over the Dunder-Mifflin offices in Scranton.  Seeing Dwight interact with Lumbergh might actually open up some sort of comedy Stargate into another dimension-- which is a plus-- and he's certainly got the experience for the job.  Also, Gary Cole just rocks.

HOW IT PLAYS OUT:  In this scenario, Lumbergh comes onboard and everyone quits by the end of the eighth season, giving the show it's final season-long plotline.  In the end, Kevin burns down the office on his way out (which would also give purpose to his endless callbacks to the "Fire Guy" situation).  The series wraps on a strange note.

4. DONALD TRUMP.  YES, THAT DONALD TRUMP:  Well, if NBC wants to keep it in the family, they can always saunter over to the Celebrity Apprentice stages and sweet-talk Donald Trump into overseeing the Scranton branch.  There'd surely be a paycheck in it for him (which, as you well know, Donald Trump enjoys), and it'd be worth seeing that particular trainwreck play out if we get just one scene of Trump trying to reason with Kevin. 

HOW IT PLAYS OUT: In this scenario, Trump comes onboard and fires everyone by the end of the season (this is kinda the anti-Lumbergh scenario).  Everyone, that is, except Dwight, who enters into a long, inexplicable romance with Trump's son, Donald Jr.  Everyone's really creeped out, but eventually Dwight gets to turn his beet farm into a luxurious casino.  Things turn ugly when Angela decides she wants Dwight back, and in the final episode Angela stabs Donald Jr. with a pitchfork as the "Diamond Beets Casino" burns behind them.  It's pretty weird, but they bring in David Lynch to film the finale.

3.  JAMES GANDOLFINI AS TONY SOPRANO:  For everyone that's still bitter about the way that The Sopranos ended, bringing Gandolfini onboard as the newest "boss" at the office would kill two birds with one stone: an epilogue to HBO's series and a good way to shake things up on NBC's sitcom.  Besides, hasn't it been too long since we all had a good dose of Gandolfini?

HOW IT PLAYS OUT: In this scenario, Tony has been placed into the Witness Protection Program.  After he arrives in Scranton, Tony takes Michael's job and then sets about having each of the cast members killed over the course of the eighth season for a variety of offenses.  Only Pam survives, and she becomes a dancer at the Bing.  Everybody--and I mean everybody-- wins. 

2.  JAY "COMEDY" LENO:  If NBC really wants to screw this whole thing up, they can just pull a repeat on their Tonight Show shenanigans. 

HOW IT PLAYS OUT:  Shamefully, and with a stunning amount of failure.  In this scenario, viewers actually watch comedy-- as a form of entertainment-- die right there on their TV screens.  The world mourns.  Jay Leno buys another old car.

1. RICKY GERVAIS AS DAVID BRENT FROM BBC'S THE OFFICE:  I haven't seen this thrown out there anywhere else, and I'm sorta surprised: it would make all the bad-sense in the world to try and shoehorn in an epic crossover, the creator of the original Office, and a Michael Scott replacement all in one shot.  Gervais is the guy that created the show on BBC and an executive producer on the American version of The Office.  As a fan of both series, I gotta admit that Gervais' version of "Guy in Charge" is probably the better, more nuanced of the two.  While I love Gervais as a performer (and as a sweet, sweet man), bringing the tone he had on the BBC version of The Office into the American version would probably be a disaster. 

HOW IT PLAYS OUT:  In this scenario, the workers...you know what?  Let's not tempt fate.  Just wrap up the show after next season, NBC: we don't want an Office that's not being led by Michael Scott.  But while you're here, you may as well vote on who you'd like to see in the captain's chair.  Cast your votes below, and then head on down to the comments section if you have your own suggestions:

UPDATE:  Well, we've had the poll up since this morning, and it appears that David Brent from the original version of The Office is leading with more than 50% of the vote.  A distant second is Bill Lumbergh from Office Space, with Tony Soprano bringing up an even more distant third.  Totally nonexistent with voters?  Donald Trump, who so far hasn't earned a single vote from any Comedy Examiner readers.  Poor Donald.

That's all we've got for you for now, folks, but stay tuned for more as it becomes available. In the meantime, we've got all manner of funny videos, news, reviews, interviews, recaps, funny pictures, and more to keep you entertained all summer long, so hit the "Subscribe" button up top to get all of it delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge, the moment it's published. Why, if that wasn't enough, we've also got some other recent Comedy Examiner articles for you to look over while you're here:

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