TV Article 'The Office: The Movie'? Or is Toby just teasing us? By Darren Franich Darren Franich Darren Franich is a former critic at Entertainment Weekly. He left EW in 2023. EW's editorial guidelines Updated on July 30, 2020 11:02AM EDT Image Credit: Justin Lubin/NBCWith Steve Carell’s impending departure and the ongoing search for a new boss, it’s clear that the seventh season of The Office will be a franchise-defining period for the mockumentary series. Will it be the next ER, which kept going for ten years after George Clooney left for bigger and Soderberghier things? Or will it be the next CSI, which hasn’t quite recovered (critically or ratings-wise) from losing William Petersen? At least one person has an optimistic outlook: Paul Lieberstein, a writer/producer of the series and the actor behind hangdog HR rep Toby, told E! Online that he’s excited by the “opportunity to reinvent The Office.” And looking into the far, distance future, he even has some big screen dreams: “Maybe when the series is done we’d do an Office movie.” (Great, another TV-to-Movie adaptation to ponder over!) Lieberstein’s probably just talking in the abstract here. (Although I like to imagine that in his head, he’s picturing a movie called The Office Origins: Toby Flenderson.) Still, it’s interesting to consider the robust ensemble comedy that a movie version of The Office would be. Even if the show isn’t the comic superpower it once was, it still has the best supporting cast of hilarious actors on television…and that would more than translate to the big screen. What would you want to see out of an Office movie, PopWatchers? Read more: Harvey Keitel joins list of candidates to replace Steve Carell on ‘The Office’: Got a better idea? ‘The Office’ star Angela Kinsey: ‘Michael Scott departing is going to make a great season and great TV for us.’ Steve Carell on ‘Office’ exit: ‘It’s a good time to move on’ ‘Office’ mystery: Who will replace Steve Carell?