It’s not Michael Scott, but we’ll take it.
Steve Carell is making his return to TV in the forthcoming Apple series starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon about the behind-the-scenes action of competing morning shows, according to Variety.
The “Beautiful Boy” star, who’s almost exclusively acted in films since exiting “The Office” in 2011, has been tapped as male lead Mitch Kessler, an anchor “struggling to maintain relevance in a changing media landscape.”
Apple landed the rights to the show ― the tech company’s first foray into dramatic television on a yet-to-be-launched platform ― late last year and ordered two 10-episode seasons.
“Bates Motel” co-creator Kerry Ehrin was brought on in April as the showrunner under an exclusive multi-year pact with Apple, replacing “House of Cards” producer and consultant Jay Carson due to creative differences.
The series, which Aniston and Witherspoon will produce, is based on a concept from producer Michael Ellenberg and inspired by Brian Stelter’s book Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV.
His star turn as the boss in “The Office” won Carell won a Golden Globe acting award after the beloved NBC sitcom’s first season in the mid-2000s.
As for whether Carell would ever reprise the role that made him a household name, the actor recently dismissed as virtually “impossible” the show’s long-rumored revival.
“Apart from the fact that I just don’t think that’s a good idea, it might be impossible to do that show today and have people accept it the way it was accepted 10 years ago,” he told Esquire.
“The climate’s different,” he said. “The whole idea of that character, Michael Scott, so much of it was predicated on inappropriate behavior. ... A lot of what is depicted on that show is completely wrong-minded. That’s the point, you know? But I just don’t know how that would fly now.”