Oct. 13 (UPI) — Steve Carell said he doesn’t think the politically incorrect humor of his mockumentary series “The Office” would work in a 2018 revival.
“But 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,” Carell told Esquire magazine.
He added: “The climate’s different. I mean, the whole idea of that character, Michael Scott, so much of it was predicated on inappropriate behavior. I mean, he’s certainly not a model boss. 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. There’s a very high awareness of offensive things today — which is good, for sure. But at the same time, when you take a character like that too literally, it doesn’t really work.”
Carell played the well-meaning, but obnoxious Dunder-Mifflin regional manager for seven seasons on the show 2005-11.
The series continued after Carell left, with Ed Helms running the fictional office through 2013. The show is available to stream on Netflix. Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, Mindy Kaling and John Krasinski co-star.
It was reported last year that NBC was considering reviving “The Office” with a mix of old and new cast members for the upcoming television season, but no official announcement was ever made.
“The Office” is based on a British comedy, which ran two seasons 2001-03 and was created by Ricky Gervais.
Gervais reprised his role of Davd Brent — the U.K. version of Michael Scott — in the 2017 TV movie, “David Brent: Life on the Road.”
Carell can now be seen in the big-screen family drama, “Beautiful Boy.”
