Steve Carell’s emotional departure from The office near the end of season 7 left a huge hole in the show’s formula, and although its replacement was nothing like its predecessor, enough time has passed to objectively view James Spader’s Robert California as the perfect solution to the absence of Michael Scott. The office The cast changed a lot over its nine seasons, but Carell’s departure remains the biggest change to the workplace sitcom. Fortunately, the writers came up with a brilliant way to keep the show going without the protagonist.
The office has one of the best TV ensembles of all time, so while Steve Carell wasn’t the only reason for the show’s success, his contributions were still extremely important. He is in the hearts of many The officethe funniest episodes as well as the most emotional moments of the sitcom. Michael’s presence in The office missed a lot when he decided to move to Colorado with Holly, but the man who took his place was much better than he knows.
Robert California was the character the office needed after Michael left
James Spader’s character didn’t step on Steve Carell’s Michael Scott’s toes
Michael’s antics were just the right mix of annoying and hilarious, and his conduct often raised the question of how good a boss he really was. That being said, he was too big of a personality to try and replace, but Robert California’s intensity was a strangely great way to fill the void. Michael wasn’t the only seemingly funny character, as the rest of the cast often had laugh-out-loud moments. Then, The office they didn’t need to bring in another traditional jokester, and the alternative they chose was much more desirable.
Robert’s dry and often absent sense of humor brought something entirely new to The office and did not overshadow the older actors.
Robert’s dry and often absent sense of humor brought something entirely new to The office and did not overshadow the older actors. After seven seasons of basically the same plan, bringing in Robert as Michael’s replacement freshened things up with a level of seriousness not displayed by any other character. Robert California shone in his own way, and in a very unexpected way too. It may be easy to resist admitting the quality that James Spader brought to The office because of how attached it is possible to become to Michael, but it would be unfair not to give Robert all the credit he deserves.
The office was right not to create another Michael Scott after Carell’s departure
Michael would have been impossible to directly replace
Will Ferell’s Deangelo Vickers gave a brief preview of what The office it could have been as if Michael had been swapped for a like-for-like replacement. The result made the show seem like it was actively trying to copy Carell’s best qualities, but thankfully the writers abandoned that approach and only gave Deangelo a short stay. The smartest move was to bring in a character completely unrelated to Michael anyway.
Introducing Robert in The office the season 7 interviews were a brilliant way to bring him into the storysince it didn’t seem like he was coming out of nowhere as the new boss. Having him play the role of CEO rather than office manager was also an excellent move and further distanced Robert from the implication of being a direct replacement for Michael. Robert would never have lived up to Michael’s legacy in The office If he had followed Carell’s character’s footsteps too closely, then it’s great that he wasn’t prepared to fail.