'Office' Spinoff Makes First Hire

Zap2It.com | June 13, 2008

Aziz Ansari

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'Human Giant' star Aziz Ansari cast in show

No one -- including the show's executive producers -- knows exactly what NBC's "Office" spinoff will look like yet. But there are signs that the new series is starting to come together.

Chief among them: The spinoff has signed its first actor in "Human Giant" co-creator/star Aziz Ansari. He's also signed a talent holding deal with NBC sibling Universal Media Studios as part of his deal to join the show's ensemble.

"We met him pretty early on and thought he was very funny," executive producer Greg Daniels tells Variety. "We loved his work in 'Human Giant,' which I'm a huge fan of, as is [fellow exec producer Mike Schur], and we have a good character for him."

NBC announced in April that it had ordered a spinoff of its Emmy-winning comedy, despite not having any details locked down at the time. Daniels and Schur have several ideas in the air and expect to settle on one in the next few weeks. The trade paper also reports that the show has hired several writers, including "Everybody Loves Raymond" veteran Tucker Cawley and "Daily Show" and "Late Night" scribe Dan Goor.

Variety also says that the new show may not end up being a traditional spinoff, in which a character from "The Office" moves on to a new locale. It may be a "planted" spinoff (a la "Melrose Place's" introduction on "Beverly Hills, 90210") or something all its own.

Ansari co-created the MTV comedy series "Human Giant" with Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel. He's also appeared in "Flight of the Conchords" and "School for Scoundrels" and has roles in the forthcoming movies "The Rocker" (which stars "Office" man Rainn Wilson) and "I Love You, Man."