Cinema Science

A little more news is beginning to trickle out about The Office spin off. Will it even be a spin off? Here is an excerpt from the Variety article announcing Aziz Ansari has joined the cast.

Despite early speculation that at least one "Office" character will segue to the new show, that's unlikely at this point.

Instead, the show could potentially be a "planted spinoff," in which characters are first introduced on "The Office" before moving on to the new series (think "Mork & Mindy," which morphed from one episode of "Happy Days"). It's just as possible that the show won't be a spinoff at all (which could impact who's involved with the show), but a wholly separate series in the same comedic vein as "The Office."

In recent weeks Daniels and Schur have been busy mapping out the show, which is set to bow this winter in the plum Thursday night 9:30 p.m. timeslot behind "The Office."

The two have narrowed the show's premise down to a handful of ideas but haven't yet zoomed in on a specific concept.

"We're focusing on making the best show we can make as a companion to 'The Office,'" Schur said. "We're trying to come up with the best concept and hire the funniest writers. In the next couple of weeks, we'll be making the final move to one specific idea."

The new show has already started putting together a writing team, including "Everybody Loves Raymond" alum Tucker Cawley, "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" vet Dan Goor and "South Park" scribe Alan Yang.