Greg daniels at the Banff World Media Festival on June 13, 2011.PHILLIP CHIN PHOTOGRAPHY
Michael Scott (Steve Carell) has left Dunder Mifflin, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) is being wooed as a political candidate, and Greg Daniels - who brought The Office to the United States and co-created Parks and Recreation - has handed the day-to-day running of the shows to others while he works on developing new ones. He spoke with The Globe and Mail at the Banff World Media Festival on Monday, his 48th birthday.
So who's the new boss going to be?
I'm not going to give that up. Sorry.
I figured you wouldn't, but I had to ask.
It would have been good if I was drunk or something and I just let it slip.
Can you tell me where you're at with the show?
We're doing preproduction. We're writing for the fall. And Paul Liebertstein, who's the new show runner, is working away. But our goal is to satisfy people's curiosity on air, rather than in any other way. And it'll play out hopefully on the show.
How do you keep that sort of secret in this day and age? Journalists are so hungry for the scoop.
I really don't understand entertainment journalism when it's all about spoilers. It's not just journalists; it's the fans too. People are trying so hard to figure out what happens before it happens. That's not how you normally watch a movie or read a book, to have someone whisper all the big plot points right before you start. But the way we handle it is we have lots of possibilities. So even if pieces of casting news slip out, you won't know the combinations or the way it's going to play out. I wouldn't even confirm that it's all about one decision.
There might not be a replacement?
I'm not going to give you any hints. All I'm going to say is even if you think you know, you might not know it.
Was there any consideration to end the show with Steve Carell's departure?
Yeah, there was definitely some thought about that. But every other aspect of the show was kind of in its prime. All the other actors were doing good work. The writing staff were very enthusiastic and coming up with stories. It's a very strong format, a very relatable format. And Steve didn't want it to end; he would have felt terribly guilty, I think. And I think we might end up looking back and saying his leaving was good for the show. It's hard to imagine because he's so talented and fantastic, but it led to a very good season last year, with very interesting big episodes and definitely a feeling of renewed interest in the show.
I loved how you handled his departure: 'Hey, will you guys let me know if this ever airs' and handing back the mike pack. How did you get to that?
It's funny; I wrote that episode and I wrote that line in a very offhand way. I didn't think it would be everybody's favourite line. I think I was just trying to be as honest as possible about what would have happened to that guy when he took the microphone off? He would want to see himself whenever it aired. The idea that nobody knew it was his last day, that notion came from Steve.
When he told you he was leaving, what was your reaction?
He never said he was staying. Everybody else renegotiated their contracts in Season 3 and added extra years and he never did, so I always assumed he was leaving. So I think he was remarkably consistent and handled it in a very classy way. He never played any games. We had all these conversations about what the show was going to be like after he was gone, how he wanted to leave.
There were also some cliffhangers on the season finale of Parks and Recreation. Are we going to see any cast changes?
Everything I was just saying about trying to not do spoilers applies to Parks. The big question that we have on Parks now is how profoundly to change the show, because people like it as it is, but we've introduced this idea that Leslie's going to run for office, which could make a big difference to the show. So a lot of the discussion in the writing room is how to handle that. Also, we're thinking does it still work to call it Parks and Recreation if it's about her in a different office?
What's Amy Poehler like to work with?
She's so great. Just how you would imagine. She's superpositive, really warm, incredibly creative, confident, knows who she is, has values. Funny, Steve's the same way. Possibly because they have a background in improvisational theatre, and it's so much about being teamwork and having partners and listening. It's not all about 'me.' The two of them have been just the most wonderful partners to work with.
This interview has been condensed and edited.