When Steve Carell announced he was leaving The Office, I was sure I’d never love again. Wary of losing lovelorn viewers like me, NBC trotted out a slew of comedy heavyweights to woo us—Will Ferrell, Jim Carrey, and Ray Romano all attempted to fill the void. But Michael Scott was a once-in-a-generation character, and Steve Carell’s portrayal of the offensive-but-affable branch manager of Dunder Mifflin was pure TV magic; I wasn’t expecting for lightning to strike twice. Until the man—nay, the electrifying force of nature—that is James Spader jolted me out of my doldrums.
In the season finale, Spader played an überconfident oil executive named Robert California who steamrolled his interviewers Jim, Toby, and Gabe with piercing yet incomprehensible insights on human nature and made them squirm in their seats with his seething sexuality. When asked how his experience in selling oil refinery equipment would translate to selling paper, he entranced them all by replying: “There is no product—don’t ever think there is. There is only sex. Everything is sex. Do you understand that what I’m telling you is a universal truth?”
When he left the room, Jim, who was visibly shaken, said, “He’s creepy. But I think he might be a genius.” Indeed, Spader was compelling, and much to my delight, NBC felt the same. The network announced last week that Spader will be joining the cast as the fast-tracked CEO for Dunder Mifflin next season.
I’m willing to wager that Spader’s stint as Robert California will save the show. But some are betting against me. Atlantic entertainment writer Kevin Fallon predicts that Spader’s California may overpower the “endearing, awkward, and slightly precious mood emanated by the rest of The Office cast” with his outlandish intensity. Fallon also points to a long line of TV shows that have failed when a lynchpin actor exits and a big-name celeb swoops in to fill the void. Good points, to be sure. But with all due respect, Fallon’s wrong. And the reason is simple: Robert California is a Jedi. And Jedis always win.
California, whom the show’s executive producer describes as a “high-class weirdo Jedi warrior,” will win, too. His preternatural powers of persuasion have already sparked fertile relationships with the show’s two anchors: Dwight, who is hilariously infuriated by his mysterious mind-control voodoo, and Jim, who seems to almost admire him. I agree that his almost predatorlike energy might destabilize the “precious mood” of the show, but who says that’s a bad thing? Funny comes in all shapes and sizes, and I hope the writers will use any rifts California creates as an opportunity to breathe new life into characters who have maybe shrugged apathetically to the camera one too many times.
