Ricky Gervais Comes Back to 'The Office' Next Week
by Richard Sharp
After a wildly controversial Golden Globes hosting performance, where he skewered Angelina Jolie, John Travolta and a full slate of Hollywood royalty, Ricky Gervais is headed back to the spotlight with a cameo appearance on an upcoming episode of “The Office,” the series he originally created for the BBC.
According to NBC, Gervais will reprise his role as David Brent, the uncomfortable and HR-inappropriate boss who inspired Steve Carell’s Michael Scott. The cameo appearance runs on Thursday, January 27th.
"It's a little more than if you blink, you'll miss it, but if you don't set your TiVo right, you'll miss it," Office show-runner Paul Lieberstein told Vulture.
Apparently Gervais and Carell shot their scene in September, when Gervais was attending the Emmy Awards.
Gervais, who currently serves as Executive Producer for the American version of “The Office,” has been incredibly busy. He recently penned an episode of The Simpsons, according to the Washington Post; his HBO series "The Ricky Gervais Show" premieres a new episode on Friday; and he launches a new special "An Idiot Abroad in America" on the Science Channel on January 22nd.
Gervais responded to the criticism of his Golden Globes performance on his blog:
"Thanks to the twitterverse, the blogosphere, all the journos and the coolest stars for coming to my rescue. It was heartwarming to realise I wasn't losing my mind. Some reactions nearly had me believing I'd gone too far too. Nearly. Can't wait for the people who thought it was over the top to see my stand-up shows. F&*% me, they will sh&* themselves."
No word yet on whether Gervais will show up on "The Office" wearing those fabulous gold lamé boxers Ellen DeGeneres gave him.