Veteran actor James Spader isn’t typically the one and done kind of guy when it comes to a TV series unless he’s a guest star, which was one reason why Jamie Gerber from ScreenRant and many others were likely confused as to why he spent only one season on The Office after Steve Carell had left. It sounds as though Spader was on course to stick around for two seasons but he was adamant about only staying one since his character, Robert California was in his mind only there to bridge the gap from Carell’s character to the future of Dunder-Mifflin. Carell was ready to move on despite the desire of many fans to see his character, Michael, continue onward to the finale in season 9, where he did eventually show up. But Spader was, despite the displeasure of many fans, thought to be a solution that would have eventually grown on people. Instead he was there for season 8 and that was it.
The much-loved actor has been kicking around for a while now throughout the past decade and more, seeking out places he can call his own for a time before moving on. He’s played the voice of one of the most evil villains the Avengers have ever come across, he’s been great in The Blacklist, and as he keeps getting older he keeps getting a little more distinguished with each new role he takes on, far removed from the younger and more headstrong roles that he used to take on in the past. From movies such as Pretty in Pink to spectacular flops like Supernova he’s been one of those actors that you can depend on for a decent to good performance, but he’s hung his hat in a few places over the years and has managed to stick around for a good amount of time before finally moving on. Not this time though.
Adapted from the British sitcom of the same name, The Office became something of a phenomenon when it came to its place in TV. Each one of the characters had a following of sorts, and a lot of people were more than willing to chime in on how they felt about those they were so eager to watch. Spader was basically a placeholder for the show, though the execs had a bigger plan for him initially, one that he said ‘no’ to firmly and in such a way that they just couldn’t hold him there. He had his reasons no doubt but at the same time, even though it seems a bit hypocritical, it would seem that people were almost wanting him to stick around just to give a little more needed structure to the show that it so desperately needed with Carell gone. To think that the absence of one or two characters could possibly disrupt a show in such a manner is easy enough to guess at, but without Michael, the funny atmosphere in the Office was dimmed just a bit since Dwight was a little overbearing and didn’t always come off as the best character despite the fact that so many people enjoyed him. Jim was actually thought to be a psychopath by some viewers, and in fact there was an opinion about many of the employees within the office space that a lot of people have been willing to comment on throughout the years. But Spader, ah Spader, he seems to have come up only once in a while since his time was so short.
Perhaps that’s for the best though. He can be a funny character and all but it might be best that he doesn’t really get remembered as easily among the Office cast since a lot of the show had to do with the kind of off the wall comedy that a lot of people grew used to. He can be funny, there’s no doubt of this, but at the same time his humor is usually so deadpan that one has to really wonder if he’s trying to be funny or if he’s just the type of character that was meant to be stiff and almost emotionless most times, as he’s been in many other productions. Spader is a great actor, but The Office didn’t seem like the right fit at the time, and in truth it was almost as though he was being brought in because the execs believed he had enough juice to keep the show going, when in truth they still had enough talent on the show to keep things up and running. It was better to put him in than a little-known actor however, as people could at least recognize who he is and still wonder just what the showrunner was thinking. Putting in an unknown seems like it would have met with greater disaster, and a much shorter season for the unknown actor.
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