The British comedian Catherine Tate — who is appearing on The Office finale alongside Jim Carrey, James Spader, Will Arnett, Ricky Gervais, Ray Romano, Will Ferrell, and Warren Buffett — is the producer’s top choice to replace Steve Carell, according to the Hollywood Reporter. In retrospect, this feels obvious: None of those other more famous names (except Buffett, of course) feel like realistic targets. Still: Spader is under consideration, apparently if Tate can’t do it (she’s committed to Much Ado About Nothing in England this summer); Arnett was under consideration, until NBC picked up his new show, Up All Night. There were also in-house candidates in the form of Ed Helms, Craig Robinson, and Rainn Wilson (an insider: “They are all movie stars, any one of them could do it”), but they seem to be out of contention. The Catherine Tate era (possibly?) starts soon! [HR]
