It's hard to imagine "The Office" without awkward boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell) — but if show star, writer and co-executive producer Mindy Kaling has anything to say about it, the Dunder Mifflin company will be in good hands without him.
"I'd love to see Rainn Wilson [who plays Dwight Schrute] in that position," Kaling told 's Michael Ausiello. "Dwight has become so nuanced — you actually care about him now. I think if [we did a good job laying the groundwork] this coming season, he would be a fantastic boss."
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As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, Steve Carell plans to leave the show after the upcoming seventh season, leaving Michael's position of regional manager open — a spot that Dwight, Assistant to the Regional Manager, has long jockeyed for on the NBC comedy.
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"That's my dream," Kaling continued. "It certainly hasn't been approved by people that are more powerful than me and who make those kinds of decisions."
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She added that, Dwight or not, she'd like to see the show use an existing character to fill the boss role rather than bring in a new one.
"The audience doesn't want someone whose hand they haven't sniffed," she told EW, adding that she'll be sorry to see Carell leave.
"We're still infatuated with Steve and love him so much that we're hoping for some 11th hour like, 'I really do like this schedule and I like craft services here, so I don't want to go,'" the comedienne said. "But I'm going to take him at face value and [assume] he's not being coy and that he really wants to [leave]."
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