On the heels of the recent revelation that Steve Carell’s imminent swan song on The Office would lead to a sudden crush of guest stars, Vulture has now confirmed that one of those will indeed be Office creator Ricky Gervais in a “top-secret” cameo that is, of course, no longer all that secret. Head writer Paul Lieberstein says Gervais’ appearance will occur during the cold open of the Jan. 27 episode, and as to the question of how Gervais’ David Brent would fit into the Dunder-Mifflin world, well, they’ve more or less sidestepped that whole issue: “It's outside of the office, and it's just the two of them interacting. It's just a little nod to Steve and his final year.” Initially the show had hoped to maintain some semblance of surprise, not even informing NBC—which means Gervais “worked for free,” albeit while still collecting money for his self-professed cash cow—until well after Gervais shot his cameo in September, but eventually they gave in to the pressure of the Internet and just owned up to it. So, uh, surprise.
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