The Office producer Greg Daniels has finally revealed the premise of NBC's upcoming sitcom starring Amy Poehler. Originally set to be a spin-off of The Office, the series premise changed after Poehler came on board. The show will instead follow the office of Leslie Knope (Poehler), a mid-level bureaucrat in the department of Parks and Recreations in Pawnee, Indiana. Daniels and fellow Office producer Mike Schur are both on board to steer the untitled show, which Schur currently refers to as “The Untitled Amy Poehler Project.”

The series will be filmed in a mockumentary style similar to that on The Office, and will follow Leslie as she attempts to advance her career and help her community by teaming up with a local nurse (former Office star Rashida Jones) to turn a construction pit into a park. In the process, they butt up against local politicians, neighbors, and developers. Aziz Ansari (Scrubs) co-stars as Tom Haverford, another government official who is sometimes more hindrance than help, and Aubrey Piaza as Leslie's bored college intern.

The first script for the show has already been released, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had this to say about the writing: "The script is pretty hilarious. Poehler's character is sort of a cross between Tracy Flick ("Election") and Michael Scott. It goes a little overboard with the guys leering at Rashida Jones toward the end of the pilot script, but I really enjoyed the Aziz Ansari's explanation of how he got the name "Tom Haverford" after being born as Aziz Abdul Al'Rahman: "The cold hard fact is that dark-skinned people with funny-sounding Muslim names just don't make it very far in politics. (Beat) Yes, OK, fine, Barack Obama, Why does everyone always bring up Barack Obama? That's one counter example." The lead role seems well-suited for Poehler and the type of humor is very much in style with The Office."

Poehler's series is starting production in February, and should see airtime in 2009.

In more news from The Office, Idris Elba, best known for his role as Stringer Bell on The Wire, will soon be joining the NBC comedy as a new rival to Dunder Mifflin regional manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell). Elba is signed for a six-episode arc, in which he'll play a no-nonsense suit at Dunder Mifflin Corporate, who doesn't appreciate Michael's antics in the office. Elba was most recently seen in the feature films The Unborn, Prom Night, and Guy Ritchie's Rocknrolla. 

Be sure to tune in for tonight's brand-new episode of The Office, “The Duel,” which airs at 9 pm on NBC, to see what happens when Dwight and Andy come to blows over Angela's love.



-Meghan Carlson, BuddyTV Staff Writer
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette