What would it be like to see one of the guys from the Sterling Cooper ad agency walk into the Dunder Mifflin paper company?  Viewers will soon get to find out, as Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello recently announced that one of the actors from AMC's Mad Men will be doing a guest stint on The Office.  Rich Sommer, who plays ad exec Harry Crane on the Emmy nominated drama, will show up in the September 25 season premiere of the NBC comedy.  Everyone involved with the series is being extremely secretive about his role, but one insider told Ausiello that the character "ties in with a surprise twist."  Let the theories begin.

Sommer's role on The Office actually came about during the writers' strike, when the actor happened to meet writer/actress Mindy Kaling, who plays ditzy Kelly Kapur, on the picket line.  "Mindy is a big fan of Mad Men and she knew that I was a big fan of The Office," he explained, "so we mused about finding some way to get me over there."  Though Sommer mentioned that his Office character is "very different" from the 1960s ad exec he plays on Mad Men, he wouldn't reveal any more details.  "When you see it," he said, "you'll understand why I can't say anything."

Sommer's role must be somewhat important if there's so much secrecy surrounding it, but it also can't be too monumental if he's only in the premiere episode.  I could see him being Jan's sperm donor, Ryan's cell mate, Kelly's boyfriend of the week, or maybe the ex-boyfriend or secret husband of Michael's latest crush, Holly.  The latter option may be the most likely.  Actress Amy Ryan is only set to return for five episodes in season 5, and surely Michael is too dysfunctional to live happily ever after.  Something, or someone, is bound to get in the way of their happiness.

Viewers can see Sommer every Sunday at 10pm on Mad Men.  In the meantime, I'm off to theorize about what sort of trouble he'll be stirring up on The Office.


- Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Writer
Source: Entertainment Weekly
(Image courtesy of AMC)