With the return of our favorite show tomorrow, TV Guide's Michael Ausiello dove into a triumvirate of The Office "spoilers" in today's column.

I won't spoil the "JAM" stuff he mentions, but I definitely want to discuss the following in light of our "the spinoff is a horrible idea" stance:

Question: What do you know about the Office spin-off? — J.R.

Ausiello: I know that, contrary to speculation, it will not revolve around Dwight. According to an insider, the Michael-Dwight dynamic is "too integral to the show." The likelier scenario, according to a Peacock insider, has Ed Helms' Andy headlining Office 2.0. "That idea was batted around prior to the strike," whispers my source, "and NBC seemed interested."

Despite my initial "no way!" reaction, this sort of makes sense. Ed Helms is definitely a "bigger name" than some of the other actors on the show, and while I've enjoyed him in season 4, both Ian and I always felt that the Andy character was a bit too redundant (half Michael/half Dwight). If anyone were to leave the current show, I think I'd miss Andy the least.

The only problem I have with this is that it seems to imply a "more of the same" kind of sequel show. As I said in episode # 39, I do NOT want to see "The Office 2.0" in the spinoff. If they can take the Andy character and put him in an environment that's different enough from the Dunder Mifflin digs, it just might work. Until we see more concrete plans, however, I'm going to reserve any more judgement.

(BTW, Ausiello also makes it clear in this column that Greg Daniels and NBC would be "insane" to not consider ex-Gilmore Girl Lauren Graham for the "new Michael" role in the spinoff. This just in: Ausiello smokes crack. News at 11...)

Disclaimer: AFAIK, Michael Ausiello does not smoke crack.

Thanks to Ian for the tip.