Will Ferrell to guest star in Carell's Final "Office" Episodes

It's no secret that Steve Carell's departure from "The Office" is going to be quite the event, and Will Ferrell will be there to make sure it's extra special.

The "Anchorman" costars will share Carell's final three episodes, with Ferrell playing a branch manager who is just as incompetent as   Michael Scott.

Entertainment Weekly revealed that at least one of Ferrell's episodes will air after the show's ring leader departs.

Executive producer Paul Lieberstein told press, "We found Steve Carell when he was nothing but a movie star, and we turned him into a television star. We are proud to continue The Office's tradition of discovering famous talent, and we hope that once America gets a good look at Will, they'll see what we see: tremendous raw sexuality."

And, as they say, bad press is better than no press at all--something that's proving to be correct for under-the-gun comedian Ricky Gervais.

While the British comic may have insulted just about everyone at this year's Golden Globes, it was recently announced that he'll be appearing on NBC's "The Office."

Coming up on January 27, Gervais will appear on an episode as David Brent - who happens to be the same character he played in the original British version of the show.

"Ricky had wanted to do something [with the U.S. "Office"] and it felt like we shouldn't go the whole series without them connecting," show-runner Paul Lieberstein tells Vulture. "But we had some issues to work out, like how does David Brent live in the world of Michael Scott."

Back in December Steve Carell appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show where he talked about his planned "Office" departure.

The "Get Smart" actor told Ellen DeGeneres, "I think it would be in their best interest just to sort of go in a different direction and not try to do the same type of character."

Steve also noted that while he feels it's a good decision to move on, he's going to have a hard time saying goodbye.

"Yeah, it's a little sad. It's sort of bittersweet because a lot of these people are my best friends. I feel like it's time for me to move on, but it's sad. I'm going to miss everybody a lot."

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