Entertainment TV James Spader vs. Steve Carell: Can the New 'Office' Boss Measure Up? James Spader has been tapped as Dunder Mifflin's new head honcho By Sara Hammel Sara Hammel Sara Hammel is a former writer/reporter at PEOPLE. She left PEOPLE in 2016. People Editorial Guidelines Published on July 7, 2011 10:00AM EDT Photo: Evan Agostini/Getty, Jim Spellman/WireImage Steve Carell has said himself that he had trouble letting go of his Office character Michael Scott. So how will the show’s loyal viewers react to a new boss ruling the Dunder Mifflin roost? NBC announced Wednesday that Boston Legal actor and former Brat-Packer James Spader, 51, will replace Carell on the hit show. As the CEO of Sabre, the parent company of Dunder Mifflin, “James will reprise his role as Robert California, this uber-salesman that has a power to convince and manipulate, like a high-class weirdo Jedi warrior,” Paul Lieberstein, an executive producer and a series regular said in a statement. “He’ll have been hired over the summer as the new manager, but within hours, got himself promoted. Within days, he took over the company.”