WILL FERRELL TO GUEST-STAR OVER ARC OF EPISODES ON NBC'S "THE OFFICE"

Appearance Marks Reunion with Series Star Steve Carell ("Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy")

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - January 26, 2011 - Comedic actor/producer/writer Will Ferrell will guest-star over an arc of episodes on NBC's Emmy Award-winning "The Office" (Thursdays, 9-9:30 p.m. ET) as a branch manager who arrives from the home office and proves to be just as inappropriate as Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell).

Ferrell will re-team with Carell, who co-starred with Ferrell in the feature film "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy."

"We found Steve Carell when he was nothing but a movie star and we turned him into a television star," said executive producer Paul Lieberstein. "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."

Ferrell, who began his career with The Groundling improvisational troupe, later became a featured star on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" where he created a host of popular characters. While there, he ventured into many hit feature films that also include "Wedding Crashers," "Elf," "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," "Bewitched," "Old School," "The Producers," "Step Brothers," "Semi-Pro," "Kicking & Screaming," "A Night at the Roxbury" and "The Other Guys."

Ferrell and partner Adam McKay launched "Funny or Die," a well-known comedy video website. He is also executive producer of the comedy series "Eastbound & Down," and "Funny or Die Presents" with Gary Sanchez Productions for HBO.

From Deedle-Dee Productions, Reveille and Universal Media Studios comes "The Office," the hilarious documentary-style look into the humorous and sometimes poignant foolishness that plagues the world of 9-to-5 in the half-hour comedy based on the award-winning BBC hit. A fly-on-the-wall "docu-reality" parody about modern American office life, "The Office" delves into the lives of the workers at Dunder Miffflin, a paper supply company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Regional manager Michael Scott (Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Steve Carell, ""Despicable Me," "Date Night") is the boastful tour guide for the documentary.

Pam Beesly Halpert (Jenna Fischer, "Walk Hard," "Blades of Glory") is the former office receptionist now office administrator. Pam's office romance with sales rep Jim Halpert (John Krasinski, "Away We Go" "It's Complicated") quickly evolved into marriage followed by the birth of their daughter Cecilia. Jim shares his working space with Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson, "The Rocker,") the arrogant assistant to the regional manager whose responsibilities have expanded as the new owner of the office building. Ryan Howard (B.J. Novak, "Inglorious Basterds") is the young, smart, former temp, whose fall from grace as a Dunder Mifflin executive quickly landed him back at the bottom of the food chain in Scranton. Andy Bernard (Ed Helms, "The Hangover") is the preppy salesman and die-hard Cornell alumni whose endless and unique musical talents keep the office entertained. A surprising relationship has also formed between Andy and the ambitious distribution coordinator Darryl Philbin (Craig Robinson, "Hot Tub Time Machine"), who made an impression on Jo and moved his office from the warehouse to the main floor along side Michael and his staff.

Also starring are Leslie David Baker ("Malcolm in the Middle"), Brian Baumgartner ("Arrested Development"), Kate Flannery ("The Heir Apparent"), Mindy Kaling ("No Strings Attached"), Angela Kinsey ("Furry Vengeance"), Paul Lieberstein (writer, "King of the Hill"), Oscar Nu�ez ("The Proposal"), Phyllis Smith ("Arrested Development"), Creed Bratton (former member of The Grass Roots), Ellie Kemper ("Important Things with Demetri Martin") and Zach Woods ("The Other Guys").

"The Office" is executive-produced by Ben Silverman, Greg Daniels, who developed the series for American audiences, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Howard Klein and Paul Lieberstein.