THE OFFICE Spin-Off Revealed? - a podcast by Matt Sommer

TV Guide reported this week that NBC was looking to use the relative success of THE OFFICE to launch a new spin-off series.  Details were scarce, but a recent post on AdAge.com might shed some light on NBC's plans.

According to AdAge.com, Ben Silverman and NBC are planning a "comedic summer series" based on the humorous novel e by Matt Beaumont.

Amazon describes the book as "a fast-paced, wickedly funny tale of office back-stabbing and corporate
intrigue that unfolds in a succession of escalating e-mails... Set in a London ad agency desperate to land a coveted big account, e follows the bureaucratic bungling, cutthroat maneuvers, and outrageous
sexual antics of a group of Miller-Shanks employees as they scheme,
lie, lust, and claw their way up (and down) the company ladder...Written
by a former advertising copywriter, this hilarious, dead-on-target
novel marks the debut of a hip and exciting new voice in contemporary
fiction. With the click of a mouse, Matt Beaumont brings the novel of
letters into the twenty-first century, turning his merciless, unerring
eye on today's Machiavellian corporate culture-with uproarious results."

The AdAge.com piece goes on to describe how NBC is looking for several major companies to be involved in the show (since it is based on an ad agency).  Apparently, Silverman has also stated that the advertisers will have "some say" in what happens on the six episode, hour-long show: "Definitely, they will be part of the process, but the process will be led by the writers."

Fans of THE OFFICE will know how much product placement has been on the show during the last few years, and this seems to be taking the trend even further. 

So *IS* this the rumored spin-off? Only time will tell.