Staff Writer
Rainn Wilson won’t be joining the unemployment line after The Office wraps up its ninth and final season this May. The man soon-to-be formerly known as Dwight Shrute has landed the title role in Backstrom, a CBS drama pilot about “an overweight, offensive and irascible” police detective who tries, and fails, to change his self-destructive behavior.
Backstrom is based on a Swedish book series by Leif G.W. Persson (who will be an EP on the project) and adapted for TV by Bones boss Hart Hanson. Backstrom‘s cast also includes Dennis Haysbert (24) as Detective John Almond, Kristoffer Polaha (Life Unexpected) as forensics unit boss Sgt. Peter Niedermayer and Beatrice Rosen (Cuts) as Nadia, a foreign-born civilian who supports the detectives in the Special Crimes Group.
This casting news comes after The Office recently wrapped up filming last week.
Initially, Wilson would have moved on to the Dwight-centric The Office spin-off entitled The Farm that would have followed Dwight and his brother and sister as they try and make it as beet farmers. But NBC decided to pass on the series way back in October and the pilot aired as an episode of The Office thus leaving Wilson available for the Backstrom role.
If picked up, Backstrom is expected to air during the Fall 2013-2014 season.
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