Keck's Exclusives: RIP Michael Scott?

Steve Carell just completed work on NBC's The Office; his last episode will air in late April or early May. Costar Kate Flannery (Meredith) calls his final shows "the funniest and saddest. I'm laughing or crying." The one bright spot: Four-episode guest star Will Ferrell "is the shiny object we have to distract us."
Mindy Kaling (Kelly), who's also on the show's writing staff, is keeping secret how Michael exits, but she did share three proposed scenarios that were ultimately rejected. As for his replacement, "What might it look like if two people take over Dunder Mifflin instead of one?" she teases.
1) Michael dies. "That was something we pitched forever. If it had been my decision, he would have been leaning on a pane of glass in the conference room and fallen to his death."
2) Michael disappears. "There's a movie called Picnic at Hanging Rock about three schoolgirls who disappear in Australia. People would have wondered if Michael had perhaps been kidnapped."
3) Michael's discovered. "We had an early pitch that he drove off to Hollywood to make his movie. But everyone knows Michael would fail and have to come back to Scranton."
Additional reporting by Carita Rizzo
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