The Office Star Has No Interest in Ever Reprising Their Role

It’s been nearly a decade since the American reboot of The Office had its series finale, leading many to wonder if we could ever get a new take on the concept or possibly even a continuation of the earlier narrative, though Zach Woods recently confirmed he has no interest in bringing his Gabe Lewis back to life. Not only would he never want to have to bring that uncomfortable character to life, he admits he wouldn’t want any performer be tasked with the challenge, and instead noted that he’d like to reprise his role from the film Other People if he was allowed to return to any character from his past. Woods can next be seen in Season 2 of Avenue 5, which premieres on HBO on Monday, October 10th.

“I loved playing Gabe, but that was my first job really, TV job. That poor man, I would be happy to never spend another instant in his skin. Even though I have great affection for him,” Woods shared with ComicBook.com about the experience. “It was a fun part to play because it’s a funny show, but to be Gabe is not something I would wish on anybody, especially on Gabe.” 

Woods continued, “For me, I played this tiny little part in this little indie movie called Other People where I played the ex-boyfriend of Jesse Plemons’ character, and for some reason, I had such affection for the character. It’s a tiny blink-and-you-miss kind of role, but there’s something about him. I just really liked him, and sometimes, in the same way that you can learn things from characters, you can occasionally miss characters. And something about that guy, I’m always like, ‘Oh, I’d like to know more about him.’ So, if anyone’s looking to make spinoffs from tiny indie movies from seven years ago about cancer, then you know who to call.”

With the American The Office lasting longer than the UK original, the stakes would likely be higher to try to reinvent the concept again, and with everyone from the original cast going on to become major stars, it also makes a sequel series seem unlikely.

Season 2 of Avenue 5 takes us to a not-so-distant future where space tourism is a booming business. While manning a luxury spacecraft owned by Herman Judd (Josh Gad), Captain Ryan Clark (Hugh Laurie) finds himself in over his head when the ship is thrown disastrously off-course — turning what was meant to be an eight-week cruise into an eight-year journey. Picking up five months after failing to reroute the vessel, season two follows the crew — including fiery engineer Billie (Lenora Crichlow), unpredictable head of customer relations Matt (Zach Woods), and faithful right-hand Iris (Suzy Nakamura) – as they struggle to lead, calm, control, and, if need be, hide from increasingly unruly passengers. On earth, they’re lauded as heroes, and in space, everyone can hear them scream.

Stay tuned for details on the possible future for The Office. Season 2 of Avenue 5 premieres on HBO on Monday, October 10th.

Are you disappointed we won’t get more Gabe? Let us know in the comments!