Things not working out for The Office spinoff The Farm could turn out to be a really good thing for Rainn Wilson. Putting aside Joey comparison-predictions, NBC's choice not to move forward with the project left The Office star free to pursue other opportunities, which for Wilson, apparently includes a return to drama and a starring role in Hart Hanson's CBS pilot Backstrom.
Backstrom is based on a Swedish series of novels from Leif G.W. Persson, and follows "an overweight, offensive and irascible" cop who's having a hard time changing his self-destructive behavior. According to TVLine, Wilson will play the title character. He joins previously cast Dennis Haysbert in the project, and gives us one more reason to really hope this one goes to series. Also among the cast are Kristoffer Polaha and Beatrice Rosen.
Wilson's made a name for himself playing the quirky beet farmer and paper salesman Dwight Schrute in NBC's The Office, but he has some drama experience under his belt as well. Among his earliest credits is a spot on One Life to Live and an appearance in Almost Famous. He also played the strange mortician and love interest to Frances Conroy in Six Feet Under on HBO. This role in Backstrom sounds like a real opportunity for the actor to step up and take the lead in a drama project. We'll have to wait and see if the pilot gets picked up. In the meantime, we still have the remainder of the final season of The Office in which to enjoy his comedic talents.
