Steve Carell’s farewell from “The Office” airs at the end of this month, and NBC has given its Thursday stalwart a plus-sized 50 minutes to say goodbye.

NBC announced today that it will offer extended versions of Steve Carell’s final episode of “The Office” as well as for “Parks and Recreation” on Thursday, April 28. “The Office” will see Carell off in an episode that night from 9:00 -9:50 p.m. (ET) and will continue with “Parks and Recreation” from 9:50 -10:30 p.m. (ET). [NBC Universal]

Vulture adds:

Producers finished production on this episode [of "Parks and Recreation] months ago, but the Parks crew often has extra footage that needs to be cut, so perhaps it wasn’t too hard to pack in some more Pawnee. 30 Rock will shift to 10:30 p.m. for the night, meaning — and this may be the best news of all — no Outsourced!

Of course, there’s still no official word on who’s replacing Michael Scott in Scranton. Will Ferrell is stepping in for four episodes, but it seems unlikely that he’ll stay as Carell’s replacement. Will Arnett and Ricky Gervais are scheduled to appear in the May 19th season finale, but for my money I think the new “Office” boss will be David Cross. I’m making this prediction now so that I can link back to how smart I am if I happen to be right. And if I’m wrong, well, how the hell was I supposed to know? I’m just a blogger sitting on a couch. Win-win, baby.

Following Ricky Gervais’s cameo on “The Office” earlier this season, the star of the original British series will return for another guest stint on the American version’s Season 7 finale, joining Will Arnett for what promises to be a star-laden send-off for Steve Carell.

What will [Gervais and Arnett] be doing? Can’t say. The episode is still being written. We can tell you the one-hour episode will air May 19, have Gervais appearing on the show for the second time, and has Arnett appearing for the first time. Also, that there will be other notable guest stars as well.

Sources did warn that one shouldn’t assume that just because Gervais and Arnett are  in the finale, that either is going to replace Carell next season as the Office boss (but one can dream of it, right?). [EW]

Personally, I’d like to see more of the Will Arnett character from “The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret.” I’d also like to see the characters of Jim and Pam die in a car wreck, and my dog ride a bicycle, and Kate Upton nude in my bed, but that doesn’t mean any of those things are going to happen. At least not until I get my dog some training wheels.

Last night was a great night for television, and if you didn’t watch at least one show from the combination of “Community,” “Parks and Recreation,” “The Office,” “30 Rock,” “Archer,” and “Jersey Shore,” then you’re probably visiting the wrong TV blog. Here’s a quick rundown of what I found most buzzworthy:

Parks and Recreation — A flu sweeps Pawnee, sending even the sharpest characters into fever-induced dementia. Rob Lowe’s “Stop. Pooping.” was probably the highlight of the episode.

Archer — I would have liked to have seen Krieger and Cheryl/Carol in the premiere, but there was still plenty to love, including: the farrier/furrier confusion, a pikemen joke, and “the Alabama of Europe.” (Also, for anyone who liked yesterday’s explanation of obscure “Archer” references, you’ll enjoy this discussion on Reddit. Judge Crater and “lampshade hanging” definitely should have made our list, and I liked the clarification on Chekhov’s gun. Bonus: for anyone who thought Quadroon got snubbed, you may enjoy its Wikipedia page.)

The Office — I’ve got video and a GIF of Ricky Gervais’s appearance on the show below. Nothing ground-breaking or all that special, but it’s cute in its own way. By the way, there’s been a lot of talk about how “The Office” went downhill after Michael Schur left to work on “Parks and Rec,” but it’s worth stating that it’s bounced back this season.

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With Steve Carell leaving “The Office,” NBC is turning to Will Ferrell for a multi-episode arc that will take place as Carell’s character, Michael Scott, leaves the Scranton branch.

Ferrell has committed to a four-episode arc on NBC’s comedy The Office. He will play a branch manager who comes from the home office and is just as inappropriate as Steve Carell’s Michael Scott character. NBC is still figuring out exactly when the episodes will air, but Ferrell has committed to one episode beyond Carell’s finale, to help create a bridge.

Ferrell called the producers, offering his services because he’s a fan and wanted to commemorate Carell’s swan song by taking part in The Office star’s seventh and final season on the show. Ferrell and Carell are close friends who co-starred in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. [Deadline]

Is anyone else bothered by the fact that Carell and Ferrell have such similar surnames that don’t rhyme? Maybe it has something to do with this debilitating hangover, but I keep spelling Carell with two R’s and Ferrell with one R. Nevertheless, I’d appreciate it if these two would respect my alcoholism and stay out of each other’s news stories.

I rarely watch “The Office” any more, and I’m an antagonistic son of a bitch when it comes revealing spoilers that I don’t consider to be REAL spoilers, but I have to admit: I was a little bummed when Vulture spilled the news that Ricky Gervais would appear on the American version of “The Office.” Of course, your viewing experience won’t be truly spoiled unless you read how and when Gervais will appear on the show, so by all means feel free to stop reading now. I’ll put the details after the jump.

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