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Aint' It Cool News hears from "talent agents" that NBC won't pick up the pilot of American version of the BBC hit The Office (which stars The Daily Show's Steve Carrell, left) for a series. The networks present their Fall schedules to advertisers next week (barring writers' strike Armageddon, which will seriously confuse things), and NBC seems to prefer sticking with safe, cheap fare where struggling actors consume the colorectal tracts of farm animals (Fear Factor) or pretend that they can love the physically unattractive (Average Joe). NBC may consider The Office for midseason or a minor-league demotion to Bravo.

UPDATE: Variety says that NBC is happy with Joey (sub. req'd.), the Friends spin-off. They'd better be, as they've already put it on the Fall schedule, probably in the Friends Thursday timeslot.