2017 Needs Michael Scott

There are a lot of reasons I'm bummed The Office is no longer around, but a big one is the lack of Michael Scott's social commentary, especially when it comes to current events. And now, it sounds like I'm not the only one who feels that way. On Tuesday, Mindy Kaling tweeted about how fun it would be to write Michael Scott's TED Talk, and now that she mentions it, it's a total missed opportunity, and honestly, so are the last couple of years.

Even though it's been almost four years since The Office's series finale aired — and even longer than that since Steve Carell left the show — all nine seasons on Netflix means that its fan base has only grown. Kaling, who not only starred as Kelly Kapoor but was also a writer on the series, is well aware of that fact, and she's tweeted a few times since the show ended about how much she misses the characters. But this tweet has made me realize how desperately the world needs Michael's TED Talk.

I mean, think about it. If he managed to score the invitation, he'd probably wonder if he needed to change his name to Ted, and then he'd read an excerpt from his memoir, Somehow I Manage. It would be brilliant.

And Kaling bringing up this topic made me realize exactly how good The Office would have been with Michael's reactions to everything happening in 2016 and 2017. There's a lot going on in the world that wasn't before his tenure at Dunder Mifflin was up. Example: Our most recent presidential election.

Here's my theory on that: At first, he would have thought that Donald Trump's ideas sounded good. I mean, making America great again? Michael would have totally been on board about that. But once he showed up to the office in a MAGA hat, Oscar would have set him straight about exactly what Trump was trying to do, and that would enrage Michael. So what would he do? He'd run for president.

Except he'd totally misunderstand what that meant — like he did when he tried to literally declare bankruptcy — and probably start training on a treadmill, assuming that he'll easily be able to beat Trump in a race to Washington D.C. because who couldn't run faster than Trump? It would be a disaster, but a hilarious one.

Also, chances are really good that he would have participated in the women's march with some seriously offensive protest signs... that he didn't realize were offensive, of course.

And on the lighter side of world events since The Office ended? There would be plenty of material there, too. Since Michael and Holly are married, he'd coach one of his employees through Tinder dating... or he'd make Toby a profile and try to set him up with someone awful. You know he would catfish Toby if he could.

If these aren't all signs that The Office needs to come back and bring Michael Scott with it, I don't know what is. Netflix, you made Gilmore Girls happen, which I once thought was impossible. Can we do this, please?