No one's happier Steve Carell lost his virginity than the producers of The Office.

Mere months ago, as NBC mulled its fall lineup, the superbly-droll comedy was sitting precariously on the bubble. It made the cut -- barely -- and returns Tuesday to the NBC lineup.

This would be reason enough to celebrate -- ducking cancellation always is -- except that in the interim, its star, former Daily Show correspondent Carell, went from character comedian to rising star thanks to this summer's smash, The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

Enthuses The Office's executive producer Greg Daniels, "I feel like I got in on the ground floor of a stock."

"I'm IBM, baby!" Carell declares during a recent conference call.

And that stock continues to soar.

Already signed to star in a sequel/spinoff to Bruce Almighty -- Evan Almighty, featuring Carell's supporting character from the Jim Carrey blockbuster -- this week Carell inked a deal for another film, Dan In Real Life.

Meanwhile, development of a Get Smart remake in which he'll star continues.

"They're still writing it. It's a tricky one. They want to make it just right. It's a slippery slope with sequels and remakes -- they want to make sure the script in the right tone and right sense of humour."

And in a few weeks time, Carell will host Saturday Night Live, an event he calls a "dream come true. I can't wait. It's a huge deal. I can't wait to do it -- it's going to be a lot of fun."

All of which makes you wonder 1) how long Carell will stay with the show now that he's poised for big-screen stardom and 2) is The Office going to shortly be re-branded The Steve Carell Show to capitalize on his popularity?

To which Carell answers:

1) He hopes the show will be around for a few years -- with him onboard and

2) "I look at the show as absolutely an ensemble -- that's the only way it would work. I don't think it's a starring vehicle. All the actors are fantastic so don't think it's a matter of humility," he says.

"The only way the show will work is if we're equal partners ... Honestly they're not treating me differently at all and I wouldn't expect them to.

"No one's treating me any differently, actually -- my kids aren't, my wife's not. It's the status quo. I can't say my life has changed dramatically. I keep hoping it will change for the better, but it doesn't."

Nor does Daniels feel any pressure to deliver ratings on par with The 40-Year-Old Virgin's box-office potency. "If there are more eyes on the show, that's anybody's guess. I feel like we're just trying to make classic television."

That's something one could argue they've already succeeded at.

Inspired choice

Based on the acclaimed BBC series, The Office stars Carell as Michael Scott, the regional manager of a paper products company located squarely in middle America.

While Carell's big-screen success may bring additional viewers to the show, they may be surprised to find Carell's Scott is about as far from Virgin's innocuous Andy as you can get.

A blundering, painfully incompetent boss, he exists in a constant state of self-delusion.

Surprisingly, Carell derives his inspiration for this clueless clod not from a former employer -- it's said everyone knows a Michael Scott and if you don't, that means you are Michael Scott -- but from another authority figure.

"It may be a teacher I may or may not have had in the fifth or sixth grade who thought he was the coolest guy in the room. And unbeknownst to him, he was in fact the least coolest. He had no idea."

At times, Carell's performance is so good -- uncanny in its haplessness -- that it's actually uncomfortable to watch.

That's all fine and good overseas, of course, where the series originated -- the Brits love cackling merrily at nitwits -- but in North America, audiences prefer their TV characters to be people they'd want to spend time with.

Yet Daniels says they never considered making Carell any less of a jerk for the NBC incarnation.

"We're not creating shows based on what the network wants," he says.

Adds Carell, "I never felt any pressure to soften the character.

"Sometimes I feel that pressure at home and in life, but I continue to be a boob all day long."