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Wilson gets a change of office in new Fox comedy By Jay Bobbin © Zap2it Rainn Wilson's new series character may mirror some of his traits from "The Of- fice," but he insists he isn't playing Dwight Schrute again. The actor planned on a longer break from weekly television work after nine sea- sons, but he says he "knew he had to do" the part of the eccen- tric but effective title detective in "Back- strom." Developed by "Bones" creator Hart Hanson from Leif G.W. Persson's series of Swedish mystery novels, the Fox series premieres Thursday, Jan. 22. Portland, Ore., is the locale where self-de- scribed "paranoid psychopath" Everett Backstrom is back on the job after a five- year break, joining a Special Crimes Unit but still offending virtu- ally everyone. "In the '50s and early '60s," the friendly Wilson reflects, "the heroes were all lantern-jawed, silent types you could really root for. Then in the '70s, heroes were played by people like Alan Alda and El- liott Gould as deeply flawed. "In the '80s, we had the Tom Sellecks, but now it's swung back around, which is what Hollywood does. It's more back to antihe- roes, and Backstrom is a classic one. He's addicted to almost everything there is ... food, alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling, you name it." Dennis Haysbert ("24"), Kristoffer Pola - ha ("Life Unexpected") and Thomas Dekker ("Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chron - icles") also are regu- lars in "Backstrom," but Wilson clearly is the pivotal casting el- ement. "There's a lot of comedy, and dark comedy especially, in the show," he says. "I didn't want to do a role that was hyper-seri - ous, because it didn't make sense for me as an actor. And also for my fans. I hope audi - ences will be open to me in different roles, especially all those amazing and loyal 'Office' fans who stuck with the show for so long." "Backstrom" origi- nally was intended for CBS for the 2013-14 season. When that network ultimate- ly passed and Fox picked it up, the addi- tional one-year delay suited Wilson fine. "It actually worked out perfectly for me," he recalls, "because when we started shooting the first season, it was a little over a year from when I finished 'The Office.' I had a nice break; I got to spend time with my family, and I started writing a book that I'm almost done with." Still, "Backstrom's" extended gestation pe - riod has Wilson eager for its debut. "I'm just so excited to get it on the air and have peo- ple see it," confirms the actor, who also has a producing credit on the show. "For a long time, we've been working hard on it. "CBS was very scared of the aspects of the character that might rub the audi - ence the wrong way, or seem too extreme ... and Fox has just embraced them, and that's really been a key difference. I think we're probably at the right home." Page 2 January 19 - 25, 2015 Rainn Wilson plays the title detective in "Backstrom," premiering Thursday on Fox.

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