10. Martin Freeman - The Office (US)
The Office is one of the rare examples of an American TV show actually managing to surpass the show it was spun off from. Many will still say that the UK version is better and knew when to quit but that doesn't change the fact that The Office was one of America's best shows of the last decade. So, why didn't Martin Freeman bother to show up? In the U.K. version, Freeman's "Tim Canterbury" was one of the main characters and Jim Halpert's predecessor (even their hair looks the same). Like Jim, Tim was sarcastic and flirted relentlessly with the receptionist. The Office did introduce Ricky Gervais as a cameo late in the show, but we never got to see the two sitcoms relate further with Martin Freeman. By the time The Office was ending, Freeman was becoming a more well-known actor in the States thanks to landing the role of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, but that still didn't lead to an opportunity for him to meet his doppelganger face to face. The reasons for it not happening are unclear, but it's probably because crossover cameos aren't always successful these days. They're typically seen as cheap ways to rejuvenate a struggling show, and in this case, The Office had just lost its heart in Steve Carell. The producers were probably convinced that more appearances from David Brent's universe would have been ignored or even criticized by the already frustrated fans, myself included.
Jon Negroni
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Jon is the author of the Pixar Theory, the narrative that combines all of the Pixar movies in one timeline. You can read more about his random nonsense on jonnegroni.com
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