The Office Season 5 News (And Spoilers!)

After debuting in 2005 to weak ratings, NBC's The Office has grown into a mainstream, Emmy-Award winning program. The fifth season is scheduled to premiere September 25, with NBC ordering 28 new episodes of the hit show. A spin-off of The Office is also in development for this year and will star Saturday Night Live star Amy Poehler.

The hour-long season premiere will differ from past premieres in that it recounts what Dunder-Mifflin's employees did over the summer. Appearing in a panel discussion at the 2008 Comic-Con, Office writers informed fans that the characters will be competing against other Dunder-Mifflin branches in a group weight loss competition. The writers also said that Michael Scott will throw a baby shower for ex-girlfriend Jan and her artificially-inseminated baby.

Returning for the season premiere will be Amy Ryan, who plays new Human Resources representative Holly Flax. Holly was introduced at the end of Season 4 and will appear in at least five episodes this season.

Fans can also expect to see a guest appearance by actor Rich Sommer in the season premier. Sommer, who is known for his role as an advertising executive on AMC's Mad Men, will play a flirtatious art student in one of Pam's classes. No doubt he will be a thorn in Jim's side, but only in the first episode.

Mindy Kaling, who writes and stars on the show, has stated the on-going Jim and Pam love story will be resolved this season, and audiences won't have to wait very long to breathe a sigh of relief.

Kaling also stated that the character of Toby will return at some point in season five. When we last saw Toby he was leaving Scranton and moving to Costa Rica, but Kaling assures fans they haven't seen the last of Michael Scott's most hated HR rep.

B.J. Novak, who writes, produces, and acts for The Office, also informed fans that his character will return in the upcoming season. Novak plays temp-turned-exec Ryan Howard, who is arrested at the end of season four for lying about the company's sales record.

As for The Office spin-off, it was originally scheduled to air after the Super Bowl, but NBC has decided to fill that time slot with an hour-long episode of The Office instead. The spin-off will be helmed by Office producers Greg Daniels and Michael Schur and will star Amy Poehler and Aziz Ansari (of Human Giant fame). Rumor has it that actress Rashida Jones, known to many Office fans as Jim's ex-girlfriend Karen, will reprise her role, only this time in a new office. A release date for the spin-off has yet to be announced.

Season five of The Office premiers September 25^th at 9 pm on NBC.