Dear Frank,

According to the Hollywood Reporter, British comedian Catherine Tate, who’s one of the half-dozen or so candidates guest-starring in The Office season finale airing tonight, is NBC’s top choice to fill the gap left by Steve Carell’s departure. I LOVE Catherine Tate, so I’m in a happy place right now, but it appears that many people are not familiar with her, which is a shame, so let’s fix this, shall we?

Basic deal, Frank: Catherine Tate’s like a British Tina Fey, except that she not only had a long-running comedy series (and with her name in the title), but has proved her abilities as a dramatic actress in a wide range of roles. I’ll admit that I didn’t really become familiar with Catherine Tate until after her first appearance on Doctor Who (I chalk this up to my general preference for British drama over British comedy) but I’ve since come to respect her as possibly one of the funniest women in the world. Here, watch her at work, opposite Daniel Craig:

Or opposite Tony Blair (y’know, the PRIME MINISTER), as her iconic “Lauren Cooper” schoolgirl character:

Or just proving in a Catherine Tate Show sketch that her style of comedy will fit in nicely on The Office:

If she actually gets the job — BRAIN GO KABOOM. And it would actually make sense for her to be chosen, given the rest of NBC’s Thursday line-up next fall: Parks and Rec, Whitney, 30 Rock (at mid-season) and Prime Suspect are all lady-led, and Community, while an ensemble, has three strong female characters in its cast.

But a big part of that, undoubtedly, will depend on reaction to tonight’s episode and her appearance in it. Right now, lots of Americans are saying “Who’s Catherine Tate?” Educating them will be a tough job indeed.

Love,
Liz