Steve Carell maintains  7th Season of "The Office" will be his last. But that doesn't change the fact that plans are already hatching for season 8, and it looks like they involve B.J. Novak.

Novak, who plays the sneaky and frequently fired Ryan Howard, just renewed his contract with Universal Media Studios for another two seasons. Variety reports the deal promotes him from co-executive producer to executive producer status and maintains his current writing and acting credit on the series.

If Novak is a lock for season 8, it could see him rise to a leadership position in front of the camera as well. He was one of the first to join "The Office" when NBC committed to the U.S. remake, and, on the series, we already know that Ryan's capable of jumping ahead in the ranks -- until he's derailed by fraud and coke addiction, that is.

NBC, which probably hasn't emotionally accepted Carell's plans yet, won't comment on if Novak could be the boss, but they did have some nice things to say about him.

"B.J. has been an integral part of 'The Office' since the launch of the show," NBC president of primetime entertainment Angela Bromstad tells Variety. "Whether he's in the writing room or appearing on screen, we always get the smart, sophisticated, ridiculously funny humor from him that the fans have come to love."