Holly and Ivy: Amy Ryan Returns to "The Office"

I'm beyond thrilled that Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone and, yes, The Wire) will return as HR executive Holly Flax next season on The Office.

In her guest turn in the season finale of the series' fourth season ("Goodbye, Toby"), Ryan completely altered the dynamics of Dunder-Mifflin's Scranton branch (in the best possible way) and--in a stunning twist--gave Steve Carell's Michael a much needed injection of maturity.

Ryan, who typically appears in significantly grittier pieces like the above, will recur in at least five installments of The Office next season but doesn't know quite what Greg Daniels and Co. have in store for Holly.

"I don't know what they're going to do with the character," Ryan told Variety, "but as it was written, there's certainly a lot of potential. It's a funny thing to enter a show that you're a great fan of -- and it's nice to tell lighter stories. I love the dark, grittier side of life, but it's nice to take a break from that, put a skirt on and brush your hair."

Me, I'm just happy to be even slightly excited about The Office again. Fingers crossed that they can get back on track after a creatively dismal season.