James Spader
James Spader celebrates with his award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series at Emmy Awards in Los Angeles REUTERS

Get ready for a new boss on The Office -- and no, his name is not Will Ferrell.

James Spader, best known for his roles on The Practice and Boston Legal, will star as Robert California on the hit NBC sitcom. Spader, who made a brief appearance as California in the season eight finale, will become the CEO of the Dunder Mifflin parent company, Sabre.

In his first appearance on the show, Spader vied for Michael Scott's position along with Jim Carrey, Will Arnett, and Ricky Gervais.

It's unknown exactly at this time how much air time the three-time Emmy winner Spader expects to receive, but it's likely he'll get a fair share of the air time Steve Carrell's Michael Scott character used to garner.

James will reprise his role as Robert California, this uber-salesman that has a power to convince and manipulate, like a high-class weirdo Jedi warrior, Paul Lieberstein, who serves as an executive producer and as character Toby, said in a statement. He'll have been hired over the summer as the new manager, but within hours, got himself promoted. Within days, he took over the company.

Lieberstein further added, James has an energy that is completely his own, and 'The Office' has no tools for dealing with this guy. We're thrilled he's joining our cast.

The Office is entering its ninth season on NBC.