OUTSOURCED -- "Rajiv Ties the Bharat, Part II" Episode 122 -- Pictured: (l-r) Diedrich Bader as Charlie Davies, Parvesh Cheena as Gupta -- Photo by: Beth Dubber/NBC
The season finale of Outsourced could actually be the series finale if NBC doesn’t renew the sitcom. In fact, there is a whole movement to encourage the network to give the show another shot called Save Outsourced.
The cast is hoping for a reprieve too, even though they’ve already had their wrap party. And Outsourced star, Diedrich Bader admits it’s tough to celebrate when the show is in limbo…but that’s the nature of the beast he tells EntertainmentHeartbeat.com.
“That’s one of the difficult things about being in television,” Bader acknowledges. “ You never really know. We had the great luxury in the The Drew Carey Show of getting picked up for like two years so you knew you were coming back. One of the strange things about being gypsy in television or in show business period is that you get very close with these people and then your relationship essentially…kind of the reason it’s together is over. So, a wrap party like that has this kind of strange poignancy where you’re not sure if you’re going to see anybody again.”
And the actor says the decision to change Outsourced’s timeslot (Thursdays, 10:30 p.m. ET/PT) really did have an impact on the ratings.
“It’s not the best timeslot in the world, that’s for sure,” Bader points out. “But, with TiVo and Hulu and everything we have some really great numbers there. I don’t really know what that means, but it’s a tough timeslot. Hopefully we’ll have another year at it and we can really start to build a following in that timeslot.”
OUTSOURCED -- "Rajiv Ties the Bharat, Part II" Episode 122 -- Pictured: (center l-r) Rizwan Manji as Rajiv Gidwani, Noureen DeWulf as Vimi -- Photo by: Beth Dubber/NBC
The season finale will, of course, have Bader’s character of Charlie smack in the middle of the action hosting a bachelor party for Rajiv (Rizwan Manji), who has finally gotten permission from Vimi’s (Sarayu Rao) father to marry his daughter.
“His future bride walks in on it,” Bader says adding, “The idea is whether or not they’re actually going to go through with it once she’s seen the debauchery.”
The actor seems to always find the wacky roles, which is considerably different than the actual Diedrich Bader. In real life, he’s a doting dad who is intelligent…completely different from the character of Charlie for sure.
“I love it,” he insists. “I guess what they see is my inner idiot. Every week I can’t wait to see what the writers come up with. That’s the beautiful thing about being on a series is how a character really evolves and changes according to the strengths of the actor and the way that the writers want to kind of curve a character. That’s what’s so beautiful is every week things change and you learn more about your character.”
Bader has learned plenty about Charlie…and he’s eating up every moment on screen.
“This week, of course, we learn that Charlie is completely out of his mind,” Bader points out laughing. “Why anybody listens to this guy is totally beyond me. In a corporation, who do you send to India? Well, you have to get rid of somebody so you send a guy like Charlie.”
Characters like Charlie is the reason Bader entered show biz. He wasn’t really ever interested in being a leading man.
“When I was a kid I always wanted to be a character actor,” he insists. “I’m kind of obsessed and people that have followed my career will know this is true, I’m kind of obsessed with never sounding the same, with playing a different character every time and never sounding like myself. It’s been a lifelong obsession of mine to do that and the fact that I can get away with it to me is quite a blessing.”
NBC won’t announce their decision until next week when the network Upfronts begin (where they announce the new and returning shows), but Bader is hoping the fans can influence NBC’s decision.
“I would hope that people can email and save the show because I think it’s worth saving.”
We agree.