‘Office Race’ director Jared Lapidus boasts new movie has ‘murderer’s row’ of A-list talent: ‘We were stunned’

nypost.com:

Joel McHale, Alyson Hannigan and Kelsey Grammer. “We were stunned at the cast we were able to attract,” director Jared Lapidus told The Post. “We had a short list of folks that we thought would nail the roles, and we went to the network with that list.

We very quickly came to Kelsey and Alyson. They loved it and signed on. Joel was very high on our list from the very beginning, we got lucky when he loved the script. “We had this miraculous series of ‘Yesses’ where we were able to attach a murder’s row of talent.” Premiering Sept.

4 (8 p.m.), “Office Race” follows Pat (Bennett), an unambitious office worker who’s aimlessly drifting through life. He’s got a girlfriend (also named Pat, played by Hannigan) who is frustrated with his lack of passion, and an obnoxious exercise-obsessed work rival, Spencer (McHale).After Spencer gets a promotion and becomes Pat’s boss, Pat soon becomes involved with a group of runners, led by Rita (Erinn Hayes).

Pat is just trying to woo Rita as an investor, in order to one-up Spencer. But soon, his involvement with Rita and her friends turns into a genuine interest in the sport, as he’s goaded into competing in a marathon with Spencer. (Grammer plays Coach B, an aging running pro who owns a shop, while JB Smoove plays another member of the team who speed-walks). “Joel’s character has an addiction to a quasi-legal sports drink which wreaks havoc on his body over the course of the film, particularly in the second half,” said Lapidus. “Joel was delighted to play this side of his character and did so with relish.