# Steve Carrell to leave The Office?



## Alfer (Aug 7, 2003)

Sounds to me like a ploy to get more $$$$.



> His contract with "The Office" apparently runs for one more season. Asked whether he would stay beyond that, Carell replied: "I don't think so. I think that will probably be my last year."


http://www.boston.com/ae/specials/culturedesk/2010/04/steve_carell_leaving_the_offic.html


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## DaveBogart (Jan 25, 2002)

Probably a good idea. Michael can't possibly get any more inept and more of the same wouldn't be very entertaining.


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## Fool Me Twice (Jul 6, 2004)

I don't know if the show can sustain another season anyway. After 5 excellent seasons, this season has been mostly terrible. It probably should have ended with Jim and Pam's wedding. It would probably be for the best if the show ended soon. Though, I'd miss it.


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## Fool Me Twice (Jul 6, 2004)

At least it's not ending this year. If I lost both LOST and The Office in the same season, I'd throw out my TV as an act of mourning. Then I'd bring it back in, because I use that thing a lot.


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## DougF (Mar 18, 2003)

Fool Me Twice said:


> I don't know if the show can sustain another season anyway. After 5 excellent seasons, this season has been mostly terrible. It probably should have ended with Jim and Pam's wedding. It would probably be for the best if the show ended soon. Though, I'd miss it.


While I don't agree that this season has been mostly terrible, I agree with the rest. I kinda wish it had ended with the wedding.

Seven seasons is a good run. Cast members get disinterested and it shows. Plus, I'm sure Steve would like to do more films.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

Hopefully that means the end of the show too. I still like the show a lot, but going out on top would be a good thing. Carell is what carries even mediocre episodes, if he wasn't around I think it'd be a huge loss.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

I think it will depend on how NBC's season goes next year. The Office is their highest-rated show right now (outside of Sunday Night Football), so they're not about to let it die out unless they have lots of success next season. If next season is similar to this, with lots of flops and turmoil, I think you'll see NBC back up the Brinks truck for Carrell and the rest of the gang before they let the show leave and leave NBC with a huge hole in their schedule.


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## Magnolia88 (Jul 1, 2005)

DevdogAZ said:


> I think it will depend on how NBC's season goes next year. The Office is their highest-rated show right now (outside of Sunday Night Football)


_The Office_ gets higher ratings than _The Biggest Loser_? That surprises me. In a good way, though.

I figured that TBL was NBC's highest rated show, which is why they stretch a lot of nothing to fill out 2 hours.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Magnolia88 said:


> _The Office_ gets higher ratings than _The Biggest Loser_? That surprises me. In a good way, though.
> 
> I figured that TBL was NBC's highest rated show, which is why they stretch a lot of nothing to fill out 2 hours.


I don't know about seasonal averages, but I know last night's TBL got a 2.8 in adults 18-49, which was its lowest-rated episode of the season. Last Thursday's episode of The Office got a 3.3, which was also its lowest-rated episode of the season. I think that The Office overall has had higher ratings, although the fact that TBL's ratings are fairly close, and are sustained over a two-hour period rather than just 30 minutes is impressive.


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

Considering the original UK version aired only 2 seasons, I'm surprised the writers were able to keep the story going this long.


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## Jeeters (Feb 25, 2003)

DevdogAZ said:


> Last Thursday's episode of The Office got a 3.3, which was also its lowest-rated episode of the season


Probably because nobody knew there was a new episode that night as there hadn't been one for nearly a month. I had no idea myself. My TiVo picked it up for me, luckily.


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## uncdrew (Aug 6, 2002)

Fool Me Twice said:


> I don't know if the show can sustain another season anyway. After 5 excellent seasons, this season has been mostly terrible. It probably should have ended with Jim and Pam's wedding. It would probably be for the best if the show ended soon. Though, I'd miss it.


I agree.

But if it's all about money, the show could last several more years. If they want to go out on top, they should have packed up a few months ago.


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

I don't know if fighting for number 1 at NBC is saying much. They don't have a single show in the top 20. the office used to have average to sub-par ratings. I think their ratings are close to where they have always been... So I have to assume the rest of NBC has just sunk all around them, leaving them near the top.

I don't know if the show has two more years left in it. it has been on a good amount of time. If they could get one more season out of it, they would be doing well. Pushing past Carrell leaving would be a mistake.

Although looking at Wikipedia I see that ratings are up this year from last year, where they were ranked 14th in 18-34 category.

So they have seen the ratings go up every year, so I do suspect NBC, who essentially has a blank slate as a schedule will likely be offering Carrell a lot of money to stick around a couple more seasons.


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## jstack (Mar 26, 2005)

They should honestly just cancel the show. It's a shell of its former self.


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## DVC California (Jun 4, 2004)

DevdogAZ said:


> I don't know about seasonal averages, but I know last night's TBL got a 2.8 in adults 18-49, which was its lowest-rated episode of the season. Last Thursday's episode of The Office got a 3.3, which was also its lowest-rated episode of the season. I think that The Office overall has had higher ratings, although the fact that TBL's ratings are fairly close, and are sustained over a two-hour period rather than just 30 minutes is impressive.


I'm guessing the cost to produce a two hour reality show is also much less than an 30 min scripted ensemble. That's why shows like TBL (and even Celebrity Apprentice) are such cash cows. As long as they get a "decent" share, they can make money.

But this is the same network that thought Leno at 10 was economically sound.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

DVC California said:


> But this is the same network that thought Leno at 10 was economically sound.


Well it was.
For NBC corporate.
For the affiliates (and probably the long term for NBC), not so much.

As I posted in the Leno thread, NBC's ratings are down across the board from last year compared to CBS, ABC, and Fox.

They've significantly damaged their primetime lineup and their late night lineup this season.


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## rockislandmike (Sep 20, 2005)

DaveBogart said:


> Probably a good idea. Michael can't possibly get any more inept and more of the same wouldn't be very entertaining.


Pffftttt . . . it started getting old two seasons ago.


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## MrCouchPotato (Dec 12, 2005)

rockislandmike said:


> Pffftttt . . . it started getting old two seasons ago.


I agree. I started watching halfway through season 2 and loved it. Some shows like Seinfeld build up to their best season, but The Office came out and peaked with season 2 in my opinion. It was raw, funny and had that great relationship tension with JAM. I liked the Jan/Michael relationship before then whacked her out.

The characters used to be easy to relate to but have all become caricatures and overdone. I can watch the first 3 or 4 season episodes over and over, but these days I'm hardly enthusiastic to start watching a new episode.


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## Steeler Mike (May 5, 2005)

> Steve Carrell to leave The Office?


Is he leaving to start his own paper company?


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## DougF (Mar 18, 2003)

Steeler Mike said:


> Is he leaving to start his own paper company?


You have no idea how high he can fly.


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

Steeler Mike said:


> Is he leaving to start his own paper company?


He has plenty of names.


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## Fool Me Twice (Jul 6, 2004)

DougF said:


> You have no idea how high he can fly.


Nice.


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## scooterboy (Mar 27, 2001)

MrCouchPotato said:


> I liked the Jan/Michael relationship before then whacked her out.


You could go blind doing that.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

scooterboy said:


> You could go blind doing that.


...heading to my bunk....


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## MrCouchPotato (Dec 12, 2005)

scooterboy said:


> You could go blind doing that.


That's what she said!


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## DeDondeEs (Feb 20, 2004)

I guess its official, he's leaving. I got worried for a minute when I saw him as a trending topic on Twitter.

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/06/28/steve-carell-office-exit/?hpt=T2

They should just wrap the show up IMO. It's run its course, and it is still sorta funny, leave near the top....


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## boywaja (Sep 30, 2001)

Alfer said:


> Sounds to me like a ploy to get more $$$$.


good point.

Charlie Sheen was leaving 2.5 men earlier this year until he signed a new contract.


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## ElJay (Apr 6, 2005)

A great time to end the show.


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## zordude (Sep 23, 2003)

ElJay said:


> A great time to end the show.


I think it might actually be a season too late, but I hope they don't try to press onward without him.

Z


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## Demandred (Mar 6, 2001)

The Office is still my favorite show on TV. I would be OK either way. I do think there is still comedy gold to be mined at Dunder Mifflin Sabre, although they'd need to make other changes too. My one issue with the show in the last couple of years is they have taken the insanity too far. I used to look at Dwight and say "hey I worked with a guy like that"...now I look at him and say "Man that guy needs professional help."


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## ElJay (Apr 6, 2005)

I like how the show has been going since Sabre came along. Perhaps it's because I went through the same sort of thing, being in a small sales office that was swallowed by a large moronic corporation.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

I would have to say if he leaves, let it go. I keep thinking of other shows that lost their main lead and sort of fizzled after that. Happy Days and MASH come to mind.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

When did MASH fizzle?


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## rgswff2 (Feb 23, 2001)

JYoung said:


> When did MASH fizzle?


When Frank Burns left the show. It was still ok but never the same. It started to become way more political and less funny especially towards the last few years when they all became friends. The better question is when did they lose their lead?


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## Jesda (Feb 12, 2005)

Shark jumped. Wrap it up and let it die peacefully.


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## mrdazzo7 (Jan 8, 2006)

I thought I was going crazy because there is so much press today bout next season being his last, but I thought he had already stated that a couple of months ago (and according to the start of this thread, my sanity is (somewhat) in tact). I don't get why people are acting like he just made this earth-shattering announcement. I guess because he reaffirmed it? 

I personally think this should be the end of The Office anyway. Almost any show starts to get old after six or seven seasons, especially comedies, and especially shows that are so contained. The characters have become stale and the laughs, while still there, are no where near the level of the early seasons (what show is after so long?). 

This is a good time to end it. Jim and Pam are married and have a kid, the company was taken over by another corporation so changes make sense, Michael can move to be with Holly... Just seems like a natural place. Jim is getting too old to play pranks on Dwight, Dwight is more or less a caricature at this point, the dynamic between the different characters is dying down. 

I say let it go, especially if Carrel leaves (even though I'm tired of him also, there's no point in continuing with such a big cast-shake up).


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

rgswff2 said:


> When Frank Burns left the show. It was still ok but never the same. It started to become way more political and less funny especially towards the last few years when they all became friends. The better question is when did they lose their lead?


Alan Alda would argue that's when it got really good.


Still, it was strong in the ratings until they went off the air.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

I'm in the camp that says let it go... This season should be the last. Well actually last season probably should have been the last. One of my favorite shows, but it just hasn't been that funny this season. Without Carrel it would just be... sad...


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## DougF (Mar 18, 2003)

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/09/office.dwight.ew/index.html?hpt=Sbin



> "I'd love to see Rainn Wilson in that position," says coexecutive producer/costar Mindy Kaling, who snagged a much-deserved Emmy nomination for co-writing last season's four-star Jim/Pam wedding episode. "Dwight has become so nuanced -- you actually care about him now. I think if [we did a good job laying the groundwork] this coming season, he would be a fantastic boss."


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

DougF said:


> http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/09/office.dwight.ew/index.html?hpt=Sbin


If they choose to keep it going using Rainn Wilson as the boss, I'd probably give it a chance. It would have to be pretty good and they'd need to take it in a new direction for it to work IMO. Trying to make Rainn into Carrel won't work. Leaving his character as is wouldn't work either. They'd need to make him a little less out there, but I can see him _finally_ getting to be the boss doing that.


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## DavidJL (Feb 21, 2006)

If I had knowledge that the show was going to start going sharply downhill after lets say the wedding episode and I could then say that's good enough for me I'm out, consider that the series finale and just not watch it anymore, I'd still choose to watch it realizing there'd still be good moments just not as many of them. Losing Carrell might just be the the breaking point where I'd say the good moments wouldn't be frequent enough to merit the 22 minute investment. Although curiosity would get me to watch at least a couple of episodes to see how they deal with his absence. 

I wasn't a big fan of many of the character portrayals in the British version, but maybe Sabre could announce to the staff that they are replacing Michael Scott with one of their managers from a British subsidiary and in walks David Brent.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

Ratings for the show have been on a continual upswing, so I doubt it'll go away any time soon.


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## mrdazzo7 (Jan 8, 2006)

I read the Dwight thing but that was just mindy kailing's preference, nothing concrete. I think Dwight has definitely become a novelty at this point though. It would have been funny to see him as the boss two or three seasons ago but now, meh. 

I caught a couple of re-runs over the weekend from seasons 2 and 3 and there is definitely a big difference in the quality of the show. It's not that the writer's are bad now or anything, it's just that the idea/concept has been worn down--any show that goes on for so long is gonna decline after a while, especially because they are so limited by the concept of the show.

I think if Carrell is leaving, they should just let it go rather than make it something it's not. But then if the ratings are still solid it won't matter, it's not going anywhere.


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

The last season was an improvement over the previous one, and obviously the other people involved will want to keep steady employment - plus NBC isn't exactly brimming with hit shows. So I'm pretty sure they'll keep trudging along even if Carell leaves (unless the show completely tanks before he's out the door).

In EW, they listed possible replacements, and I thought one suggestion was genious: Michael Emerson!  He had some really funny lines and pulled them off in "Lost", and I'd love to see what he could do with a full-on comedic role in this show.


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## Frylock (Feb 13, 2002)

If they insist on keeping the show going, they have to bring in someone from the outside. Only Jim and Dwight could reasonably take it, and they already did the Jim as boss/co-manager plotline. Bring in someone new to put a new twist into the show. Could give it some legs for a few more seasons (ala Spin City when Michael J. Fox was replaced with Charlie Sheen. Show wasn't as good, but it was entertaining enough to watch).


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## moot (Apr 8, 2006)

mrdazzo7 said:


> I think Dwight has definitely become a novelty at this point though.


In retrospect, I see the same thing happening with The Office as I did with Scrubs (and likely many shows before that, but just never noticed). In the later years, the characters have all become caricatures of their original selves. Dwight, Michael, Creed, Kelly, Kevin... pretty much all of the "wacky" characters have calcified around the couple of core jokes that they each started with and haven't broken out to show us something different in quite a while.

If they want to actually have a chance at keeping the show going post-Carrell, I think they need new blood for the manager position.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

There's only really one choice.
Rebecca Howe


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## ClutchBrake (Sep 5, 2001)

JYoung said:


> There's only really one choice.
> Rebecca Howe


I'll drink to that one.


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## Steeler Mike (May 5, 2005)

moot said:


> the characters have all become caricatures of their original selves. Dwight, Michael, Creed, Kelly, Kevin... pretty much all of the "wacky" characters have calcified around the couple of core jokes that they each started with and haven't broken out to show us something different in quite a while.


But of course when a character does show "something different," everybody screams "that was so out of character for him/her!"


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## DougF (Mar 18, 2003)

Some news about Carell's departure. Nothing too spoilery, IMO, but read at your own risk.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/01/steve_carell_will_leave_the_of.html


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

I wonder if Sabre could get David Brent to pop across the pond for an interview.


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## Bob_Newhart (Jul 14, 2004)

I've only recently started watching reruns of this show and really enjoy it.

Unless they get Steven Colbert to replace Carrell, I don't think this show is going to be very good anymore. I wouldn't have any interest watching The Office with only Phyllis, Oscar, Kevin, Creed, the Indian girl, the black guy with the crossword puzzles, black guy in the warehouse, Jim, and Pam. Boring.

Dwight is great in small doses, but Steve Carrell makes this show, obviously.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

Ugh.

If...


Spoiler



they make Kelly the boss, I really would be turned off. I would be happy, at this point, if she and Ryan rode off into the sunset.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

Bob_Newhart said:


> I've only recently started watching reruns of this show and really enjoy it.
> 
> Unless they get Steven Colbert to replace Carrell, I don't think this show is going to be very good anymore. I wouldn't have any interest watching The Office with only Phyllis, Oscar, Kevin, Creed, the Indian girl, the black guy with the crossword puzzles, black guy in the warehouse, Jim, and Pam. Boring.
> 
> Dwight is great in small doses, but Steve Carrell makes this show, obviously.


The should really give the people of color names. at least Oscar got a name.


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## Fool Me Twice (Jul 6, 2004)

I think the replacement boss will be Andy. Maybe Daryll or Todd Packer. Andy has become a Michael clone and Helms is star now. Daryll has been positioned to make a play for the job, but I suspect that's a smoke screen as is Kelly's management training. 

Packer seems like a long shot, but I could see Olyphant's character (he's still there right?) forcing him out of sales and into managment in a shocking final gag of the season.

I don't know how involved Kaling will be with the show in the future. She's supposedly going to write and produce a show of her own for NBC, so she may not be around. And nobody likes her character much anyway.

It can't be Dwight, because that would ruin the character. His authority should be mostly in his mind.

Anyway, the show will die after Carrell leaves, so I guess it doesn't matter much.


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## rifleman69 (Jan 6, 2005)

Whether or not it's the manager position that Michael Scott currently holds, or a position higher up but lower than Kathy Bates (which would obviously put Jim charge of the branch itself)...it will be filled by an outside regular occuring character almost for certain.


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## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

DougF said:


> Some news about Carell's departure. Nothing too spoilery, IMO, but read at your own risk.
> 
> http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/01/steve_carell_will_leave_the_of.html


The article gives information as to when (as in, how many episodes into the season) we will see Michael for the last time. If that's too spoilery for you, don't read.

I've been catching up on this show over the past year. I'm up to Season 5 (current season is 7). I watch them on the train and bus every day. It's a fantastic show and I'm hoping to catch all the way up before this current season ends.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

Ugh. Todd Packer as boss? No thanks.


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