Steve Carell and The Office: Together Forever

It was recently announced that Steve Carell, star of The Office, planned to leave the show after this season, coinciding with the end of his contract. Along with that announcement, various media outlets, including The New York Times, have reported that NBC plans on continuing the series without Carell as the bumbling-but-sweet office manager, Michael Scott. That all being said, here is why NBC and The Office should consider closing down the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin Paper.

The Office is a hit, and no one could deny that. It is a clever show with an incredible following, and while some may feel it does not live up to the original British version, it has found serious success. It was even placed in the legendary Thursday night comedy line-up, formerly referred to as "Must See TV." This past season was on par with some other great line-ups, boasting the freshman Community, the ever-improving Parks and Recreation, and the Emmy gold mine 30 Rock. However, The Office should take a cue from other legendary sitcoms on how to bow out. Seinfeld ended at season nine with the cast being offered incredible amounts of money to stay on the air. Despite that, and because of pride in themselves and the show, they gracefully bowed out. Will and Grace only had eight seasons, a hit through its entire run. Granted, Arrested Development was cancelled, but that makes that incredible show all the more legendary. Bowing out is cool. We don't want another Scrubs on our hands.

Some could also argue that many successful shows have gone through line-up changes, such as MASH and Cheers. This is true, but Alan Alda never left MASH, but actually became more involved as a director and writer. Ted Danson stayed on Cheers through the entire run as well, because Cheers wouldn't be Cheers without Sam Malone. The Office is a similar case. If Jim or Pam were leaving, it would be devastating, but the show could adapt. In many ways, we have already seen a lot of shifting on The Office, such as from the Jim and Pam relationship to Erin and Andy. Tina Fey could not leave 30 Rock, Amy Poehler could not leave Parks, and not one of the five cast members of How I Met Your Mother could depart.

Finally, NBC seems to have a lot of comedies on the back burner right now, and The Office could make some space, considering its run, which is five years longer than the BBC version. Parks and Recreation, which has gotten funnier with each episode, is being shifted to the spring line-up, which could injure its chances of ever finding a mainstream following. There is also not a whole lot of buzz surrounding Outsourced, which looks like it could literally go nowhere. Funny premises do not make the program; it's the funny situations those characters get into that make the show. The Office is about an office. Cheers was about a bar. 30 Rock is about a TV show. TGS with Tracy Jordan isn't even funny. It's the goofy managers, intellectual barflies, and type-A NBC pages that make those shows amazing.

In short, NBC and the producers of The Office should take a lesson out of the sitcom handbook and let The Office die a peaceful death. It has run a good run, but it might already be wearing thin, and a good show deserves a happy ending...that's what she said.

Sources

Dave Itzkoff, "No Overtime for Steve Carell as NBC Acknowledges He's Leaving 'The Office,'" Arts Beat, The New York Times.