Last year, Simon Cowell announced that he was leaving American idol and now it turns out one of NBC’s top series is about to lose its main draw as well.
Steve Carell has confirmed he will leave NBC’s The Office at the end of season seven. The sitcom is based on the BBC series of the same name and follows Carell’s character, Michael, the regional manager for a paper company. Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, and Jenna Fischer co-star as his fellow employees.
Carell has been with the series since its inception, although it was Paul Giamatti that NBC originally wanted for the role of Michael. Carell had a healthy career before the series premiered in 2005, but it’s certainly picked up since then. He’s already had one movie released this year (Date Night) and next month will bring two more, Despicable Me and Dinner for Schmucks. He’s in post-production for another, and is involved in nine other films in development, including Get Smart 2. Clearly, he’s a busy guy.
Feeling it’s just time for him to go, Carell has said, “I want to fulfill my contract. When I first signed on I had a contract for seven seasons, and this coming year is my seventh. I just thought it was time for my character to go.”
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NBC has said that Carell has hinted about leaving The Office for awhile so the network’s been preparing for his departure. They’re not disclosing their plans but it’s surely not a coincidence that NBC picked up a lot of new sitcoms for next season.
Because it’s still a moneymaker for NBC and one of the network’s few hits, they’ll surely try to keep it going. Though The Office is billed as an ensemble show, Carell’s character is unmistakably the lead character and often the focal point of the episodes. It’s hard to imagine the series continuing successfully without him.
The fate of American Idol is still up in the air but Scrubs certainly didn’t fare well without Zach Braff as a series regular. CSI has dropped significantly without Gil Grissom (William Petersen) and how long did Sanford Arms last without Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx)?
What do you think? Would you like to see The Office try to continue without Steve Carell or should NBC just end the series when Michael walks out the door for the last time.
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Steve Carrel is so funny!
I have watched all the episodes and am disappointed that he is leaving
Good luck to the Office, hope they can make it without him…
Oh and cool, there is going to be a Get Smart 2!
I think they should get the guy from the the british version and have him come in and take Michaels place.
They’re gonna need somebody pretty darn good to replace him or it’s not worth it.
There was a show I use to watch on the BBC called The Smoking Room which was basically like The Office and I thought it was better…the show took place in a Smoking Room at a company and you basically followed the charcters while they were on their break.
It was a much funnier show but probably becasue I am a fan of Mitchell and Webb anyway lol
I never was really a fan of The Office. Is it supposed to be funny? I don’t get it. I say, let the guy go on to better things like voice acting and just regular acting.
Well that sux!!! I don’t know what the storylines will be without Michael Scott. My best guess would be to focus more on Jim and Pam and their baby. Put Jim or Dwight in charge. I’m not sure if I would wanna see it for too long though. If they do continue without Steve Carell, they should atleast have him make an appearance at the end of the series. If they do renew it for season 8, I’m next to postitive that will be the last. Or maybe this is a Two and a half men situation here, he wants… Read more »
I can’t believe Steve Carell is leaving The Office. I can’t imagine the fate of the Scranton Dunder Mifflin office without their bumbling leader Michael Scott. I love the rest of the cast but without Michael Scott to provide those hilarious yet awkward moments I can’t really imagine it continuing. I’ve rented every season and seen every episode multiple times, so as an avid fan of The Office, I’m sorry to see this development!
They need to end it when Michael leaves. I love the ensemble cast, but unless they manage to bring in Ricky Gervais as “The New Michael”, I can’t see them pulling it together to make it as memorable.