Some say this news should have come when star Steve Carell left the show at the end of season 7. But the show went on and this past Tuesday the series’ executive producer Greg Daniels announced that the upcoming ninth season will conclude the antics in The Office. Daniels served as the series’ showrunner from seasons one through five and then handed the creative reins to exec producer Paul Lieberstein, who plays Tobey. For the final season Daniels returns as showrunner and he had this to say about the not-so-shocking news.
“This will be the last season of The Office. And we’re planning a very big exciting last season. We’re going to have a lot of faces coming back … There are a lot of things that I’ve personally been wanting to do since season two … All questions will be answered this year. Now that we know we have an end date we can blow things up and take some chances and it will be very freeing, creatively.”
He assures fans that NBC has not cancelled the show (why would they–it’s the network’s highest rated comedy); The Office is closing its doors because the creative team behind it feels the time has come; many fans likely share the sentiment. “This year feels like the last chance to really go out together and make an artistic ending for the show that pays off a lot of the stuff that matters most to fans,” said Daniels. He continued, “You have a choice–only tell the beginning of story and the middle, or allow a story to end. If we didn’t let it end this year, I don’t think we would have been able to tell the ending stories of so many characters… we couldn’t count on getting everybody back for season 10.” (What with Mindy Kalling headlining The Mindy Project on FOX with fellow Office star B.J. Novak, and Rainn Wilson moving on to NBC’s Office spinoff The Farm.) Daniels added, “You could see a world where new people keep coming on the show. But I think [we want to] do justice to the existing characters in the most creative and explosive way and that means the show will be changed to such a degree that if anything was to continue it wouldn’t be the same show.”
Specifically, what can longtime viewers expect to see in the final season? Daniels says more drama will hit Jim and Pam’s relationship, the season will explore who’s behind the documentary crew that’s been filming the Office employees over all these years, and the elusive Scranton Strangler will be revealed. Do you want to see Michael Scott again? The producers do. “We would certainly wish for it,” Daniels said. “We’re not going to put so much pressure on Steve by writing something that would only work if he would return. He really loves how he was exited. He’s probably anxious about not messing up such a stylish exit. It’s a perfectly legitimate point. We’ll see, we haven’t written anything, we just have some ideas for the ending.”
The Office returns Thursday, September 20 on NBC.
There was a time when The Office was the highest rated comedy, though the ratings were terrible through most of season 8. It’s great the show can depart on its own terms and we get to see the story off properly without unanswered questions. Unfortunately I work nights at Dish and will miss the original airing. My Hopper DVR has me covered: it will record all the prime time shows of the four major networks without me having to set a reminder. I miss Steve Carrell, Ed Helms is a great actor in his own right, but the show has never been as funny. I missed a lot in the past but I’m looking forward to watching The Office this year.