Steve Carell Leaving The Office Earlier Than Expected?
By Krystal Clark
Over the past year fans of the NBC hit “The Office” have been prepping themselves for a big change. The series star Steve Carell is leaving the show. The actor always intended to part ways after the expiration of his contract, so the producers have had more than enough time to find a replacement and write him out. For the most part, we’ve been expecting him to bow out at the end of the season (the finale) but according to HitFix, Michael Scott could be saying goodbye a little earlier.
Showrunner Paul Lieberstein spilled the beans and a few details regarding the rest of the season including Carell’s departure, and the events that will follow. If you don’t want to be spoiled we suggest you stop reading.
[Light Spoilers]
- “Carell will depart the show with four episodes left to go in the season.”
- “Amy Ryan’s Holly will actually make her final appearance an episode or two before Carell.”
- “Once Michael is gone, the real scramble to replace him begins, and those final four episodes will feature not only internal candidates jockeying for position, but a number of new actors brought in from outside.”
- “The list of significant candidates from the current cast that he and fellow producer Greg Daniels are considering is down to three: Darryl, Dwight and Andy.”
- “Dave Koechner’s Todd Packer will ask to come off the road in an upcoming episode and take up his old desk.”
There you have it! If Carell leaves with four episodes left in the season, that means he’ll be gone a month earlier than expected. His final air date could be sometime in April. That’s too soon. The end is near and we’re having some serious issues dealing with his exit. Lieberstein claims that whoever they get to replace the actor won’t necessarily be the star of the show, because they’re well aware that Carell is irreplaceable as a talent. That’s good to hear.
What do you think of Carell leaving early? Who should replace him?
Friday, January 14, 2011 9:00AM
I was kind of hoping Kelly would take over the office. It'd really tick Ryan and Darryl off for obvious reasons, but Dwight would lose it. I think she'd be insanely funny in a management position.
Saturday, January 15, 2011 12:02AM
I love how the writers want the viewers to forget that Jim has twice been considered worthy of a managerial job, including when he was considered for a job ABOVE regional manager. And now we are suppose to accept that Sabre wouldn't even CONSIDER him for the job..even though when Sabre took over he WAS one of the managers.
Not saying I want him to be the manager, but if they don't address him as a possibility, it will be as stupid as when Michael Scott quit and even David Wallace (who has always liked Jim) didn't consider him as his replacement. (That could have even ben agreat way of bringing Michael and Pam back…Jim could have agreed to step down and give Michael his job back in order to get Pam back at Dunder Mifflin.)
Saturday, January 15, 2011 3:45PM
Dwight. For sure.
Sunday, January 16, 2011 6:42PM
Assuming the rest of the cast stays, I think Andy makes the most sense to be the boss. I wouldn't increase his air time necessarily though. You can split the air time with the whole cast which I believe is the most talented, quirky, and entertaining cast since Seinfeld.
Monday, January 17, 2011 6:40AM
Jim didn't want a managerial job once he found out he could make more money as a salesman, due to bonuses. Although the sales position has also had its problems, like the sales cap in December, I don't think he would want to go back up to a lower-paying job again.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 6:52AM
I wonder if he will be killed by the scranton strangler who is played by Ricky Gervais
Wednesday, January 26, 2011 5:44PM
[...] ego Michael Scott won’t be around for the season finale of “The Office.” When he jumps ship there will still be four episodes left, which made a lot of people wonder how the writers and [...]
Sunday, February 13, 2011 8:02PM
They already caught him remember the episode when the car chase goes by the office, then they run out side and Michael picks up some rocks from the road and said he would tell his grand children that he was there when they caught the scranton strangler.
Monday, February 21, 2011 1:22PM
who cares about the other castmembers ? Steve Carell & Rainn Wilson are the ones who make you look at the damn show ! Once they'e gone, well… BYE BYE FUCKING OFFICE ! the viewer numbers are going to hell ! Way to go !
Saturday, March 5, 2011 2:52PM
Kevin FTW