Why Steve Carell Left the Office 

I always thought we (as fans) were really deprived of a Michael/Holly wedding. A great two parter like Niagara. Thanks, NBC.

As someone who works for a company that was taken over by a much larger company I can confirm that the Sabre episode is 100% accurate.

Carell was the heart and saul of the show. Last seasons were barely watchable. Loved that he came back for Dwight's marriage, really shed a tear.

I remember finding it hard to get thru season 1 and I almost dropped the show. But now, having seen the show so many times, season 1 is easily one of my favorites.

I would have loved an episode with a baby shower for Holly where we see it from the side of Michael being truly happy and excited. Imagine the parallels and callbacks they could include.

I think Michael's arch ended perfectly. Always leave them wanting more and, nailed it. That's what she said

I'd sacrifice Dwight and Angela's wedding gladly to get Michael and Holly's wedding

The problem with seasons 8 and 9 is they feel so disconnected from reality at that point. Micheal was so cartoonish in his own right that the other characters being semi-normal and having to deal with his outlandish-ness was apart of the comedy. But if you take away Micheal, all you’re left with is a bunch of normal people who lack that aspect that led the show for so long. The solution? Make EVERYONE cartoonish and extreme. By the time season 9 came around I was so taken out by how dumb everyone had become. I felt as if nobody on the show portrayed the characteristics of real human beings. Seasons 2, 3 and 4 are my favorite seasons of The Office because they feel the most REAL while being funny at the same time. Seasons 8 and 9 are a cartoon that is trying way to hard to get a laugh

Carrel literally said he was waiting for a contract for more episodes that never came for him sadly

Carell’s leaving doomed the show. There were some funny moments in the last two seasons but not enough to sustain the show. While The Office was an ensemble show, Carell’s Michael Scott was the launching pad for many of the characters. They weren’t as funny after he left. Much the same as TWD has never been the same since Andrew Lincoln’s Rick left.

When I re-watch, I always stop after Carell leaves

Why did he leave? Because he’d been an A-list actor in Hollywood ever since the 2nd season of The Office and really could’ve jumped ship from the show after about Season 3 and still would’ve had the phenomenal career he still enjoys today. He really did the show a solid for sticking around as long as he did. He blew up between the downtime of Season 1 and 2, mainly because of The 40 Year Old Virgin as well as a handful of bit parts and cameos, but he stuck around for the money, accolades, and the show was actually good and he probably thought his overnight fame might go away as quickly as it got their and it’s safe to say there’s not a better safety net for an actor than to be on a long running successful sitcom.

Yeah I always seen Micheal leaving as the "true" ending of the Office. With my own head canon wrap up for everyone. D'Angelo is replaced by Dwight who wins back Angela, Andy becomes his ARM, and Jim leaves for Athlead earlier with Pam knowing from the start. Pretty much everyone's happy ending from the series finale. Just with the bad stuff (Robert California) ignored.

Reading these comments absolutely fills me with relief because I honestly thought I was the rare occurrence of a person that absolutely only watched the series ONCE in its entirety. I have rewatched it many many many times but once Michael leaves, I cannot bear to watch another episode. I absolutely despised the new characters like Robert California, Clark, and Nellie most of all. Then, the storylines kinda just felt really rushed and the jokes felt really forced. You could not pay me to watch the seasons after Michael left and expect me to enjoy it lmao

I was always curious about Carell's leave, but it makes total sense for him. Keep up the great videos.

So many people in the comment section express that they stopped watching (while repeating or binging the series) right after after Michael leaves. For me, I honestly stuck around for Dwight and Jim’s antics and also Jim/Pam. The first time I ever watched office , I cried when Michael left. The last two seasons were hard to go through, and then I cried again when Michael returned in the finale. It’s been 3-4 years since that. I’ve rewatched the series a couple times but I tend to skip episodes from the last two seasons..

Imagine a world where Saul Goodman was Micheal Scott

I'm so jealous of people who are starting to watch this, they gonna have their best time of their life

Michael was such a hard carry for the series, but to give credit to all - he was able to pull it off because of the amazing support cast. Just imagine the office with no Dwight or Jim.

It would have been great seeing more of Michael becoming a husband and a father, seeing him combine work and family. Friends lasted 10 seasons with a cast that stayed until the end, even while doing other projects, but they got the money they demanded to do it, so I do believe that Steve left because the studio did not even bother to talk about a deal. Steve is now starring in a new sitcom, so it means he does not have a problem with being in movies and on television, and the fact that he so easily hooks up with his old Office-friends and came back for the final proves that he still feels and felt connected to the show. The Office should have been able to get to ten seasons and with Steve it would have been possible, after he left the show really struggled to find a sense of stability, some storylines were awful, and the development of some characters was just weird (I hate what the writers and Ed Helms did with Andy, leaving the show to do a movie and than come back was bad for the character, Ed should have said 'no' to one or the other). If Steve had stayed, the writers would never have done a lot of the things they did (not taking in account the things they had to do because Steve was gone) involving the plotlines they created around the central cast, it all became a bit unrealistic in the end. The 'reality-tv'-stuff was already dead in the water after a few seasons, no studio would ever do a program where they follow people for such a long time without putting it on TV (as all 'reality-tv'-shows work), so that plotline wouldn't have gotten any better if Steve did not leave, but with the plotlines around Steve there would have been better developments in the plotlines around the rest of the cast. In the last two seasons they suddenly had to put the focus on characters who were always there but never the real focus of the show. Michael was always the focus of the show, whatever happened it always came back to him, he always triggered things, put things in motion, and without him that driving force was gone and you saw everything falling apart. If you look at the screentime Michael had in every episode in the seven seasons he was in the show, it really becomes obvious why it was so hard to write for the remaining cast in the last two seasons, they had to give a lot more screentime to a lot of characters and that just did not always work very well.

I came to the office late in life. When I heard that Steve leaves the show and that there are 2 season after that, I was confused. I was like "ok... so what are they doing for 2 seasons without Michael Scott?"

I always thought it was such a big mistake getting rid of Steve carell Michael Scott was annoying but he was likeable because he was a good guy deep down and just wanted to be part of the gang. I hate getting to that point every time I binge watch. The last couple season aren’t as enjoyable but I’m so glad that Michael got a happily ever after with holly.

I'm a huge The Office and Michael Scott fan. I have watched the Steve Carell seasons probably over 10 times but I have never watched the remaining 2 seasons without Steve. The show ended for me when he left.

It feels forced, the way they won't talk about michael like his name is voldemort or something doesn't really make sense to me. What I like in the office is that they film the show as if it is a documentary, considering how long michael scott has been on the show and filmed in that documentary but then there's very few references of him (ed truck might have more references than michael when he left lol), gets rid of the feeling of documentary of crazy workers on a crazy workplace, but just actors who are acting on a sitcom.

I personally think there wasn’t any kind of decline in the show after Steve left, I love every single season, and I love seeing the rotation of weird managers we got after him. I’m disappointed we didn’t get to see a wedding and then Michael’s family, but I LOVE that they brought him back for Dwight’s wedding 🥰

I think Steve Carrell made the office. Whatever the circumstances of why he left I believe the show was never as good as when he left. I loved Michael Scott because he said things that I want to say but would probably be fired if I did. Love this show!

I think his leaving was a good thing for his career - it allowed him to really focus on other projects - and it also did great things for Ed Helms, Craig Robinson, and so many of the others. It really mixed things up thus allowing those actors to do some really fun things. And it isn't like the show crashed after he left. The writers and producers did a great job with keeping it all going! So overall, I think that it was a good thing. It was good for the actors and it was neutral at worst (and at best) for the show itself.

The series arched when Jim and Pam got married, in my opinion.

I think seasons 8 and 9 suffered from bringing a lot of new talent when the show didn't need it. Dwight, Jim, Pam, and Andy could have done more to become main and it would've been fine. The new characters like D'Angelo or Nelly were terrible.

i think the show could have kept going for a long it would have been so cool to see michael scott in a completely environment with his kids and holly. cool vid dude keep it up with the office!

Studio executives are an inigma. Literally incomprehensible how such incompetent people can remain in charge.

Obviously the show got worse when he left but it was at least watchable. Just knowing that Michael married Holly and got multiple phones to take more pictures of his kids so he needs a family plan for his phone bill is all I ever wanted.

The way Michael left has to be the greatest way a main character has “died off” in a tv series I’ve ever seen/can recall.

There's something "perfect" in how reality transcended fiction. How they embedded improv, buyout, missed connections, aging, births and real emotions spewing, from what was behind the scene right through the screen like a inverted 4th wall breaking. Michael Scott left and come back at the last moment to have seen his children shining and grown. A change of leadership and its meanderings. Honestly, perfect.

"Goodbye Michael" is the episode where i stopped watching the office everytime, because after that, they tried to make the show funny, but it's not, they also add some new unnecessary characters that imo weren't interesting or likable or even funny

It’s a shame hearing he wanted to stay for a few more years, but NBC never did anything to actually have him stay for as long as the rest of the cast stayed. Obviously, Steve Carell’s career had done well since leaving the show. He got nominated for an Academy Award and has appeared in a lot of great stuff over the years. Had Michael Scott been in the last two seasons of the show, it likely would have been better than what we ended up with. The last two seasons had good episodes, but Carell’s absence is felt. Great video man!

Nice one, you presented all the info available, didn't fly off into wild conjecture, and wrapped it all up neatly. Subbed

Thank you! Always wondered about exactly why Steve left. The staff, cast and fans adored him. I think he was feeling slighted that no one from the network reached out to him.

This was the same time period that Conan O Brian had the whole thing go down with NBC/Tonight Shiow/Jay Leno. So CLEARLY NBC did not know how to make the blatantly obvious right choices to keep talent. It's insane to me what NBC did in the early 2010's, and still haven't recovered from. I don't know if Conan would still be hosting the Tonight Show. He clearly has a lot of respect for the position, and the history of that show, and the time slot it entailed. Meanwhile Carell was basically ignored, so he said "Peace out, I'm gonna do what I love." And good for him. We as viewers may have been robbed of some great TV content, and a longer run of The Office, but I can fully understand why Steve Carell would leave the show if he's basically being treated like he already doesn't exist.

This video is great. Very professionally written.

One thing I wish the office would've done differently is not have the co-manager arc earlier in the show but instead have it during Micheal's final days and have Jim be picked as his replacement and essentially shadow Michael to learn the ropes of being manager. Jim could then take over as manager and Dwight would then resent him even more. Instead of the revolving door of managers they had, they could've added a new character or two to replace Jim's former sales position. I think that this scenario would actually fit into the eventual Athlead storyline, where you could have Jim feeling unfulfilled despite advancing in his career. This would've made it more interesting to see him be caught between his responsibilities and his dream. Eventually culminating in Jim and Pam leaving and Dwight taking over. This may not be a perfect scenario but if it keeps Robert California and Nelly away from the show, it's worth it in my opinion

i love michael but i really like the show as it is... flawed and sad, sometimes even boring or frustrating... because it's realistic... people leave the places they love even if they are happy there for the sake of someone else and we have to accept that... I belive we all can relate to this and for me at least, it makes it all easier

Some may disagree but I think that the Dwight Shrute character was as important to the series as Michael Scott

Season 7 is actually one of my favorite seasons. I really love the growth Michael showed, how he was getting out of his own head as he returned to his relationship with Holly. He started to value authentic relationships like Dwight and Erin over status chasing relationships with users like Todd Packer and Ryan.

unpopular opinion. I think its good that Steve left the show. Not because he did a bad job (far from it) but because it makes us value the previous seasons more. Keeping him on would make just more of the same... Him leaving left some room for other actors to take a more leading role, which turned out OK. And his brief return in the finale would never have made such an impact.

great vid as always my dude!

Great video, and perfect timing to cover this after the end of season 6. Lots of stuff I didn't know before. 👍

Imagine a series of Michael being a dad with Holly as a wife and then he moved to Scranton again as a new series that would be so cool to have all the actors reunited and share funny moments again

Can someone PLEASE for the love of God notice the mini obsession Stanley has with toy cars?!

When Steve Carell (Michael Scott) left the show I left as well. He was the anchor and everyone else was centered around him. I tried to watch after he left and it wasn't the same. I honestly felt that the show should have ended at his departure.

I would have preferred ten seasons of Michael Scott over what we ended up getting

Great deep dive! Can't wait for season 7... its going to be epic

If Carell never left I think the show would have only been good upto 8, then if they did more it would have to be backdoor pilot seasons for spin off series. I really really wanted Parks to be a spinoff. I just wanted the two shows to share characters I grew to love so much. Office and Parks was the 2000's answer to Seinfeld and Friends.

I watched this to get over my sadness but now I'm even more sad :(

I'm glad they went the happy ending route Such an american way to write off a character but hey Happy beats realistic sometimes

Same. I was never that upset he left; I almost felt like it was time. The show was changing and I hated to see Michael Scott have to change with it. But the rushed exit for the character hurt. There was so much more they could have done to give him the proper send off.

I love every episode of the office, even the episodes after Michael Scott left.

My only gripe with Michael leaving is how he returned. His cameo appearance at Dwights wedding was so brief and pathetic why bring him back at all to do or say absolutely nothing.?

Thanks for a great video! I so miss Michael Scott/Steve Carell.

I can't imagine Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Michael Scott

No one gonna mention the video being out of synced?

This video is a great reminder to never underestimate the power of simply dropping what you're doing, taking at least a second to just think, and to then reach out to that person you've been meaning to call.

Also, Holly should have never gotten Michael. Considered to be a more mature, more rounded version of Michael, but she dumped him minutes into their long distance relationship. Gave Michael the run around multiple times, got into a "serious" relationship with another guy in Nashua, and generally showed no interest in a relationship with Michael unless it was on her terms and most convenient for her. The cherry on top is that the story plays out that she is the reason he leaves Scranton (although I understand the real world events that led to this were contractual). We're painted this picture that they're soulmates but that relationship was 99% Michael. Jan on the other hand would have been an awesome character arc, had they tried to resurrect her character. Michael obviously cared about her, and in the bankruptcy episode she comes clean with a lot of her emotions and we get probably the most genuine look at who she "wants to be." Part of that moment was her admitting how much Michael cared about her, a moment we never really got with Holly.

I never really noticed before that Pam can't stand Micheal, and yet she's the one who sees him off at the airport.

I enjoyed the seasons with Michael and I was sad when he left BUT the last two seasons are amazing too. I love seeing the other characters expand.

In the book it says he wanted to stay . He wanted his contact renewed, but they never did

The chemistry was perfect. I think of Abbot and Costello where Abbot seems inconsequential but actually feeds Costello into lunacy.

Oh i wanted to see Michael as a parent. He always wanted to be a dad. Though Holly coming in his life was the best thing for him ever, but needed to see him as a dad. That storyline was not closed

If Carell didn't leave then Robert California would have never existed( which is a good thing). And also In season 8 I felt a felling of depression in the show because everyone couldn't bounce of Robert the same way with Michael in a comedic way.

When a movie "ends", and makes you think and wonder, things that might have been, what happens next etc, is probably the best "ending". It makes things legendary, and live forever, when it "quits" on the top. When iron starts to cool, it`s best to just dip it in the water, and let the heat warm it up again. I think a reunion season could be nice, but it also could ruin the joy of the mystery of the legend. But i hope it happens. One of the best shows ever!

Steve Carrell leaving The Office was like Topher Grace (and Ashton Kutcher) leaving That '70s Show. There were still funny moments and interesting storylines after they left, but the show was never the same.

I think the problem here was communication between Steve caroll and NBC. Both parties expected the other to confront them. NBC owners also lost interest to the show while Steve caroll also was getting tired playing the character. Although he wanted to continue on but I think he also wanted a higher pay something NBC at the time gave nod to. Hence his exit was imminent the moment he had that interview on radio.

That show was absolute crap to me after he left. I never even finished the series. Kind of always been mad at Steve for leaving because that was my favorite show.

Anytime I rewatch the office I always stop at the episode Micheal leaves, then restart again.

Oh my god. This is the best channel I’ve come across in such a long long time.

To be honest, I knew during watching the show for the first time, that Michael have to leave the office in some point and I always thought, it will be due to some major mistakes. I was really happy seeing him leave on his own to marry and get his dreams come true.

Ah yes! Jeff Zuckerman: responsible for the late night debacle that year and why Conan "O Brien had to leave the network and why Jay Leno got the Tonight Show over David Letterman. P.S. I would've liked to see him as a Dad glad he got back with Holly, but all this him wanting to be a parent and we never saw it is sad to me.

Good job bro....Can you talk about the Spin Off that was supposed to happen with Dwight Schrute and “The Farm”. I think he went and did “Backstrom” on Fox instead.

I would have loved to see Michael and Holly get married and maybe a flashforward showing him with some kids. He would have been such a loving Dad.

I'm confused... there was never any secret as to why he left. It was all right up front

The Office without Michael Scott lost half of it essence... it is really sad. The show is epic

When Micheal left, the show suffered.

I would have loved to see Michael as a Dad. That would have been an awesome spinoff

Most people will agree, Seasons 2-5 were the best, and Seasons 6-7 were good. However, I might break the mold when I say Season 1 was WAY better than seasons 8-9; aside from the last episode of season 9, which was about on par with seasons 6-7.

I love the idris elba saga so much, it resembles a boss replacement we had at my old tech support company, the new boss was such a dictator there was people considering murdering him (its brazil of course that could happen) but we managed legally get him out, not of the company but from our sector, we turned him into a joke, we sabotaged results simultaneously just to look bad for him, and in the end he was put on another sector (sales) and we got another boss that wasn't bad at all.

Honestly, I think it was a great move to end the character on Steve's behalf: Leave at the top and with a bang. Sure the show might have continued past the 9th season but I believe it would've been "too much" Now we get to romanticize how the wedding went, how he was as a father, etc making the show still live on for some of us almost 10 years later and personally that's just amazing timing and writing, also without the "spotlight" on the office we got other amazing great quality shows following like you mentioned in the video (personally I like P&R slightly more then the office, more connecting story line) but all in all I do wish he stayed maybe the show would've been different but also the culture of today is different and the show would've been cancelled regardless because of twitter lol

Instant subscriber! Can’t wait to watch all of your videos

Basically the general rule for TV applied: 1. If the show is good and the fans like it, cancel it. 2. If the show is mediocre at best, but some people watch it because nothing else is on, keep running it for nearly endless seasons.

When I first started, I really disliked Michael but soon after he left I realized how much he was adding to the show. Been my fav ever since.

The last thing any actor or actress wants is to be typecast. We all wanted more Michael Scott, but it is understandable why he left.

Hey thanks for this great unfold Mulverine! I had been a fan when it was on air. On the beginnings of this year,I had started to watch The Office from the very first ep and season and I don not regret! :D Because now it even resembles more with me and my feelings about corporate life. As far as I remember,Steve left the show due to contract issues and I was thinking 'oh,he wanted more and they didn't give it,so he left' but as I understood from your video it's a bit more complicated than that and everybody was shocked! But then we got this epic Season 7! So that dynamics itself is a lesson! And it seems like NBC shot themselves on their own foot but maybe,not... maybe it was gonna turn into a dull show and they'll be canceling it anyways after S7? Who knows...! Thanks man! Subscribed and will be around for the next seasons.

Since everyone who's ever met him says Carrell's the nicest guy and real professional, I bet they could've saved the show a bit. And so much pain would've been prevented.

Is this video desynced? or am i missing something

Great video man! But good lord that audio sync was nightmare inducing

I took a lot of time to believe he was really gone. I thought he would come back like Jim in Stanford.

I didn't want Michael to leave!!

I just watched the whole thing and it was amazing I'm glad they made the script so good I'm glad it ended the way it ended and I'm glad they got at least to show Michael at the last episode Honestly season 7 is the best one for me is the perfect balance between a new chapter of the series and the old chapter of the series

This was recommended to me and then I see the person talking to me… wait I know him lol. Awesome!!!

I cried really hard when he left..

Keemstar is actually a pretty nice guy