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May 22, 2024

The Office: Why Steve Carell Left the Show in Season 7

Steve Carell used to be the comedic centerpiece of the successful TV comedy The Office until he abruptly left the show in Season 7. The Office never quite recovered from Steve Carell 's absence after

Steve Carell used to be the comedic centerpiece of the successful TV comedy The Office until he abruptly left the show in Season 7.

The Office never quite recovered from Steve Carell's absence after Season 7, but his exit offered him a chance to innovate his career while he was still at his peak. Over 10 years after its ending, The Office remains one of the most successful mockumentary series and pioneered many conventions of comedy shows of its time. Inspired by the U.K. version starring and created by Ricky Gervais, the show follows a group of peculiar employees of a paper company trying to make the most of their uneventful working hours.

The employees of Dunder Mifflin were led by the eccentric manager Michael Scott, a character that started off as the absolute worst and then gradually won over fans' hearts with his scandalous remarks and impertinent jokes. Michael had too much love to offer, and his abrupt exit in Season 7 of the show left a vacancy that no other major character could replace. Here's why Carell left The Office in Season 7.

Michael Scott wouldn't be so impactful to the show if it weren't for Carell's iconic performance. Carell embodied the character so perfectly that Michael's idiosyncrasies and quirky mannerisms became bigger than life, to the point it was often difficult to tell character and actor apart. In an interview for EW back in 2010, Carell hinted at Season 7 being his last one, claiming that he thought it was "a good time to move on."

The news caught fans off-guard, but Carell's contract was indeed drawing to a close; he only signed to stay on The Office for seven seasons, before the plans of extending the show kicked off. Different from what one might assume from a major character leaving the show, there was nothing warring about his exit; Carell stated that he simply thought it was time to try out different things and spend more time with his family.

Carell's popularity in the show made his career skyrocket, and since his departure, the actor has been an active figure in the film industry. Following his exit from The Office, Carell starred in a number of successful comedies, such as Crazy, Stupid, Love, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, and The Way Way Back. Although it might have been the perfect timing for him to pursue a more ambitious career, the same didn't apply to the show he departed. The gap left by Carell in The Office was too much to handle, and the series came to an end in Season 9.

Related: The Office: 11 Characters Who Could Have Become a Good Boss

Once The Office reached its ninth season, the show maintained steady numbers despite a turbulent post-Michael Scott season, causing NBC to present an offer to extend the series for two more seasons, but the cast felt that it was time to go. While this decision may have something to do with the fact that many of the show's original writers had already departed from the show, it must also have had something to do with how Michael Scott's absence impacted The Office's dynamics drastically.

Over the course of seven seasons, many storylines played out with a focus on different characters such as Jim, Dwight, and Pam, but Michael was always indirectly at the center of them. This wasn't clear until the character left the show, when all the main characters' relationships were drastically thrown into disarray by his absence, altering even the effective comedy timing of the show. As the comedic centerpiece of The Office, Michael was often both the catalyst for each episode's main conflict and the inevitable punch line due to its well-established connection with every other character; he was the boss after all.

Related: The Office: Is Michael Scott Actually an Intelligent Character?

The showrunners were quick to realize this problem, but their attempts to fill the void left by Michael weren't really successful. Characters such as Robert California and Deangelo Vickers were played by great actors, but their relationships with The Office's funniest characters were somewhat superficial and imposed. On the other hand, the decision to turn one of the major characters, Andy, into the show's new comedic centerpiece also backfired — in fact, it ended up being a huge downgrade to the character. Andy went from a quirky coworker with hilarious delusions of grandeur to an actual tyrannical figure at the office.

In the end, it all comes down to the irreplaceable influence Carell posed in the show and the result of his once-in-a-lifetime performance. His exit was felt in every aspect of The Office's last two seasons, but at least Michael's deserving farewell episode did justice to the character, and most importantly, didn't try to hide how much Carell meant for the members of the cast — Carell and Krasinski's eyes shamelessly brimming with tears say it all. It was an emotional character departure for all the people involved, and while The Office did lose a bit of its spark in Seasons 8 and 9, at least fans got the series finale they deserved with a memorable comeback from TV's best boss.