With so many actors leaving the show, how long can it last before it is unrecognizable?
Many said Steve Carell’s departure from The Office was the beginning of the end, and they may have been right.
The TV show has kept some momentum since Carell left, but some actors have already jumped ship. The newest of the actors to make this announcement is B.J. Novak, who plays Ryan Howard on the show.
Novak is also a writer on the show, and no mention was made of his writing capacity. While he is leaving as a series regular, he said he will return on a recurring basis in Season 9.
Novak is not the first one to leave the show in the last few months. New cast member James Spader announced his departure back in February.
“James came to The Office to play a role that was two scenes long in the Season 7 finale,” executive producer Paul Lieberstein said, according to the Huffington Post. “He instantly brought so much life and intrigue to the part that those two scenes became a season.”
The show brought him in to play the same part in Season 8, but Spader later announced that season would be his last.
Mindy Kaling, who plays Novak’s on again/off again girlfriend Kelly Kapoor on the show, has also announced she will be leaving. FOX has offered her her own show, The Mindy Show. Kaling will reportedly play an OB/GYN.
Rainn Wilson will start a spin-off on NBC, based on his character Dwight. And Paul Lieberstein, better known as Toby to The Office fans, will be leaving to work on that show.
However, Ed Helms, John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer have all said they are coming back.
“The actors are all prepared to come back,” Fischer told The Huffington Post in April. “We’re just waiting for NBC to pull the trigger on that.”
The new season of The Office, with some new faces, will premiere Sept. 20 on NBC.
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