The Officesuffered a huge loss when Michael Scott left the series, but the cartoonish season 9 would’ve been terrible even if Steve Carell was in it.Carell departed fromThe Officeduring its seventh season. After he left, the rest of the season was dedicated to finding a replacement, and the season 8 premiere revealed that the job went to Ed Helms’ Andy Bernard.The Officekept going for another two seasons without Michael, but those two seasons were generally considered to be a massive drop-off in the show’s quality.
This decline is often attributed to Carell’s departure, and it certainly didn’t help. Michael was the beating heart ofThe Officeand the series never felt the same without him. But based on the writing,The Office’s final seasons would’ve still had plenty of problems if Michael was still the regional manager. Season 8 had a few gems — and the presence ofthe hilarious Robert Californiacertainly helped — but season 9 was the year that truly killedThe Office.
The Office Season 9 Showed Everything Wrong With The Series' Final Seasons
The Office Devolved Into A Cartoon In Its Final Season
The ninth and final season ofThe Officeexemplifies everything that went wrong with the series towards the end. In its early seasons, what madeThe Officeso great was that it was a grounded sitcom set in a relatably mundane workplace. Butin the final season, there’s nothing relatable or mundane about the day-to-day operations of Dunder Mifflin. The office is no longer a place of business; it’s just a playground where a bunch of wacky characters hang out and get into shenanigans.
The office is no longer a place of business; it’s just a playground where a bunch of wacky characters hang out and get into shenanigans.
In the season 9 premiere, Dwight rides a bicycle across a tightrope off the roof — andit only gets more absurd from there. Andy goes to the bathroom on David Wallace’s car before auditioning for a TV talent show. Dwight fills Stanley with tranquilizer darts and throws his unconscious body headfirst down the staircase because he refuses to walk down the stairs.The Officeseason 9 has more in common withLooney Tunesthan the classic British seriesit was based on.
Michael Wouldn’t Have Been Able To Save The Office’s Final Seasons
Michael’s absence was definitely an issue inThe Office’s final seasons, butif Carell had stuck around until the end of the series, it wouldn’t have been enough to salvage those last two seasons. If seasons 8 and 9 still had the Tallahassee arc, the Athlead arc, andBrian the sound guy, then it wouldn’t have been any better if Michael was there. Michael’s absence hurtThe Office’s final seasons, but it wasn’t the only issue with them.
