The Office can easily find its spot at the top of the sitcom genre with its laughter-filled storylines and plots. The show followed a mockumentary format and was based on the BBC series of the same name created by comedian Ricky Gervais. The American adaptation was brought to life by Greg Daniels and showcased stars like Steve Carell and John Krasinski to name a few as the leads.
But out of the lot, Carell’s portrayal of Michael Scott in the show was a fan favorite. Scott was the regional manager of Dunder Mifflin (a fictional paper company). Carell did full justice to his character who was over the top, with an awkward sense of humor.
While this continued for six seasons, in the seventh one he shocked everyone when he announced his departure from the show. In this article, let’s take a closer look at all the possible reasons why Steve Carell chose to leave The Office at the height of its popularity.
Steve Carell Detailed Why He Left The Office
There are only a few shows that perfectly manage to capture the heart of the audience. The same was true for The Office as well which skyrocketed to success after a rather lackluster first season. In this, Steve Carell‘s character Michael Scott is nearly insufferable in the first season with his cringeworthy and outlandish behavior. But thankfully the creators managed to tone down his character in the latter seasons.
Though the majority of his characteristics still remained intact. Even so, gradually the fans came to like his character, and obviously Steve Carell’s portrayal. So, when he announced his departure from the show, that too at the peak of its popularity the fans were left dumbfounded. But for Carell, his decision to leave the show was more about giving other cast mates a proper platform to shine.
In an interview with Office Ladies podcast, he explained that this decision was difficult but a necessary one. Carell added:
It was time for other characters to step to the forefront and other storylines to be pursued. I think it was the right… the timing was right, I think for everybody but simultaneously there’s just a sense of joy for me that we had experienced all of this and we were getting… I was getting a chance to take a lap with everybody.
He continued:
And the way those last two episodes were structured, it felt very rich to me to simultaneously be saying goodbye as Michael and us as friends in this moment of work together. But, yeah, it was a lot, it was a very emotional thing.
Steve Carell made a very compelling case when he said that he wanted other cast-mates to take the lead now. Apart from Scott, The Office also had several other characters that totally deserve their moment under the limelight. But Michael Scott’s personality was so big, that it left little to no room for others to shine on the screen.
Once he was gone from the show, other characters had the chance to step up. While this idea sounded great to Carell, after his departure The Office went down in ratings and eventually after two more seasons was concluded after season 9.
Carell’s Vision of How to Send Off Michael Scott
After Steve Carell’s plans to leave The Office were out in the open, the creators of the show made a smart move by bringing in Michael Scott‘s absence into the storylines that followed. So, instead of just replacing him with another character, they decided to make his departure a key storyline of the show.
Then the focus shifted towards Andy Bernard, who took over Scott’s seat after his departure. Apart from this, in order to bring in more comedic relief the creators also brought in James Spader as Robert California. Who with his quirky and offbeat personality changed the atmosphere of the show in new ways.
Even Steve Carell had a lot of inputs to add on how his character would go and added:
Six months before I talked to Greg about how I wanted Michael to go out, like what I thought sort of final arc would be. And the idea that I pitched was, you know, obviously he and Holly would be together. But I said specifically on his last day, I thought that there should be a party being planned.
He continued:
But that he should basically trick people into thinking he was leaving the next day… Because I just thought that that would be the most, um, elegant representation of his growth as a human being that he, because Michael lives to be celebrated.
The actor further added that he appreciated how Michael Scott’s send-off wasn’t something grand but was quieter and more meaningful. So, it was filmed as a personal moment in which he could say goodbye to each one of his colleagues.
While the actor left the show, the last two seasons without him were somewhat lackluster and didn’t match the quality of the initial seasons. Despite this, The Office continues to be one of the most iconic shows in the sitcom genre.
The Office Crew Revealed Steve Carell Didn’t Want to Leave the Show
When the news broke out that Carell was leaving The Office, all sorts of rumors made their way into the headlines. One of which was the actor’s relatively low salary for a show that was at the height of success. During the third season of the show, Carell was earning $175,000 per episode, and currently, the actor has a net worth of $80 million.
While money was definitely not the reason why he left the show, some crew members detailed in an interview that he actually didn’t want to leave The Office. The rumors of the actor’s departure started buzzing the headlines in 2010 when he himself detailed that he might be leaving the show since his contract would run out towards the end of the season.
Many believed that this was his tactic to begin new contract negotiations, however, he suddenly announced his exit from the show. The sound designer of The Office Brian Wittle added more to this and detailed the conversation he had with the actor. Wittle added:
I sat with him one time and he told me the story. He was doing a radio interview and he haphazardly mentioned, almost unconsciously, that it might be his last season. He didn’t plan on saying it out loud and he hadn’t decided anything. He was kind of thinking out loud, but he did it in an interview in public and it created news.
He continued:
Then what he said was the people connected to the show had no reaction to it. They didn’t call and say, ‘What? You wanna leave?’ He said he didn’t get any kind of response from them. When he realized he didn’t get any kind of response from them, he thought, ‘Oh, maybe they don’t really care if I leave.
Hairstylist Kim Ferry also backed up Wittle’s story and added that the actor was willing to sign for a couple of more years. However, NBC network didn’t contact the actor for the same, so he just left.
This only worked out in favor of Carell, who went on to have one of the most remarkable movie careers out there. He participated in projects such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine, and Crazy Stupid Love to name a few.
You can watch The Office on Peacock.
