Get ready to say goodbye to Michael Scott. Steve Carell has confirmed that this coming season, The Office's seventh, will be his last.

"I just think it's time," Steve told E! News last night as the premiere of his new animated film Despicable Me. "I want to fulfill my contract. When I first signed on I had a contract for seven seasons, and this coming year is my seventh. I just thought it was time for my character to go."

If Steve thinks it's time to send off the main character of the series, wouldn't it follow that it's time to close the doors on The Office too? Not necessarily, according to Carell:

"It doesn't certainly mean the end of the show. I think it's just a dynamic change to the show, which could be a good thing, actually. Add some new life and some new energy ... I see it as a positive in general for the show. [...] They've incorporated so many new characters and so many new, great storylines that I have no doubt it'll continue as strong if not stronger than ever."

With all due respect to Mr. Carell, who is just doing his job as a gracious, supportive actor and all-around nice guy: No. No Michael Scott, no Office--at least not how I'd like to remember the show.

While fans have a right to demand more of The Office and to be hopeful that its clever writers could find a way to re-energize the concept without Carell, Carell's departure reads like the appropriate fatal blow to a series that, for all its memorable moments in the sixth season, is also suffering under signs of age. Jim's pranks on Dwight now seem like nostalgic call-backs to the good ol' days. At times when we once would have cringed at Michael's public displays of ignorance, we smile--it's just "classic Michael." And it's hard not to watch Andy and Erin's blooming romance without muttering under your breath, "Jim and Pam did it better." We're in the Office golden years. Which means that sending away Michael, the central character, feels like the fitting conclusion, not the beginning of a new chapter.

The sixth season brings the US version a full four seasons beyond the three established by the UK series starring Ricky Gervais, which notably wrapped up in a way the US version seems unwilling or incapable of doing: by releasing the documentary in which the office workers had participated. It was a beautifully choreographed finale that summed up the series without resorting to highlight reels and let everyone, especially the seminal character David Brent (Ricky Gervais), deal with the aftermath and move on.

Those Brits know how to do closure. We Americans have a harder time letting go, even when we know it's for the best. We invented the term "jumping the shark," after all.

But with this much advance notice of Carell's departure, the US Office writers now have the chance to plot their own ending and go out on a high note--with their main star. And despite the many Hollywood paychecks that argue otherwise, there's something to be said about wrapping up a series when it's going still strong. Sitcoms have their dignity to protect, too.

What do you think: Is The Office worth watching without Steve Carell?
 


(Image: WENN)