The Office Closing This Season

Tried my best to stomach the Michael Scott-absent eighth season of The Office, and the best I could muster was the opening two episodes and closing few. The single-camera comedy was never going to be the same without star Steve Carell. Much as NBC and executive producer /showrunner Paul Lieberstein said otherwise, that wasn't lost on them. A feeling most certainly not lost on viewers as the series suffered its lowest ratings since it premiered in 2005.

So to hear executive producer Greg Daniels confirm this ninth season will be its last comes as too little, too late. They had their chance at a classy swan-song, leaving viewers wanting more (You can count with one hand how many popular comedies had the balls to do that!)

In addition to Carell, Lieberstein, Mindy Kaling (Watch The Mindy Project, NBC passed on, be this season's breakout hit) and B.J. Novak are gone, Rainn Wilson gearing for his Dwight Schrute-focused spin-off The Farm and remaining series MVPs Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski and Ed Helms in limited use thanks to their film careers and on platinum pay.

Daniels promises this closing season will have "drama" to Jim & Pam's marriage, the identity of the Scranton Strangler and who is working on the documentary on the series-within-a-series.