Steve Carell Leaving 'The Office' Early

PASADENA, Calif. — Steve Carell will be leaving "The Office" early. The NBC comedy's executive producer, Greg Daniels, says Carell will be gone before the season-ending episodes in May. The final episodes of the season will focus on the scrambling to replace him at the Scranton branch of the mythical Dunder Mifflin paper company.

Carell had said previously that he was quitting the show to concentrate on his movie career. But NBC plans to press on without him.

NBC said Friday that Carell will leave with four episodes left in the season. That means his farewell episode will most likely come in April.

Comments

[sam adnitt]

04:41 PM on 03/07/2011

It's a shame to see him leave the only production that is equal to his incredible talents. The films he's made have failed to showcase a quarter of what he can do, and instead have shown that Hollywood has no great comedy writers or directors. TV is going to such even worse now. Some ppl have rumored that Ricky Gervais will take over and I hope it's true.

[eldorado81]

08:00 PM on 02/04/2011

Hope Michael Scott marries Holly and they run off happily ever after.

[Mickey McGinley]

09:33 AM on 01/30/2011

I think it's going to be sad to see him leave, and I do agree his movies are not exactly the best... But I also think that The Office is getting less and less funny. I personally likes season 6 the best. I think they are running out of ideas, and probably should have ended it last season.

Based on the newest episode, there also brings the possibility that Ricky Gervais may be the replacement for Steve Carell on The Office. He plays the boss on the UK version. One thing is for sure that when Michael Scott is no longer a character on the office, I'm not watching it anymore.

[sdkeller72]

09:39 AM on 01/21/2011

He leaves the only 2 shows he was ever funny in (Daily Show and the Office) to make more crappy movies that have pretty much all sucked. So basically he's saying that he'd rather make money than he cares about his career. Thanks for killing one of the few shows I actually liked on TV, I'll be sure to reward you in kind by not renting any of your lame movies.

[tomjonesatthirty]

12:12 PM on 01/18/2011

I'd hate to play a character well past its prime, so good for him. Leaving early is a good idea, too, as it'll give the audience a chance to see what happens without him. Nobody wants it to go like the last season of Newsradio (although, admittedly, situations were different in that case).

[terroh8er]

03:13 AM on 01/18/2011

There's a certain synergy among cast members that will make Carell hard to replace. Anyone who tries to fill his role and be funny will just seem too much like a rip off of Michael I think.

[bmora]

12:01 PM on 01/17/2011

Maybe it will start be funny then.

[Geoffrey Beebe]

10:41 AM on 01/17/2011

Cant come soon enough. Carell isn't funny.

[dh17]

10:52 PM on 01/18/2011

I agree, but he was funny in the show's early years. Now it seems the writers give him very little to work with, the character is just annoying.

[maluwelton]

12:57 PM on 01/19/2011

that's what is fun about it, his character is painful to watch :) I guess he may not be everyone's cup of tea.

[sam adnitt]

04:49 PM on 03/07/2011

What?? He's probably the best comedic actor alive.
You may not think the show or the character is funny, but that's not the same. His timing & delivery are outstanding. He's got superhuman subtly and control. He can carry an entire scene wo a line of dialogue.
The awfulness that was Bruce Almighty was only made bearable by Steve Carell's 5 minutes of screen time. He made Jim Carey invisible.

[TruthfullyYours]

09:50 PM on 01/16/2011

Is it just my imagination, but did Steve shoved gervais away?

[Prousa]

11:52 AM on 01/18/2011

acting. humor.

[TheArts101]

09:32 PM on 01/16/2011

Anyone else not like Carell? He was dire in Date night and just about watchable in Anchorman, the american office is also a poor attempt at comedy, perhaps without him it will be ok-ish.

http://arts101.wordpress.com

[summersbec]

06:26 PM on 01/16/2011

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!

[Eric8869]

11:43 AM on 01/16/2011

David Caruso left a successful TV show for a movie career too. Then years later he came crawling back to TV.

[GayIthacan]

01:27 PM on 01/16/2011

Except Carrell already has a VERY successful movie career - and has had said career for years now. Something Caruso never had - nor could hope for, given his hammy acting style and bloated ego. He is the William Shatner of the New Age.

[Eric8869]

11:41 AM on 01/16/2011

this will be the Jump the Shark moment of the show for sure

[SifSkade]

11:42 PM on 01/23/2011

Shark was jumped two or three seasons ago, when the focus of the show switched to the endless permutations of the two or three running interoffice romances and it started to feel repetitive and boring. Could have taken a lesson from the original show on when to call it quits.

[Kylie Estwick]

10:38 AM on 01/16/2011

Never quit your dayjob.

With the exception of 40 year old virgin, I havent been thrilled with his movie performances. Maybe he'll spend time hanging out with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shelly Long?

[alsm9]

10:52 AM on 01/16/2011

Yep, although I would say Little Miss Sunshine was a great film. But most of his films aren't good.

[Heretical-Eggs]

11:18 AM on 01/16/2011

Agreed. I had the misfortune to buy Dinner for Schmucks on cable last night. It was so utterly terrible that I felt inclined to take up the challenge and actually watch the entire thing. It was truly one of the worst films I have seen in recent memory, and it's a shame because he's can actually be funny and in my opinion even has potential in non-comedic roles. He's already quit the dayjob. I hope he picks his future gigs better than he did with that horrific thing I watched last night.

[TheArts101]

09:33 PM on 01/16/2011

Totally agree he is mediocre at best

http://arts101.wordpress.com

[sam adnitt]

05:06 PM on 03/07/2011

Wow. Ppl are really ignorant. It's the material he's given. If you knew what you were watching, you'd see the timing, the deadpan, the projection--he's actually brilliant. But just like a lot of other phenomenal actors out there--Pacino, DeNiro, Nicholson, Hoffman, Washington etc. there are very few writers & directors who know what to do w them. Actors who want to work & make money have to take the mediocre garbage offered them. Someone like Duvall is much more discriminating, and doesn't seem to mind only making a movie every few years so long as it's worthy of him.
I repeat, make yourself watch Bruce Almighty. Jim Carey bounces off the walls for an hour and it's not the least bit funny. Steve Carell is on for 5 mins and you could pee your pants.

[matthewrb]

10:37 AM on 01/16/2011

Smart move Steve, this show has been on the decline since the "Wedding Episode" and lately it's just plain unwatchable. Seems like maybe the Glee people got a hold of this one.