THE OFFICE Will End Next Season

Well, finally. After sliding into a comfortable lethargy, The Office will air its last season this year. I've only seen a couple of episodes after Steve Carell left, and I did not enjoy those episodes at all. With Mindy Kaling headed to FOX for The Mindy Project (!), and an irksome-sounding spin-off called The Farm (taking place on the Schrute beet farm) in the works, it's time. Hell, it's two to three years past time. 

From an interview with once and future showrunner Greg Daniels linked below, we learn that the upcoming final NINTH season will feel more like the Dunder Mifflin of old rather than the post-Sabre merger Office. And also that in the final season, we'll learn who's behind the documentary, which feels like a weird sort of sell-out to me. Daniels also reports that the last season will introduce more drama to the Jim/Pam storyline, a creative decision that frankly puts me to sleep.

Thankfully, NBC has secured the rights to Michael J. Fox's new single-camera sitcom, offering him an unheard of 22-episode contract without even seeing a pilot, so they'll have a great new replacement opening fall of 2013 that I imagine will fit in right where The Office used to be.