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The US version of The Office will close for business next year at the end of its ninth season, its exec producer has confirmed.
The adaptation of Ricky Gervais’s hit BBC series first launched on broadcast network NBC in 2005 with Steve Carrell in the lead role as the manager of a fictional paper company.
However, ahead of the launch of the mockumentary’s new 22-episode run, due to start next month, showrunner Greg Daniels said it would not return after the 2012/13 season.
Daniels, who took charge of the show from seasons one to five and has returned for season nine, told US reporters in a conference call: “This will be the last season of The Office. It was a hard decision but this is going to be a real gangbuster season.”
Describing the chance to end the series on its own terms as the reason for it ending, Daniels added: “This year feels like the last chance for The Office to have an artistic ending for the show that pays off a lot of the stuff that has mattered to most fans with the core characters.”
Another NBC comedy, 30 Rock, is also coming to an end after its forthcoming final 13-episode run as the network looks to refresh its comedy line-up. New sitcoms airing this fall include The New Normal, Guys with Kids and Animal Practice.
NBC has also made a 22-episode commitment to an as-yet untitled new sitcom starring Michael J Fox.
