Peacock's The Office Spinoff Must Avoid The Mistake That Ruined The Original Show

Summary Peacock's new The Office spinoff should learn from the original show's mistake of running for too long.

Steve Carell's departure marked the downfall of The Office, as the show struggled to fill the void left by his absence.

The spinoff must tread carefully to avoid cancelation before reaching a proper conclusion, potentially harming the franchise's legacy.

The Office remains one of the best sitcoms of all time, and now that over a decade has passed since the workplace comedy ended, Peacock's upcoming spinoff show has the perfect opportunity to learn from the biggest mistake made by its parent program. The cast of The Office underwent several changes throughout its nine-season run, although some of its stars remained a consistent part of its formula. However, the show weathered some changes better than others as it was forced to readjust its formula.

Very little is known about Peacock's confirmed The Office spinoff show, including when and if any of the original cast will play a part in its production. Despite the original show's success, it fell short in one very important area. Now that the franchise is being revisited, the producers can look at The Office and take notes that can ensure the spinoff doesn't fall victim to the same decisions as its predecessor.

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The Office Spinoff Needs To Know When To Call It A Day

Peacock will need to end the show at the right time

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One of the criticisms shared by fans and critics is that The Office ran for far too long. Hopefully, Peacock has taken notes in the years that have passed since the show ended, with the passage of time allowing them to view the project more objectively. It's impossible to deny the success of the award-winning sitcom, but The Office's golden years quickly evaporated toward the end of its run, mainly due to the fact that the show should have ended much sooner than it did. The spinoff should be extra careful not to repeat this error.

While Peacock is likely planning for the spinoff to run for multiple seasons, deciding whether to renew it should still be a year-by-year decision.

If the spinoff isn't well received, or if it overstays its welcome, then there's also the risk of the project tarnishing the legacy of its parent show. Even now, The Office is one of the most rewatchable shows of all time, but fans may start to sour toward such passionate interaction with the series if they know the new project doesn't live up to the high standards set by The Office's earlier years. So, while Peacock is likely planning for the spinoff to run for multiple seasons, deciding whether to renew it should still be a year-by-year decision.

Why The Office Faltered In Its Last 2 Seasons

Steve Carell's departure was the beginning of the show's downfall

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The Office season 7, episode 22, "Goodbye, Michael," was a pivotal installment for the show. It marked Steve Carell's departure as a main cast member of The Office. While the highly emotional nature of the affair would have been enough to bring most sitcoms to its natural conclusion, The Office chose to continue without its biggest star. This decision was foreshadowed by the handful of remaining episodes in The Office season 7, with the story continuing without Michael Scott leading the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin.

Steve Carell returned to The Office and guest-starred as Michael Scott before the show ended.

Although The Office tried to compensate for the loss of Steve Carell, his departure left too much of a noticeable hole in the quality of the show. Ed Helms' Andy Bernard never convincingly replaced Michael as the regional manager. Additionally, while certain incoming stars like James Spader and Catherine Tate went some way to replacing the social catalyst that was Michael Scott, no one lived up to the former boss' legacy.

There's No Guarantee The Office's Spinoff Will Get To Choose Its Own Fate

Peacock's new show could be canceled before it has time to properly conclude

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Somewhat confusingly, although The Office remains as wildly popular as ever, the announcement of the upcoming spinoff show has been met with a mostly negative reception. As a result, the show will likely be scrutinized for even the smallest misstep. If so, it's possible Peacock could pull the plug on the project much sooner than they presumably plan to. Therefore, The Office's spinoff could have the opposite problem to the original show by barely getting off the ground rather than continuing past its spell of relevance.

Despite the bumpy ride over its final two seasons, The Office still managed to end in a satisfying manner.

Despite the bumpy ride over its final two seasons, The Office still managed to end in a satisfying manner. If the spinoff fails to succeed early on and comes to an abrupt halt, then the show could look like an even worse idea than many already think it is. However, the upcoming series can take certain steps to negate the possibility of ending without a sense of closure.

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One of the easiest ways to do this is to produce each season as a self-contained story, with no cliffhangers that are at risk of being unresolved. This way, if the show is canceled, there aren't any frustrated viewers left yearning for more. That being said, the need for answers could aid in The Office's spinoff show running longer than it perhaps would have done otherwise.

The Office seasons 1-9 are available to stream on Peacock. There is no official release date for the spinoff show.