"Everybody stay calm! Everybody stay calm!" or “NO! GOD! PLEASE NO!” or "I don't hate it. I just don't like it at all and it's terrible."
We imagine that's what Steve Carell's Michael Scott would say upon learning that The Office is leaving Netflix for NBCUniversal's yet-to-be-released streaming platform. The good news is that Netflix confirmed none of this is happening until 2021, so you still have plenty of time to binge-watch all the antics at Dunder-Mifflin's Scranton branch.
The show, which aired on NBC from 2005 to 2013, has found a second, wildly popular life on Netflix. (Exactly how popular isn't completely clear; Netflix doesn't release its viewing numbers.) “I believe it’s the number-one most popular acquired show on Netflix…. There are millions of streams of those episodes,” NBC chairman Robert Greenblatt told New York magazine in September. “I believe that Netflix has helped make The Office extraordinarily popular, and more popular than it was when it was on the network. And they pay us a lot of money for it. If we knew how popular it was going to be before they made the deal, we would have asked for more money from them!”
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“The Office is one of our most prized series," said Pearlena Igbokwe, president of Universal Television, in a statement. "And we are thrilled it has found an exciting new home where generation after generation will continue to discover and rediscover Michael Scott’s most cringe-worthy moments, Jim and Pam’s will-they-or-won’t-they, and the incredible quirky ensemble that makes each episode a masterclass in comedy.” NBCUniversal's ad-supported streaming service is set to launch sometime in 2020.
Given the popularity of the show that helped launch the careers of people like Mindy Kaling, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and BJ Novak, people are freaking out about the news on social media. While it's a bummer, we do applaud the excellent use of GIF reactions. Some social media users also offered alternate viewing methods for the show.
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We'll get though this together, everybody. Perhaps a fashion show at lunch might help ease the pain?
