Everyone knows it The office was completely derailed once Steve Carell, who had played Michael Scott for eight seasons, left the show. However, the series insisted on releasing an eighth and even a ninth season despite this, creating some of the worst seasons in history. The office.

However, some fans claim that The office had jumped the shark multiple times long before Michael Scott left the show. While Carrell’s absence put the final nail in the coffin, the quality of the series had definitely declined over the years. Events from season 4 already signaled that the series was extending beyond its years.

Updated January 22, 2025 by Andrea Sandoval: Many people argue that The office went downhill after Steve Carell’s Michael Scott left the office. However, the series had been losing audience since season 6 because The office had jumped into the shark’s path before Michael left. We’ve updated this article to include even more bizarre moments that prove The office should have ended much sooner.

15

“Stress Relief” Cold Open Goes Too Far

Funny enough, “Stress Relief” has an average of 9.7 on IMDb

Even though the cold opening of the episode “Stress Relief” The office is one of the most iconic scenes on television, it’s also one of the most ridiculous scenes ever written. Dwight creates a very realistic and dangerous fire drill by locking the office doors and creating a small fire. Chaos ensues as everyone panics: Angela pulls a cat out of a drawer, Oscar tries to escape through the roof, Kevin smashes a vending machine with a chair, Michael breaks a window, and Stanley has a heart attack .

This moment is hilarious, of course, simply because nothing goes as planned. However, that doesn’t mean it’s well-written or consistent with the character development and premise of the sitcom. So far, The office had focused on relevant situations in companies that lack common sense. Dwight was supposed to be a stickler for the rules, obnoxiously keeping everyone in line. It makes no sense that this character would violate many office rules and create a ridiculous situation. This whole moment is a cheap way to create humor, but The Office, until now, had created a comedy with well thought out dialogues and situations.

14

Holly and Michael’s relationship

Holly arrives on The office in season 4, episode 14, “Goodbye, Toby”

Michael is a very ambivalent character in The Office, create different emotions and reactions in the audience. However, he should never have had a happy ending. As well-intentioned as he was, Michael often behaved like a child rather than a boss, which is the premise of the series. Michael was a good salesman, but he was ill-prepared to run an entire office, often placing his employees in uncomfortable and arguably illegal situations.

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The Office: 10 reasons why Michael’s story was the darkest

Michael Scott was the epitome of gritty comedy in The Office, but his arc could get very dark. His interactions with Toby, Jim and others prove this.

As people began to sympathize with Michael’s character, the writing made him more and more sympathetic, even allowing him to have a healthy romantic relationship. It’s debatable whether Michael deserved redemption in the long run, but the show didn’t take the time to create organic character development. Very quickly, Michael becomes another beloved character who gets away with dozens of terrible things… criticism of American companies is quickly forgotten.

13

Pam and Jim’s wedding

Pam and Jim get married in Season 6, Episode 4, “Niagara: Part 1”

Much like Holly and Michael’s relationship, Pam and Jim’s marriage takes this relationship in a direction it never should have taken. Jim and Pam are, of course, relationship goals and one of the most beloved sitcom coupes. It is therefore logical that the writers gave them pride of place, attracting a large part of the public. However, many argue that this relationship took the series away from its usual dark humor, and they are right.

There are many sitcoms about friendship and romance, like Friendsbut The office it was about something else. It was a mock documentary about a boring company with its absurd dynamics. It’s hard to believe that the entire team would go to Pam and Jim’s wedding, even following them on a trip to Niagara Falls.

12

Dwight pranks Holly and makes her believe that Kevin is part of a “special program”

“Goodbye, Toby” has an average of 9.2 on IMDb

In the episode “Goodbye, Toby”, Holly replaces Toby as HR at Dunder Mifflin. Trying to confuse her, Dwight tells Holly that Kevin is part of a special work program, implying that Kevin is a person with a learning disability. This motivates Holly to be especially nice to Kevin and highlights Kevin’s childish behavior, the running gag of the episode.

Not only is this joke problematic, but it also flatters Kevin’s character and is unrealistic in Holly’s case. The writers transformed Kevin’s laziness into lack of intelligence, a common sitcom hack to make easy comedy. Also, since Holly was HR, she would have known about a special work schedule, so it doesn’t make sense.

11

Michael driving his car into a lake

Season 4, Episode 2, “Dunder Mifflin Infinity”

In “Dunder Mifflin Infinity”, intimidated by technology, Michael pretends to misread a GPS and drives his car into a lake. A discussion of ageism in the modern era is brought up in an episode about technology predicting AI panic overcoming humans. However, Michael’s going through with it is a gross exaggeration that takes the issue to an absurd level.

The real reason The office jumped the shark long before Michael left the show is that the writers stopped taking the show seriously. Yes, The office is a sitcom, so it’s not meant to be particularly realistic. However, The office differentiated itself from other sitcoms by creating humor through irony, awkwardness, and relatable behavior instead of over-the-top scenes.

10

Angela’s love triangle

Angela, Andy and Dwight’s love triangle is the main arc of season 5

Although Angela and Dwight form one of the strangest sitcom relationships, they have a surprisingly sweet dynamic. But everything goes downhill when Angela gets engaged to Andy while she has sex with Dwight. This is one of the first signs that the writers were running out of storylines, even more so given the lack of chemistry between Angela and Andy.

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The 10 Craziest Twists in The Office, Ranked

The Office has always been a relatively straightforward show, but sometimes there are strange surprises.

Furthermore, the strange relationship between Andy and Angela it wasn’t even funny. It was hard for the audience to laugh at Andy’s heartbreak as Angela openly cheated on him with Dwight. While The office is known for creating despicable characters, this arc went way too far and it was obvious that the writers were just trying to stretch out the dramatic relationship arc between Dwight and Angela.

9

Jim transferred to Stamford office

Jim is transferred to the Stamford office at the end of the second season of The Office

In the first seasons of The Office, wWhen Jim is unable to handle Pam’s engagement to Roy, he asks Jan to transfer him to another office in Stamford. The third season of the series begins with Jim already working in this office, where he meets Karen and Andy and forms a romantic relationship with the former.

However, this was a bad decision for several reasons. The first is that Jim and Pam’s office dynamic is one of my favorite parts of the show. Another problem is that it splits the series between Jim’s scenes and Scranton’s scenes. This is one of the first times the show jumped the shark, as it was obvious they were trying to delay Jim and Pam’s relationship. The office last a little longer.

8

Dunder Mifflin purchased by Saber

Season 6, episode 15, “Sabre”

In the sixth season of The Office, Saber buys Dunder Mifflin. This leads to many changes in the dynamics of the office, including the removal of Jim as co-manager and the addition of a new character, Gabe Lewis, who becomes a sort of supervisor of the Scranton branch.

At this point in the show, The office had already lost its spark. They range from clever jokes challenging the status quo to bizarre and absurd scenes, like Dwight mutilating a CPR dummy. Purchasing Saber Dunder Mifflin appears to be one of the last attempts to try and save the series, but it hasn’t really worked.

7

The character of Danny Cordray

Danny Cordray first appears in Season 7, Episode 5, “The Sting”

In season 7 of The officeDanny Cordray is introduced as a very successful salesman who constantly causes problems at Dunder Mifflin. Michael decides to deal with the situation by hiring Danny as one of their traveling sales representatives, which makes sense in theory.

However, funny enough, Danny only appears in two episodes and does not become a recurring character despite working for Dunder Mifflin. His biggest storyline is that he allegedly went on two dates with Pam when Jim worked at the Stamford branch. This only shows to what extent the writing of The office was at this point, leaving loose ends everywhere.

6

Angela gets married

Angela dates Robert Lipton in season 7

After seven seasons of audiences following Angela and Dwight’s ever-present relationship, the series takes the messy relationship even further. In the final episodes of the seventh season of The office, Angela dates and eventually marries during the eighth season State Senator Robert Lipton. Additionally, they both have a child together, Phillip (although in the ninth season, it is revealed that Philip is Dwight’s son).

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Every Main Character’s Ending in The Office, Explained

The main characters in The Office all deserved a proper conclusion, and luckily each of them got what they wanted, even if it was unexpected.

To make matters worse, in the ninth season, it turns out that Robert is gay and he begins having an affair with Oscar. At this point it seemed that The office I no longer tried to write captivating plots; instead, it was simply about creating constant twists and unnecessary drama, using cheap tricks to keep the audience interested.

Jim is promoted to co-manager in season 6, episode 2, “The Meeting”

In the sixth season of The Office, David Wallace promotes Jim to co-regional director, so he works alongside Michael Scott. However, as Jo Bennett later points out, this position is absurd. There is no reason to have two managers running the Scranton branch.

This was obviously an excuse for Jim and Michael to be at odds during this season and create situations where Michael becomes petty and insecure. However, few humorous situations came out of this story, making it increasingly less credible that no one decided to simply fire Michael.

4

Dwight’s blatant Flanderization

Dwight’s character loses his uniqueness throughout the series

During the first seasons of The Office, Dwight is an obsessive man who rigorously believes in following rules and doing competent work. The central joke of the series was that although Dwight followed Dunder Mifflin’s rules religiously (even though they made no sense), Jim was lazy and thought he was beyond the system.

However, Dwight became delusional, violent, and incoherent as the series progressed. In future seasons, he doesn’t even care about his job that much. Dwight started having increasingly ridiculous storylines, which completely ruined his character development and signaled that the series should have ended much sooner.

3

Jan and Michael rekindle their relationship

Season 3, Episode 23, “The Work”

Jan is one of the most poorly written characters in The Office. It’s absurd when Jan and Michael first start dating, but it makes sense in the context of the show. However, the second time, when Jan is fired and stays home while Michael works, it seems forced and extremely unusual for Jan.

In previous seasons of The Office, Jan is an intelligent, pragmatic feminist woman who can’t even be in the same room as Michael. When they turn her into Michael’s demanding girlfriend, they completely butcher the character just for a few jokes, signaling that the series is past its prime.

2

Ryan’s Terrible Character Development

Ryan is arrested in Season 4, Episode 14, “Goodbye, Toby”

Ryan has the weirdest character development ever. The office. It went from the status of intern at Dunder Mifflin to an employee and vice president of sales. However, he was later fired for committing fraud. What becomes even more incredible is that Michael manages to convince David Wallace to rehire him after all of this.

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The 15 most hated characters in the office

Not every character that ran through The Office was loved, and audiences even began to hate some fan favorites during the final season.

When it became clear that The office had already jumped the shark when, after being fired, Ryan became a regular employee of the Scranton branch again. This absurd story is typical of The office in later seasons and cheapens the show.

1

Michael starts his own paper company with Pam and Ryan

Season 5, Episode 23, “Michael Scott Paper Company”

In the fifth season of The Office, Michael tries to teach Dunder Mifflin a lesson, and he leaves and starts his own paper company. What’s even more absurd is that he recruits Pam and Ryan for this cause. Most of the fifth season sees these three characters as they attempt to start their own business, led by Michael.

Additionally, Michael manages to become a threat to Dunder Mifflin. The company, not knowing that Michael is on the verge of bankruptcy, makes a deal with Michael and gives him and his colleagues their jobs back. For a series that started out by creating a relevant and (unfortunately) realistic work dynamic, it began to depend on ridiculous plots like this, which ruined the essence of the story. The Office.

A mockumentary about a group of typical office workers, whose workday is filled with ego conflicts, inappropriate behavior and boredom.

Release date

March 24, 2005

Seasons

9