Think of some of the greatest moments in “The Office” 20 years after it first blessed our screens, and a handful of them will most likely feature Steve Carell as Michael Scott, the grill-footed world’s best boss. The manager of Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch fueled much of the show’s comedic chaos and also helped unite some of his best employees until Carell left the show in Season 7’s “Goodbye, Michael.” Many fans believe this pivotal moment changed “The Office” forever, and not necessarily for the better. However, series star Jenna Fischer stated that after repeated viewings, she believes the show didn’t lose its momentum, even at the very end.
While appearing on the “Fly on the Wall” podcast (via Deadline), Fischer — who played Pam Beesly, Scranton’s receptionist and Michael’s confidante for much of the series run, revealed her thoughts on the period before and after Michael Scott left.
“My biggest takeaway from having rewatched it was that it’s really good the whole time,” she explained. “I think there was this lore, especially among the cast and the creatives, that maybe we hit our peak in Season 3 or Season 4.” In Fischer’s eyes, though, she firmly believed that while Carell was missed, the show made up for it with some laughs and plot threads that were worthy of being in the conversation as some of the best moments from “The Office.”
Fischer believes fans have it wrong and The Office wasn’t treading water after Michael left
After Michael called it a day, a variety of managers came and went to keep the Scranton branch still ticking, and while this changing of the guard might have put some fans off, Fischer believed there was still fun to be had. “And also [there was] this belief that the two seasons after Steve left, we were just treading water and maybe they weren’t as good,” she explained. “But when I watched everything, some of my favorite episodes were in Seasons 8 and 9 after Steve had left. There were still these amazing storylines.” And it’s these episodes — Michael present or not — that set a benchmark for a brand-new era in “The Office” universe, this time set in a completely different town.
“The Office” spin-off “The Paper” faced a similar battle in its first season by trying to replicate the same kind of show with all-new characters and not the ones that kept fans tuning in to the original series. This was a concern for creator Greg Daniels, but thankfully he heard some wise words from none other than Carell himself. Daniels told The Hollywood Reporter that his original star assured him, “It doesn’t matter. ‘The Office’ is fine. Go ahead, take a whack at it.” It was the right move to make, given that the show ended up carrying the same familiar charm, while also proving that “The Paper,” like “The Office,” is a team effort, after all.