‘Office’ ending after 9 seasons

After nine seasons, 162 episodes, three Emmy wins and a lot of laughs along the way, everyone’s favorite paper company is turning out the lights.

It was announced that “The Office” would officially come to an end after this year’s ninth season. The decision is a big blow to NBC, which has seen “The Office” become the network’s top-rated scripted show.

With the recent departure of star Steve Carell, the end appeared to be near. The news should not come as a huge surprise to fans, but there was a talk of rebooting the show with a whole new set of characters. As a result, the show will bow out gracefully instead of forcing a new season like other popular sitcoms that tried staying on the air after the main cast already wrapped up their storylines.

Outside of Carell, the rest of the main cast have been on their way out. Mindy Kaling, who plays customer service representative Kelly Kapoor, has already left for her own show (“The Mindy Project”) airing on Fox this fall, and current show-runner Paul Lieberstein, who plays Human Resources representative Toby Flenderson on the show, is leaving to work on a new series with Rainn Wilson (Dwight) called “The Farm” set to air next season. If that wasn’t enough, another season was far from a guarantee for leads Ed Helms (Andy Bernard), John Krasinski (Jim Halpert), and Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly) who have been said to want to move on to other projects.

Ending the show on a high note is a welcomed plan for a show that has been on the air for nine seasons. Instead of worrying about the ratings and trying a reboot, the show can hopefully come to a satisfying conclusion unlike some other shows that may have ran past their prime. In 2006 “That 70’s Show” decided to stick around for an eighth season after stars Topher Grace (Eric Forman) and Ashton Kutcher (Michael Kelso) left to start film careers. Although a replacement was found, it never took off, and ended up calling it quits at the end of the season.

In 2009 ABC tried rebooting “Scrubs” while bringing back only two main characters as medical schoolteachers. The reboot received mixed reviews from critics, while receiving the series’ lowest ever ratings.

Although ratings for “The Office” have been falling in recent seasons, fans that have stuck with the show from the very beginning will be rewarded in the end. Original show-runner Greg Daniels, who left after season five, is set to return for the final season. If that wasn’t enough, Daniels claims that all questions will be answered during the final season including who’s behind the mystery documentary that has been “filming” since the first season.

Only time will tell how things will come to a close. It will at least have a chance to come full circle unlike a lot of shows that air today. The final season of “The Office” debuts Sept. 20 at 8 p.m. on NBC.