'The Office' Wraps Up a Bizarre Sseason: What Comes Next?

The lifespan of The Office is an odd one. It began as a show that shouldn't have existed, an inferior copy of Ricky Gervais' creation. The show then rallied to become a creative beacon, fighting off cancelation at the hands of NBC time and time again. By the time 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation and Community came along, The Office was the bedrock of Thursday nights, anchoring an ever-changing comedy lineup.

During that last phase, though, something shifted. When Steve Carell left the show after last season, NBC made the decision to keep The Office open, adding new characters and changing the roles of a few characters that we had come to know over the show's run. With Carell gone, The Office lost its center and, even, its heart. The show offered fans Robert California and Nellie Bertram during Season 8. These new characters weren't characters at all — they were caricatures. Caricatures of The Office's past. Like that first season of The Office, California and Bertram were inferior copies of classic The Office characters like Jan Levenson and David Wallace.

Going into last night's season finale, there were a lot of outstanding questions regarding The Office's future. Who would be back? Would the show even return for a ninth season? How would the finale shake out?

Well, we got answers to most of those questions yesterday. Before the show even aired, Deadline Hollywood revealed that John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer and Ed Helms would return for another season of The Office. With its main cast returning, the show has the pieces in place to carry on, even with Mindy Kaling leaving (her FOX pilot got picked up) and Rainn Wilson potentially moving on to a Dwight spinoff sometime during next season. The Office hasn't been picked up for a ninth season yet, but with these leads now locked in, it would be a surprise if the show wasn't back.

Which leads us to that last question. How would the finale shake out? How would The Office set itself up for a ninth (and probably final season)? This past season of the show has been an absolute waste, a creatively bankrupt journey to nowhere. Some of the shows best plots — the Michael Scott Paper Company, especially — were recycled and watered down. Catherine Tate must be holding a huge secret about The Office showrunners, as her Nellie Bertram character was given free rein, despite the show's fans uniting in almost universal hatred of the character. Robert California morphed from a funny idea during last season's manager interviews to a destructive menace at Dunder Mifflin. Both Nellie and Robert lived in a realm beyond reality, going against The Office's long-running premise that while the characters and situations on the show might be ridiculous, they were all things that you could almost see happening at your own office.



Last night's finale began to reset the show, clearing out much of the junk that had littered The Office during Season 8. Sabre? Gone. Former Dunder Mifflin CEO David Wallace returned to help Andy Bernard stage a coup. Robert California? Gone. Sabre would be liquidated, and Robert California would now go abroad to harass female gymnasts. In one of The Office's most meta scenes, Robert's long-winded speech about his plans to help girls who had lost so much to gymnastics was met with eye rolls and looks of disgust by The Office's characters, perfectly reflecting an audience who had grown tired of James Spader's character. Honestly, I expected someone, Kevin maybe, to yell "ENOUGH!" and sock Robert California. That unfortunately didn't happen, but the reign of the Lizard King at Dunder Mifflin is now over. Too bad, because like Andy, I wanted just one "motherf---ing delicious moment."

David Wallace reinstalled Andy as the regional manager, putting an end to what was now a season-long horrible joke. The idea that audiences would believe that Nellie Bertram could just walk into Scranton and take Andy's job was an massive insult to The Office's faithful viewers, and it was probably the worst of the show's awful ideas during Season 8. After spending the final episodes after Carell's departure last season wondering who the manager would be, the issue should have been settled.

It appears that Tate's Nellie Bertram will stick with the show for next season. (What dirt does she have on the show runners?) Wooed by the Bard Card, Andy Bernard unfathomably chose to show the most-despised character in the comedy's history mercy, giving Nellie a job in Scranton. It remains to see how her position of special projects manager will play out in Season 9.

So where do we go from here? With a few key departures, The Office showrunners will be tempted to add new cast members next season. Don't. The show needs to focus on who it has left, recapture the glory days of the early seasons and go out on a high note. We saw some movement in this direction in last night's finale. The show was at its best when it focused on the Jim and Pam relationship, especially before they were married. After teasing a Darryl and Val relationship over the past year, The Office brought that pair to the forefront last night. It was great to see Darryl put it all out there, especially to Val's jerk of a boyfriend. "Yes, I am," the character replied when asked if he was flirting with Val. "Just so everyone's not he same page." Darryl is a fantastic character, so it's nice to see him getting a storyline. I still think that one of The Office's biggest missed opportunity's was in not making Darryl the new regional manager.

Dwight and Angela's past relationship finally came into play again, with Dwight going on an episode-long quest to get some of baby Philip's DNA to put an end to the baby's paternity issues. The Office left us with a cliffhanger on this one, but if I had to bet on it, I'd say the baby is going to be Dwight's. Angela's husband, the senator, is clearly more interested in Oscar than he is in Angela. Also, Dwight is going to need someone besides Mose to join him in his spinoff. Speaking of Mose, was last night's episode the first time Mose ever spoke?

It's no surprise that The Office will be back for a ninth season. When it comes down to it, NBC doesn't have anything better as a replacement. I'm curious to see if the show will get a 13-episode like its Thursday night companions. It would be kind of appropriate if the show based on a British limited season went out on its own compact run. Like Lost, The Office could benefit from an end date. NBC needs to announce this is the final season of the workplace comedy and allow the show to proceed knowing this is the end. Let them plan the big series finale. Bring back Michael Scott and Holly to throw a giant wedding episode. If Parks and Recreation can get Paul Rudd for a handful of episodes this season, Steve Carell can find time to help the show that made him exit in style.

Before he left Scranton, Robert California proudly told the branch, "It's been a great year." No. No it wasn't. Let's hope Season 9 fixes that.