The Office is leaving Netflix and moving to NBC’s soon-to-be-launched streaming service in 2021. NBCUniversal announced in a press release on Tuesday that it has secured the exclusive rights to the hit show and that beginning in 2021 all nine seasons of the sitcom will available exclusively on its new streaming service for five years.
NBC’s new streaming service, announced in January, is set to launch in 2020, and according to Tuesday’s release, it will feature “some of the world’s most popular television and film franchises, including homegrown original programming.”
“The Office is one of our most prized series, 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,” Pearlena Igbokwe, Universal Television president, said in the press release.
The Office premiered on NBC in March 2005 and ended in May 2013 after nine seasons. The sitcom is an adaptation of the BBC series of the same for the U.S. by SNL’s Greg Daniels who also executive produced with Howard Klein, Ben Silverman, and Ricky Gervais.
The show, produced by Universal Television in partnership with Deedle-Dee and Reveille Productions, starred John Krasinski as Jim Halpert, Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesley, Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor, Steve Carell as Michael Scott, B.J. Novak as Ryan Howard, and Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute.
The Office follows the daily lives of employees working 9-to-5 at the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. It adopts a format that simulates a documentary.
“We’re sad that NBC has decided to take The Office back for its own streaming platform — but members can binge watch the show to their hearts’ content ad-free on Netflix until January 2021,” Netflix tweeted on Tuesday following the announcement of the show’s impending departure for the streaming platform.
We're sad that NBC has decided to take The Office back for its own streaming platform — but members can binge watch the show to their hearts' content ad-free on Netflix until January 2021
— Netflix (@netflix) June 25, 2019
The Office was Netflix’s most-watched show last year, according to The Wall Street Journal.