The end of 'The Office'?

Now that Steve Carell has admitted he's leaving NBC's hit sitcom "The Office," is it time to put the show out to pasture?

Steve Carell, who stars in NBC's "The Office" as bumbling administrator Michael Scott, has admitted he'll be leaving the show after next year's seventh season, prompting speculation about the sitcom's future. Carell says "The Office" could easily carry on without him, telling E! Online: "It's just a dynamic change to the show, which could be a good thing, actually." Is he right — or is it time to put "The Office" into liquidation?

This helps "The Office" — in the short term: Carell's impending departure could actually boost its audience of "advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds," says Joal Ryan at E! Online. That's what happened to "CSI" when William Petersen said he was leaving. The only problem? After he left, that show lost 3 million viewers. In the long term, Carell's departure is a problem.

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