Why 'The Office' doesn't need Steve Carell

It's time to say goodbye. Thursday's episode of The Office will be the last for star Steve Carrell, who plays the tragically uncool boss, Michael Scott. Yes, Carell's departure "is a creatively understandable one," and I wouldn't protest if "the series were to follow its main character out the door," says Robert Lloyd in the Los Angeles Times. But The Office can survive, and even thrive, without its star. Sure, it's gone on 10 times longer than the British version on which it's based. But the British show revolved around Ricky Gervais and his attention-hungry character, David Brent, while the American version of The Office is about much more than a sadly funny boss. Here, an excerpt:

[The Office] has become chamber music, a collection of voices and timbres to which the writers can turn as to an oboe, a cello, a trumpet, a piano, a kettle drum. If we are not particularly invested in the outcomes of the dramas, we can still follow their progress, the orchestration, with interest. And they have assembled quite a talented ensemble down there at "The Office," one I think stands a good chance of surviving its star's departure — artistically, anyway. Indeed, I like it more than ever, though I say that more as a friendly citizen-viewer than as a picky professional critic. Also, the lines are funny. ("I love banter, but I hate witty banter" is the one currently playing in my head.)

Read the entire article in the Los Angeles Times.

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