Netflix is currently the place to be to binge-watch all nine seasons of The Office, and it has become such a popular series that star Rainn Wilson shared some concerns about binging and Netflix had to check in with one subscriber who had watched a shocking number of episodes in a brief amount of time.
Unfortunately for Netflix and current subscribers who love checking in with Dunder Mifflin, The Office will be leaving the streaming giant and moving to another streaming service. Here's what's happening.
The Office is leaving Netflix when its current deal expires at the end of next year, but not because Netflix wanted to get rid of it. NBC decided not to renew the deal with Netflix so that the full library of the American Office can be available exclusively streaming on the NBCUniversal streaming service, according to Variety. Sorry, Netflix subscribers!
NBCU plans to launch its streaming service in 2020, and although The Office won't be exclusively available on the new service immediately, the streamer will be the only home of The Office beginning in 2021. Does this mean an Office spinoff, reboot, or revival would be held for the NBCU streaming service, or would they still go to NBC? Netflix is certainly out.
Netflix weighed in on the news that it will be losing The Office via Twitter, posting this:
It's understandable that Netflix isn't thrilled to lose such a popular, long-running, and heavily memed show as The Office, but I actually got a laugh out of the tweet specifically mentioning that members can watch The Office "ad-free on Netflix" all the way until January 2021. The NBCUniversal streaming service will be ad-supported. Hey, if you can't beat 'em, throw subtle shade at them and enjoy the streaming rights while you still have 'em, right?
Office Memes As Funny As The Show Itself
Netflix losing The Office to NBCUniversal's streaming service is only the latest example of popular shows being pulled from streaming services to move to up-and-coming streamers owned by individual companies. Friends is expected to be pulled from Netflix for a WarnerMedia streaming service after its super expensive latest deal expires. Disney+ is also grabbing all 30 seasons of The Simpsons when it launches thanks to Disney's acquisition of Fox, although that doesn't impact Netflix. The Simpsons is currently available streaming on Hulu.
With the coming loss of The Office and probably Friends, is Netflix getting nervous about members jumping ship for some rival streaming services? Apparently not! Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos recently revealed that he thinks users will "add things" like Disney+, Comcast, and WarnerMedia rather than drop Netflix. Why? Well, none of the other services can offer what Netflix has, no matter how many classic shows are pulled! Hopefully some potential life-savers embrace more than one service!
It should be interesting to see how show legacies are impacted by being moved to or held for smaller streamers. Rainn Wilson explained how Netflix made The Office even bigger, and I think it's safe to say that NBCUniversal's fledgling streaming service won't attract as many users as the king of all streamers. Netflix doesn't exactly have any close rivals at the moment.
For now, you can catch all nine seasons of The Office streaming on Netflix, as well as plenty of other options. For some options that are slated to debut in the not-too-distant future, check out our 2019 Netflix premiere guide!
