‘The Office’ Fans Express Disappointment With Show Leaving Netflix

The Office will leave Netflix the moment the clock strikes 11:59 p.m. ET on New Year’s Eve, and fans of the beloved sitcom are already mourning the loss.

In 2019, NBCUniversal announced that the show would leave the streaming giant and would instead stream exclusively on Peacock, the company’s own service. In fact, on Jan. 1, 2021, the first two seasons of The Office will be available to stream for free on the platform, a move that will undoubtedly attract people to try it out. Season 3-9, meanwhile, will only be available to subscribers, with either the $4.99 ad-supported subscription or the $9.99 ad-free version. 

Fans haven’t exactly taken the news well, even though it was revealed well over a year ago. Just recently, Craig Robinson, who played Darryl Philbin in the show, appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers and revealed fans had been directly pleading with him to keep the show on Netflix. “I don’t have anything to do with that,” he added, saying their efforts to contact him were all for nought. 

When the news was announced, Netflix said in a statement that it was disappointed with the decision. A similar thing happened with another beloved sitcom at the start of 2020, with Friends departing the service on Jan. 1, 2020.