Netflix is about to lose its most successful licensed television series.
Bosses are no doubt floundering following the news that all nine seasons of US sitcom The Office will be leaving the streaming service in 2020.
NBC has announced that The Office will air exclusively on its streaming service – which will launch next year – for five years exclusively on its streaming service for five years, beginning in 2021.
This is terrible news for Netflix. Last year, a Nielsen report revealed that subscribers clocked up more minutes watching The Office than any other TV show.
To put this into perspective, the streaming service paid a staggering $100m to keep Friends for just one year – and that show didn’t even come close to being streamed the same number of times as the Steve Carell series.
The Office has built up a strong fan base over the years. It first began as an adaptation of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s BBC series, but took on a life of its own thanks to its ensemble, which includes Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski and Rainn Wilson.
Last year, in an interview with The Independent, Krasinski said he would be up for a reunion. “I would totally do it,” he said. “I can genuinely say I’ve never been in anything like it. We all look forward to the day we can do it again. Hopefully we can find a way.”
It’s available to stream in the UK on Amazon Prime.
