As it turns out, Daniels announced during filming — just four episodes into the ninth season — that The Office had already begun its final stretch and would end with season nine. According to Greene himself, the exact reason isn't known, but is likely due to the fact that the leads were planning to leave, creative wheel-spinning, and NBC executives wanting to work on big sitcoms in the vein of Friends rather than inventive shows like The Office.
Pretty much everybody involved noted that Daniels polled the cast and crew to see if anybody felt strongly about a tenth season, and the consensus was, overall, "No." As boom operator Brian Wittle confirmed, "I remember there being some discussion of a reboot with Jake and Clark, but the general consensus was that we should just end it, that it's been nine years and if we try to start up with new guys, or even these new guys, it's not gonna be the same if everybody leaves except them. They were funny, but I think we would have lost most of the audience."
Between the fact that Daniels and his writers found themselves accidentally repeating storyline ideas and the drive to write an incredible final ninth season, The Office eventually came to an end with its original characters still in the spotlight. As producer Steve Burgess put it, "It was Greg being Greg and Greg wanting to end things the right way and on our terms and not on the network's terms." Meanwhile, Duke had one final thing to say on the subject: "I thought NBC canceled it."
All nine seasons of The Office are available to stream on Netflix now.
