Netflix is about to lose one of its most-watched shows: ‘The Office’
Netflix is set to lose one of its most-watched shows, The Office (the USA version).
The streaming giant is set to lose the right to stream the workplace sitcom at the start of 2023. The show, which stars Steve Carrell and John Krasinski, is set to be taken off the UK section of Netflix on January 1. This is despite it being one of the platform’s most streamed titles.
This follows the show being removed from Netflix’s US territory in 2020. A Nielson report [via Variety] revealed that the show was streamed for more than 57 billion minutes in the USA that year.
The Office‘s removal from Netflix in the UK has been expected for some time. Back in June of 2019 NBC announced it would be moving the series exclusively to Peacock – its very own streaming service. This move will last for at least five years. This came into effect from January 1, 2021 in the USA, and means that The Office won’t be back on Netflix, in any territory, until 2026 at the very earliest.
What’s On Netflix has reported that the show will also be removed from Netflix in the following countries: Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey. The date for its removal in these territories is December 31, 2022.
The news comes shortly after The Office star Mindy Kaling said she thinks “so much” of the show is “inappropriate” now. The actor, who played Kelly Kapoor in the NBC sitcom, explained that she and the other writers have said they “probably” wouldn’t be able to make the show today.
“That show is so inappropriate now,” Kaling said on Good Morning America. “The writers who I’m still in touch with now, we always talk about how so much of that show we probably couldn’t make now.”
The Office (US) started as a US rehash of the Ricky Gervais-led The Office (a BBC sitcom). However, it went on to become its own unique beast throughout its run on NBC.
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JJ Nattrass
NME
