Rainn Wilson Says ‘The Office’ Was a “Struggle” Without Steve Carell: ‘We Knew it Was Coming For a Long Time’

Rainn Wilson recently talked about how things changed on The Office after Steve Carell left. He was a guest on the “Good Guys” podcast with Josh Peck and Ben Soffer, and said it wasn’t easy for the cast or the crew to keep the show going after Carell’s exit in 2011. Wilson, who played Dwight Schrute for all nine seasons, said it was a tough adjustment.

“When Steve left, then it was a little bit chaotic of trying to figure out the tone of the show and who’s the lead,” he said. “How are we telling these stories without, you know, the comic engine of the show, which is Michael Scott? That was also a struggle.”

Even though it was hard, Wilson said Carell’s exit didn’t catch anyone off guard. “We knew it was coming for a long time,” he said.

At the time, Carell was already working on big movies like Get Smart and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. Wilson said it made sense that Carell would want to focus on film. “So, of course, he’s going to leave The Office when he can!”

Carell played Michael Scott from 2005 to 2011. Even though he didn’t win an Emmy for the role, he was nominated six times and got a lot of praise.

After leaving the show, he starred in Crazy, Stupid, Love, the Despicable Me series, Hope Springs, and The Way Way Back. He made a surprise return for the finale in 2013.

Now there’s a new spinoff coming called The Paper. It’s set in the same world as The Office and premieres in September on Peacock.

The new series follows a documentary crew filming a struggling newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, called The Truth Teller. The show stars Domhnall Gleeson, Sabrina Impacciatore, and others. Oscar Nuñez, who played Oscar in The Office, is coming back for this one too.

Greg Daniels and Michael Koman created the new show, and filming started in July 2024.