There’s always been speculation that Steve Carell would leave The Office for the greener pastures of the big screen once his contract is up, but BBC Radio may have confirmed it. In an interview with Carell and Date Night co-star Tina Fey, he was asked about returning to the series, about which he had this to say:
Question: How long will you stay with The Office for? How many more series? How long does your contract run?
Carell: Contract through next season.
Question: And will you stay after that?
Carell: I don’t think so. I think that will probably be my last year.
You can listen to a clip of the interview here.
It’s been common knowledge for a while that Carell’s contract ends after this next season, but as OfficeTally notes, this is the first time he’s publicly talked about leaving the show. Of course, some will speculate that this all might be a prelude to renegotiating his contract for some of that Seinfeld money, but others—particularly those of you who pop up in the recaps and insist the show is no longer worth watching—might see Season 7 as an appropriate place to end things, rather than allowing the show to outstay its welcome.