?The Office? Will End After Ninth Season

The coming ninth season of the hit NBC comedy "The Office" will be its last. The workplace sitcom will be taken off the network next year along with fellow Thursday night comedies "30 Rock" and "Community," says the Hollywood Reporter.

The Emmy winning series will see the return of executive producer Greg Daniels as the showrunner. In a phone conference, Daniel told reporters "As we head into the homestretch, we have a lot of exciting things I've been wanting to do since season two."

The most recent showrunner Paul Lieberstein is currently writing the script for an "Office" spinoff that will focus on the show's most bizarre character, Dwight Schrute. Rainn Wilson is rumored to star in the potential series "The Farm" which will revolve around the Schrute family.

Daniel says that the final season of the show will be a change of pace from episodic to a more serialized story arc. "The real heart of the show are these arcs that allow these characters to have ongoing stories. It's all going to be set up in the premiere," he said according to the Hollywood Reporter.

During its tenure, "The Office" has helped launch careers for actors like Ed Helms, John Krasinski, Craig Robinson and Rainn Wilson, as well as elevated the career of Steve Carrell.

The series' cancellation is a result of the ratings drop the show saw after Carrell left the cast. "Despite its status as the network's top entertainment program, the show fell to an all-time ratings low last season following the exit of Steve Carell and general sense among fans that the comedy's best days were behind it," reports Entertainment Weekly.

Another reason for the cancellation is that several actors wouldn't be available for the tenth season and beyond. Carrell is long gone at this point, Wilson is likely leaving for his spinoff and John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer are also expected to move on at some point due to their popularity, reports Entertainment Weekly.

"There's so much to pay off from nine seasons, so many great characters," Daniel, said according to the Hollywood Reporter. "My biggest concern is just tacking in these great ideas that the writing staff has on the walls and making sure we hit all of them or at least squeeze as many into the ending."

There are more than just departures to report on for the final season of "The Office." In a Q&A with Entertainment Weekly, Daniels said, "Jake Lacy and Clark Duke are both hired to handle the enormous number of customer service complaints that Kelly [Mindy Kaling] neglected over the years. They are pals and in their mid-20s."