6. Dip in Ratings
The dour critical reception of recent seasons has clearly been agreed with by fans and viewers of the show. The Office averaged only 6.5 million average viewers last season, compared to 7.7 million during season 7, 7.8 million for season 6 and a whopping 9.0 million in season 5. In addition, the season's finale, "Free Family Portrait Studio", only garnered 4.49 million viewers, which was even lower than season 1's. Considering that season's poor ratings nearly led to the show being cancelled without a second series, this does not spell well for next season. The season finale's before had consistently been over 6 million, and the lack of interest in season 8's conclusion makes you wonder why NBC are going ahead with season 9, especially as the salaries of the actors has only increased.