10 TV Shows Literally One Step From Perfection
1. The Office — End It With Michael Scott's Exit
The Office was always going to end up on this list. As beloved as the NBC hit sitcom is, it’s hard to argue with the fact that the show fell afoul of a fate avoided by its British original by running far too long past its prime, costing a chunk of the goodwill it garnered across its decade-long run.
Of course, we wanted no end to the further adventures of Jim, Pam, Dwight, and, uh, Kevin, when the time came for Steve Carrell to move on and retire the Michael Scott character. But as it became obvious that no replacement could match Carrell, the show cycled through a series of guest stars ranging from the obvious (Carrell collaborator Will Ferrell) to the surreal (eighties heartthrob James Spader? Catherine Tate?!).
Soon the duty fell to Ed Helms, whose character Andy became deeply unlikeable as he assumed the role of manager oh-so-briefly, and the show was irreparably derailed. By the time Jim and Pam’s marriage was threatened by a previously unseen cameraman, all that was left was to focus on Rainn Wilson and hope the finale lived up to nostalgic expectations.
Amazingly it managed to, but the return of BJ Novak and Mindy Kaling served only to remind viewers how much better the show’s legacy would have been were it cut short a few seasons earlier.