10 Ways The Office Went From Great To Terrible
2. Reliance On Guest Stars
For the most part The Office steered clear of casting big names in one off roles throughout its run. The show rightly decided that relying on stunt casting a well known celebrity like Tom Hanks to play the CEO of Dunder Mifflin in season one would be massively out of place amongst a cast of relatively unknown actors.
However, when Steve Carell left the flood gates were seemingly opened for guest stars to fill Carell's big shoes. The finale of season 7 alone featured Will Arnett, Jim Carrey, Ray Romano, James Spader and Catherine Tate all attempting to be the new Michael Scott. Bringing these big names associated with other successful TV shows and films into a fairly grounded sitcom felt like a massive change of gear and not for the better.
During the final two seasons NBC appeared to more concerned about securing these big names to boost ratings rather than focusing on making the show the best it could have been. While there is undeniably a thrill seeing a recognisable face cameo in The Office it did ultimately feel like a different show from the one we had grown to love.