SAY WHAT? The Office Leaving Netflix In 2021

One of our favourite shows "The Office" will soon stop streaming on Netflix. NBC Universal outbids Netflix and pays $500m for the rights to stream the Steve Carell-starring comedy on its new streaming service when it launches in 2021. 

The reason: NBCUniversal wants to run it exclusively on its own streaming service when it launches, reports The Hollywood Reporter, paying an astonishing $100 million per year in order to outbid Netflix to the rights to the comedy.

Netflix commiserated over the loss on Twitter. 

In an announcement on Tuesday, Pearlena Igbokwe, President of Universal Television said it was one of the network's 'most prized' series. 

The Office is one of our most prized series, and we are thrilled it has found an exciting new home where generation after generation will continue to discover and rediscover Michael Scott’s most cringe-worthy moments, Jim and Pam’s will-they-or-won’t-they, and the incredible quirky ensemble that makes each episode a masterclass in comedy,' she said.

The show was originally produced by Universal Television, which NBC Universal owns. 

Netflix typically doesn’t reveal its viewership numbers, but it is known that one of the most popular shows on the streaming service is “The Office”, which ran for nine seasons from 2005 until 2013. It is an American adaptation of the British comedy series by the same name which began in 2001 and starred Ricky Gervais.