Dear Netflix,
“Sometimes I’ll start a sentence and I don’t even know where it’s going. I just hope I find it along the way.”
This wise, profound nugget of wisdom, courtesy of Michael Scott and Dunder Mifflin, will soon only be viewable either on YouTube or NBCUniversal’s streaming service. I’m fairly certain the latter doesn’t even exist.
In 2021, “The Office” will be gone. Or at least to most of the population, as we don’t really own DVD players or subscribe to things other than Netflix or Hulu.
Dramatic? Maybe.
But how will younger generations be able to digest this sagely advice? One might argue they shouldn’t, but that’s a different conversation for another day.
I don’t often live by Michael’s mantra, but it’s how I started to develop my thought process for this column. Sometimes you are just so angry it’s impossible to think clearly.
I knew this day would come eventually. I knew there’s no postponing the inevitable. But I still wished I could be wrong. It was only a matter of time until this streaming service reached 100 subscribers and really took off.
I’m just glad it was after my time. I’m ashamed to admit it, but it was only a little more than one short year ago when I first watched “The Office.”
Go ahead, call me a fake fan if you want. But in one year alone, I can’t even count how many times I’ve watched alleight seasons. I’m also looking into arecent rumor of there being a ninth.
I was in denial, brushing the show off as just another lame attempt at comedy. It’s just a bunch of people standing around an office, right? In theory, there’s only so much even the most talented writers can convey.
But I was very wrong. The show doesn’t speak to everyone, but it absolutely spoke to me. The first few seasons were a blur, with Dwight and Michael’s insane antics outweighed only by my increasing attachment to Jim and Pam, who I firmly consider to be one of the most realistic and relatable couples I’ve seen on television.
As the seasons progressed and characters started to come and go, my love for the series never faltered. When the seventh season began, I approached it with a sense of dread. I knew Michael’s time was running out, and I didn’t want to see him leave.
It felt surreal, and I couldn’t quite fathom why I felt so sad over one simple show. As I finished out the remaining seasons, I found I didn’t even mind the noticeable drop in quality. I cared too much about the characters by this point, and all I wanted was to see how their stories finally concluded.
Yes, even Andy’s.
Sure, “The Office” is a gold mine for quotes, catch phrases and obscure reactions we’ve all incorporated into our own lives. But it’s also much more. Alongside “Friends,” it has become a cultural phenomenon.
Let’s break down some of the numbers. Netflix users streamed 52 billion minutes of “The Office” last year. As Netflix is home to almost 57 million subscribers in the U.S. alone, the result is an average time spent on this series that comes out to around 15 hours — or 42 episodes — per person. That’s a pretty fair amount.
Can Netflix recover from 52 billion less minutes? Is it worth taking that risk? We’ll find out soon, but I really hope there’s a reconsideration in our near future.
Sincerely, A fan of “The Office”
Max Rothenberg can be reached at [email protected]