The Office is leaving Netflix. I repeat… The Office is leaving Netflix.

In 2021. You can breathe a little easy, but it’s never too early to start prepping yourselves. Two years isn’t that long of a time when you think about it. Or it’s a lifetime if you’re considering how long the wait for Stranger Things and/or Game of Thrones has been. 

NBC will be starting its own streaming service and it makes sense that they’ll want to include some of their more successful content for viewers because lord knows a million Law and Orders, The Good Place, and This Is Us are the only things keeping the network relevant. Yes, I’m still bitter that they canceled Community before the fabled sixth season, but realistically, NBC has long been suffering. The idea of them starting a streaming service, to match CBS, seems almost comical. This is the same network that picked up a show about animal doctors operating on humans or something of that sort. Throw in the fact that the price is something like $12.99… with ads. Who wants that?! Really?!

But if NBC is taking successful content with it to its streaming app chances are that the shows leaving Netflix don’t stop with The Office. There could be a purging of solid sitcom content as shows like Parks and Rec, The Good Place (oh come on!), Cheers, and Friends are all probably going to be leaving Netflix as well. Leaving me to wonder, is this something that Netflix can survive? 

There’s no question that Netflix is taking a hit as of late. With Disney+ only four months away and the majority of Disney content is leaving the streaming service sooner rather than later. Losing shows like The Office and The Good Place, shows that have thrived on a binge level, could really hurt the streaming service. How many people do you know that just throw on The Office when they can’t think of something to watch? I’m one hundred percent guilty of that. How about Friends? Or Parks and Rec? How does Netflix recover from losing shows that may not belong to them but are staples to the Netflix experience?

Sure, Netflix has a ton of content released on the daily but it seems that half of these things aren’t even marketed outside the big shows like Stranger Things and Orange Is the New Black. One minute you’re scrolling through your feed to pick another episode of The Office and fourteen random things pop up that you had no idea existed. The formula for Netflix releases can be a bit daunting and a model that the company might want to rethink once it starts losing more content at a higher rate. As of right now, Netflix doesn’t have an original show with enough content to counter the loss of an episode juggernaut like Friends or Cheers. Fans throw these shows on cause they’re easy and familar. A lot of the Netflix stuff demands your attention. And those that don’t don’t have nearly enough episodes to make up the ground of losing The Office.

For now, we still have two years left of The Office on Netflix so you can breathe a sigh of relief. But as 2021 draws closer you have to start asking yourself, should you keep Netflix, get the NBC app that surely is not going to be worth it, or just shell out the money and buy the complete set of your favorite shows? Think it over, you’ve got time. But you’re on the clock.