Fans of The Office won’t have the luxury of binge watching the beloved series on Netflix for much longer.
Variety reports that beginning in 2021, The Office will leave Netflix and move to its new home at NBC’s standalone streaming service where fans will be able to stream the series in its entirety.
NBCUniversal’s direct-to-consumer and digital enterprises chairman, Bonnie Hammer, made the official announcement via a press release sent out on Tuesday (June 25). In it, Hammer highlighted the sitcom’s legacy and continued popularity.
“The Office has become a staple of pop-culture and is a rare gem whose relevance continues to grow at a time when fans have more entertainment choices than ever before,” said Hammer. “We can’t wait to welcome the gang from Under Mifflin to NBCUniversal’s new streaming service.”
In addition, Netflix took to its official U.S. Twitter account to confirm the sad news to fans far and wide.
“We’re sad that NBC has decided to take The Office back for its own streaming platform — but members can binge watch the show to their heart’s content ad-free on Netflix until January 2021,” tweeted the streaming platform.
We're sad that NBC has decided to take The Office back for its own streaming platform — but members can binge watch the show to their hearts' content ad-free on Netflix until January 2021
— Netflix US (@netflix) June 25, 2019
NBCUniversal may be excited to bring the series home, but the loss of The Office serves as a huge blow to Netflix subscribers who regularly turn to the online streaming giant to watch classic episodes of the sitcom.
For cable cutters looking to keep the ability to stream the series whenever they want, the move also means they’ll have to consider shelling out some more cash to yet another new streaming service set to launch in the foreseeable future.
For now, fans can continue to binge all nine seasons of the series via Netflix through the end of next year.