April 28 will be a sad day at Dunder-Mifflin's Scranton, Pa., office -- and throughout the rest of the country. Michael Scott will bid farewell to "The Office" as Steve Carell leaves the NBC comedy.

From The Associated Press:

NBC is confirming April 28 as the date for Steve Carell’s final appearance on “The Office.” His farewell episode on the popular comedy will be supersized, the network announced Monday. That night’s long goodbye will air from 9 to 9:50 p.m. Eastern time, followed by an extended version of “Parks and Recreation” that concludes at 10:30 p.m. Eastern, NBC said.

It will be weird to see "The Office" without Carell. On one hand, I think it's good that the bumbling Michael Scott won't be over-staying his welcome. But on the other hand, I can't imagine how successful the show will be without such a key character. "The Office" is full of plenty of laugh-inducing misfits, so the removal of their office leader will certainly change the dynamic.

Will Ferrell will be joining the cast for a short storyline, but I don't think NBC will make him the new manager of Dunder-Mifflin's Scranton operations. I think the new Michael Scott would need to have a not-Michael Scott personality -- or at least the new character's ineptitude will need to be manifested in a different way.

Will Carell's departure mean "The Office" is going to jump the shark? We'll probably have to wait until next season to find out. For now, I'm going to prepare for what will likely be both a laugh- and tear-inducing goodbye.


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl