The Office: Five Things We Want From the Final Season

A Michael Scott return, Scranton strangler revealed and others on our list for the NBC comedy

By Jenna Mullins Sep 20, 2012 7:05 PMTags
The Office, PosterNBC

Tonight, The Office officially begins its final season on NBC, and we'd love to write more about that but we're getting all choked up.

Regardless of how you've accepted the series after Steve Carell left, The Office will always hold a special place in our TV-lovin' hearts for seamlessly and hilariously wrapping us around the daily lives of the Dunder Mifflin/Sabre family. And now that our time with Jim, Pam, Dwight and the rest is (sob!) coming to a close, we thought it'd be appropriate to send out our final season wish list to the TV universe to see if any of it comes to fruition. Scroll on through our five ideas, and then add yours in the comments:

Chris Haston/NBC

1. The Prodigal Son Returns: Even though Carell has said in interviews that there have been no plans for him to reprise his role as Regional Manager Michael Scott for the final season, we find it almost impossible that Michael won't make some kind of appearance before the screen fades to black. He was why we fell in love with the show in the first place! Even though his last episode was pretty much perfect, Michael Scott just has to return for at least one last talking head. There is no other option. Is it also too much to ask to see Holly (Amy Ryan) come back with him, too?

Byron Cohen/NBC

2. Important Updates: We know Roy (David Denman) is returning, so we'll get to see what Pam's ex-fiancé is up to, but we have other people we want to catch up with. Jan (Melora Hardin), for starters. Did her candle making business ever take off? And how is precious little Astrid? Sure, it might be considered cliché to parade former characters around just because it's the final season, but it's a tried and true TV tactic for a reason! We want to see how those crazy kids are doing! Here's a short list of people we'd like to see pop up one last time: Todd Packer (David Koechner), Jo Bennett (Kathy Bates), Danny Cordray (Timothy Olyphant), Jan's former assistant Hunter (Nicholas D'Agosto), and of course David Brent (Ricky Gervais).

Chris Haston/NBC

3. Resolution of the Scranton Strangler Saga: Toby (Paul Lieberstein) was on the jury that caught him, but during Michael's Last Dundies, he told the group he wasn't sure they put the right man away. So, it's highly possible the infamous Scranton Strangler is still on the loose! Perhaps it's someone we've already met, someone we maybe even know and love? Start placing bets now, because we're going with Gabe Lewis (Zach Woods), former lackey to Jo and Erin's ex-boyfriend, on this one.

Paul Drinkwater/NBC

4. The Faces Behind the Camera: Executive producer Greg Daniels already revealed that viewers would get the story on why this documentary crew has been filming in Scranton for almost a decade, but we want them to get their own talking heads. In fact, we would like a whole episode dedicated to the crew giving us their favorite moments from their point of view (what was Dwight's "fire drill" really like? How many Jim and Pam moments did they catch over the years?), so it'd almost be like a "clip show," but with an entirely new perspective.

Justin Lubin/NBC

5. Jim and Pam Truly Living Happily Ever After: They did get married and they have beautiful children together, so technically "Jam" got their happy ending. But we want Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fisher), separately, to have their happy ending, so that one of the best couples in TV history won't be in danger of turning into a regret-filled, boring marriage. Yes, we are looking out for the future of a fictional television couple that will no longer exist in eight months—don't judge us!  Anyway, Pam has always wanted to be an artist, and for awhile she was chasing that dream with art school and participating in creative projects at work, but now we feel those goals have taken a backseat. Put 'em back riding shotgun, Pam! Finish art school at the very least, just to say you completed it. (Yes, now we're writing directly to the fictional characters.) And Jim, it was always your intention to move on from selling paper, printers and the like. Are you truly happy doing what you do, or are you bored? At the very least, give us more pranks to show you still have that spark in you, that same spark that made you kiss Pam during Casino Night, even after she turned you down. We just want you both to be happy!

Clearly, we are officially off our rockers trying to deal with The Office ending, so we'll end this list now. Keep it going in the comment section!

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)