The one sitcom that does not require laughing tracks and would still make us laugh out loud with jokes told with a straight face has to be the iconic The Office. With nine successful seasons, the show won hearts with its workplace mockumentary comedy.
The NBC show gave us a glimpse into the tired yet strangely bearable lives of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, Scranton, Pennsylvania branch employees. The show was inspired by the British version that came out before, with the same name and the genius of SNL, King of the Hill, and The Simpsons, Greg Daniels, behind it.
The series, with its single-camera setup, looks like an actual documentary, just hilarious and more fun. The first season of the show struggled a bit in finding the right audience, considering the lack of laugh tracks might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but with the release of more and more seasons, The Office has not found for itself a dedicated fanbase but also critical acclaim that it so rightfully deserved.
We are sure you are familiar with all of the famous quotes and the legendary characters who have literally shaped our “fun” personalities. From Dwight Schrute to Michael Scott to Jim Halpert, the show is full of memorable characters. The Office is a whole other world on its own, one that sucks you in and traps you forever.
While the show had an ensemble cast who remained with us till the end, there were other cast members as well, one who was a part of the show but ended up leaving soon. Paul Lieberstien’s character in the show was one such, and we are here to spill all of the tea that led to his departure from the show.
Why Did Toby Leave The Office?
Actor Paul Lieberstien played the character of Toby Flenderson in the show The Office and was introduced as this soft-spoken, calm Human Resources Representative guy. Fans would know just how much Michael hated his guts just for doing what he was supposed to do at his job.
Throughout the show, Toby has always done his duty, stifling all of the office fun and doing whatever HR’s supposed to be. But the man was utterly hated by his colleagues, and it turns out his personal life was not all that great either. With a bad childhood, a divorce, and a crush on Pam, the man suffered in silence.
Many fans believe that not only was Toby the nicest character on the show, personality-wise, but he was also one of the best in terms of presence on-screen. Michael’s hatred for the man soon spreads to the entire office, and we finally bid goodbye to Flenderson in the episode “Goodbye Toby.”
In the final episode of the fourth season of the show, we bid a sad goodbye to the character, though we are sure Michael Scott was having the time of his life sending him off. The episode revealed that Toby had decided to resign from his position to live his dream of having a life in Costa Rica.
The episode was all about Phyllis planning his farewell party in the parking and a new human resources representative taking his place. The new face, Holly Flax, had the opposite fate to Toby, with Michael completely obsessed with her.
Actor Paul revealed later that he was getting the opportunity to write for the show The Office as a showrunner and wanted to focus on just that, which led him to write the “Goodbye Toby” episode where he wrote his character off.
This was the fate of the character for some time, but fans saw him on screen once again when he made his way back to the office because of a neck injury that forced him to quit his Costa Rican life. After his entry into the show once again, Toby got back his HR position and featured in the show till its end.
In the final episode of the last season of the show, Toby was fired by Dwight, after which he apparently moved to New York to build another life. However, we see him again when he attends Dwight and Angela’s wedding, where he breaks down because things have not turned out that well for him ever since he left the paper company.
Finally, his story arc was wrapped and tied with a bow with a last update on his character, where he was revealed to have taken another HR position at a TJ Maxx place. Being an unappreciated presence through most parts of the show must have been hard for Toby, but at least we appreciate him now, years after the show’s release.
