TVGuide reports that NBC’s “The Office” is waving goodbye to another regular cast member.
BJ Novak, who plays Ryan Howard on the show, will be departing as a full-time lead, reports TVGuide. Novak, who also wrote and directed episodes of the series, will still be available for recurring appearances.
Based on the Ricky Howard character from the original English version of the show, Ryan entered the chaotic, sometimes depressing world of Dunder-Mifflin as a temp with business school aspirations. The character rose up the corporate ladder to become Michael Scott’s (Steve Carell) boss at one point, but an accounting fraud scandal led to his downfall.
Ryan eventually returned to the Scranton branch in a low-level position, but his character has largely been in the background for the past few seasons, save for the occasional faux-hipster crack, social media idea and relationship drama with Kelly Kapoor.
Kaling, who played Kapoor and also wrote for the series, is departing as well. The actress toplines FOX’s new “The Mindy Project” series.
Series star Steve Carell famously departed towards the end of season seven; James Spader, who was part of the dynamic used to replace Carell’s presence on the show, will not be returning after a single season of work on “The Office.”
