On: NBC

Premiered: September 21, 2006

Starring: Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B.J. Novak, Ed Helms, Melora Hardin, David Denman, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nunez, Phyllis Smith, Mindy Kaling, Paul Lieberstein, Creed Bratton, Craig Robinson, Andy Buckley & Rashida Jones

Season three is a hard season to get through. It’s not that the show is bad, it just seems like the writers have lost their groove.

When Pam (Jenna Fischer) commits to Roy (David Denham), Jim (John Krasinski) transfers to the Stamford branch of Dunder Mifflin. Later, Michael (Steve Carell) is thrilled when Stamford merges with Scranton bringing Jim back and adding Karen (Rashida Jones) and Andy (Ed Helms) to his team.

Moving Jim to a new branch made sense in terms of the character, but created a rift in the storytelling. Other than Jim, there’s no real tie for viewers with the new branch, especially with new unlikable characters.

Many of the episodes take on a longer runtime, which also throws off the flow of the comedy.

Final say: Don’t mess with a good thing. ★★★☆☆