Steve Carell won't appear in "The Office" finale

One goodbye is apparently good enough for Steve Carell.

During a conference call on Wednesday "The Office" executive producer Greg Daniels confirmed that the former star will not be back for the May 16 finale episode.

"I think Steve felt, and I agree, that the 'Goodbye, Michael' episode was his goodbye and he didn't want to overshadow the ending that all the other characters deserved," he said.

Carell, 50, played Michael Scott, the dim-witted branch manager of the Scranton, Pa., paper company Dunder Mifflin for seven hilarious seasons, but bid the show farewell in a special goodbye episode that aired on April 28, 2011.

While he may have dashed Michael Scott fan's dreams, Daniels did offer a few clues as to what viewers can expect for the series finale -- and it may seem a little familiar. "After attempting to beat that [U.K.] ending in a number of different ways, we ended up doing something very similar," he said. The original British version, which starred Ricky Gervais, ended with the characters reuniting after becoming reality TV stars.

They are also trying to get more time for the season finale, and apparently NBC is being cooperative in their efforts, attempting to find creative ways to get the final episode "The Office" an extended timeslot.

Tell us: Are you bummed that Michael Scott won't appear on the show's finale? Do you plan to watch the May 16 final episode?