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"James Spader is to leave his role as Robert California on The Office, it has been revealed. The actor was expected to return for season nine of the comedy series, but the star has decided not to pursue the project any further. The show&amp;#039;s executive producer Paul Lieberstein said: &amp;quot;James always wanted this to be a one-year arc, and he now leaves us having created one of the most enigmatic and dynamic characters in television. &amp;quot;He&amp;#039;s been a great friend to me and the show, helping us successfully transition into the post-Michael Scott (Steve Carell) years, and I&amp;#039;m grateful for that.&amp;quot; After appearing at the end of season seven of the sitcom, Spader was brought in full-time for season eight. He appeared as the Sabre CEO from September 2011 - replacing Kathy Bates&amp;#039;s character - as part of a contract that stated he must act in at least 15 episodes, according to Variety. It is unclear whether Spader&amp;#039;s departure will be worked into this season or explained at the beginning of the next run. &amp;gt; Catherine Tate to reprise &amp;#039;Office&amp;#039; role for second half of season &amp;gt; Sendhil Ramamurthy to guest in &amp;#039;The Office&amp;#039; Watch an on-set interview with James Spader about The Office below:      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/the-office/news/a368186/james-spader-to-leave-the-office/>