''The Office'' is a

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

sitcom created by

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...

and

Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer. Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...

, first made in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, then

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and subsequently the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series of ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series of ...

'' also starred Gervais as the boss and main character of the show. The two seasons were broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

in 2001 and 2002, totalling 12 episodes, with two special episodes in 2003, and an extra short spectacular ten years later. A German version titled '' Stromberg'' ran for 46 episodes over five seasons, starting in 2004, and the follow-up film ''Stromberg - Der Film'' was released in German cinemas in 2014. The longest-running version of the series, the US adaptation, ran for nine seasons on the

NBC Television Network The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from 2005 to 2013 for a total of 201 episodes. The total overall viewership is in the hundreds of millions worldwide. According to

Nielsen Ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

as of April 2019, the US version of ''The Office'' was the No. 1 streamed show on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

in the United States. Extended episodes of the American adaptation have been added to the streaming platform

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

, in addition to bloopers and extras. The US version features a multitude of catch-phrases, notably, "That's what she said!".

International versions

Counterparts

* Note that the set-up of the German version is more distinct from the original than it is with most of the other versions. The characters given are rough counterparts in terms of their role in the series. They generally have different job descriptions and, in a few cases, may not even work for the company at all. This is mostly due to the fact that, unlike the other derivatives, ''Stromberg'' was not an official adaptation of the original series but was merely inspired by it. * A Russian language version for

Channel One Russia Channel One ( rus, Первый канал, r=Pervyy kanal, p=ˈpʲervɨj kɐˈnal, t=First Channel) is a Russian state-controlled television channel. It is the first television channel to broadcast in the Russian Federation. Its headquarters ...

with an initial run of 24 episodes was announced in 2008, but was never produced. ;Notes

Awards and honors

''Selected major awards won only'' *UK version: 2005 Golden Globes for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy (Ricky Gervais); 2001, 2002 and 2003

British Academy Television Awards The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...

for Situation Comedy and Best Comedy Performance (Ricky Gervais)The 2003 British Academy Television Awards
winners and nominees. *US version: 2006 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy (Steve Carell); 2006

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for Outstanding Comedy Series; 2007 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series; 2007 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (Greg Daniels); 2009 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (Jeffrey Blitz). For other awards and honors see '' List of awards and nominations received by The Office (American TV series)'' *German version: 2006

Grimme Award The Grimme-Preis ("Grimme Award"; prior to 2011: Adolf-Grimme-Preis) is one of the most prestigious German television awards. It is named after the first general director of Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, Adolf Grimme.Deutscher Fernsehpreis The Deutscher Fernsehpreis (''German Television Award'') is an annual German award for television programming, created in 1999 by German television channels Das Erste, ZDF, RTL and Sat.1. It was created to be an equivalent to the Emmy Awards, ...

for Best Sitcom and Best Book; 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2012

Deutscher Comedypreis The Deutscher Comedypreis ("German Comedy Award") is awarded by Brainpool TV. Because Brainpool's in-house productions have received extensive awards, the designation as the ''German Comedy Award'' is controversial. The awards ceremony takes plac ...

for Best Actor in a Comedy Series (Christoph Maria Herbst)

References

External links

A comparison of the US, UK, French, and German shows
on ''Slate''
''The Office'' on Comedy Central''The Office'': A decade around the worldThe Official Office Merchandise
{{DEFAULTSORT:Office, The Television franchises Lists of British television series characters Lists of sitcom television characters Workplace comedy television series