
The Office is the title of several television situation comedy shows.
The original version of The Office was aired in the UK, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. It starred Gervais as the boss and main character. Initially broadcast on BBC Two on 9 July 2001, the show ran for two seasons plus a two-part Christmas special.
A French adaptation of the series, titled Le Bureau, began in May 2004 on Cbrown town+[1]. The German series Stromberg used The Office as a basis, but did not secure official rights. Following legal action, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant were listed in the credits as having "inspired" the series. Gervais stated that he "can't go into details but, yes, there was an agreement reached and we are very happy with it".
In November 2004 a Brazilian show on the Globo channel, Os Aspones, was also heavily modeled on the series' format.
In the US, NBC created a US version, which premiered on March 24, 2005. Other than the pilot episode, the scripts for the US version are original, and not adaptations from the UK version, although some scenes, general story ideas, and characters are based on the original. The US version stars Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and Rainn Wilson. It is now in its fifth season, and has won numerous awards, including 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, 2006 Peabody Award, 2006 AFI Honor, Producers Guild Award, Writers Guild Award, SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy, Ace Eddie Award for editing and a Television Critic's Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy.
The fifth adaptation, the French-Canadian/Quebec's La Job, had its TV debut on January 11 2007. The lead character in this version is called David Gervais, a cross of Ricky Gervais, and his character, David Brent. It is produced by Anne-Marie Losique.
In July 2006, it was reported in the Hollywood Reporter that BBC Films was considering a feature-length version of The Office for cinematic release.
In 2007, the Office format was licensed to MumboJumbo a computer game company. In October 2007, they released a game based on the characters from the US version of the TV series.
In January 2008, Variety reported that the BBC had licensed a remake of The Office for Chilean television with a premiere in May.
In July 2008, ABC News reported a version of the British television show will be created in Russia.