One fictional film crew has been quietly rolling since 2001 — first on David Brent's paper company in Slough, then on Michael Scott's Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, and now on a dying newspaper in Toledo. It's all one documentary universe (David Brent literally shows up in the US show). Browse the connected shows here, then flip to Timeline for the story in order, The Global Office for every remake around the world, or Counterparts to see the same desk in a different accent.
Between seasons, NBC.com ran nine spin-off web-series (37 shorts in all, 2006–2011) that handed the camera to the supporting cast — the accountants, Creed, and Kelly & Erin's girl group among them. The very first, The Accountants, won a Daytime Emmy.
From a wagon of paper in Slough to a struggling newspaper in Toledo — beats across the connected Office world. The crossover beat is where the UK and US shows officially become one universe.
Britain invented it; America made it a phenomenon; and then the world made it their own. Here are the national versions of The Office — the local firm, the years, and the local David Brent. A different office, a different language, the same beautiful cringe.
Every version reinvents the same handful of people: the cringe-comedy boss, the everyman who pranks the deputy, the rule-obsessed deputy, and the receptionist at the heart of it all. Here's how five of the best-documented versions cast the archetypes. (Australia's female-led reboot reshuffles the roles — its "deputy" is officially the receptionist, and its "receptionist" officially works in sales.)