The Office — British vs. US versions

Ricky Gervais is a genius.

And, Stephen Merchant, as Andy Millman's agent and writer of both the Office and Extras is right there, too.

 

Never have seen British Office, but Merchant is priceless as Andy's agent in Extras.

 

I didn't much care for the first season of the U.S. version, and I realized that was because they were recycling so many of the British plots.

Once they started letting the American characters define themselves -- rather than forcing them to become cheap imitations of their British counterparts -- the show got a whole lot better. Now, in some ways, it's even surpassed the original.

 

The U.S. version is called "The Office: An American Workplace" when it airs in the UK.