The American Office only took off after making its boss likeable
NBC's version of The Office began as a near copy of the British pilot and drew mixed reviews. The writers then brightened the lights, softened Michael Scott and gave the supporting staff real personalities. That change carried a Scranton paper company through nine seasons, 201 episodes and an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Greg Daniels adapted Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's BBC mockumentary for American television, setting it in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the invented Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. It ran from March 24, 2005 to May 16, 2013. Like the original, it used a single camera with no studio audience and no laugh track, so it would resemble a real documentary.
Daniels chose to open with a direct remake of the British first episode, reasoning that inventing everything from nothing would be too risky for an adaptation. The debut season ran just six episodes and got a lukewarm reception, so the writing team made the tone more hopeful. Before the second episode, writers even spent time researching real offices, a habit Daniels also used on King of the Hill and Parks and Recreation.
Scripts were written in full, yet Steve Carell and Rainn Wilson in particular were allowed to improvise. That produced piles of deleted scenes, which Daniels treated as part of the official story. Scripts also ran long for a 22-minute slot: one, for the episode Search Committee, came in at 75 pages, ten more than needed. Mindy Kaling, credited on twenty-four episodes, wrote more than anyone else on staff, and Randall Einhorn directed 15, the most of any director.
From season two the show drew wide acclaim, winning a Peabody Award in 2006 and five Primetime Emmys, plus a Golden Globe for Carell. After Carell left in season seven, the eighth season was criticised for slipping, but the ninth closed things on a warmer note. An estimated 5.7 million people watched the finale, and in 2016 Rolling Stone placed the series among the 100 greatest television shows ever made.
Source: The Office (American TV series)
