'The Office' is a British mockumentary television series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant for BBC Two, premiering on 9 July 2001 and running for two six-episode series plus a two-part 2003 Christmas special. Set in the Slough branch of the fictional Wernham Hogg paper company, the series follows general manager David Brent (Gervais) and his employees through a documentary crew's fly-on-the-wall coverage. The property was licensed internationally, with Greg Daniels's American NBC remake (2005-2013, 188 episodes) the most commercially successful; further authorised adaptations aired in Germany (2012), France (2006), Quebec (2006-2007), Chile (2008), and Brazil (2024), each redeveloping the Brent character and the mockumentary format for local workplace idioms.