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This is what David Brent looks like around the world

India is the latest country to create a version of the show

This is what David Brent looks like around the world
20 February 2018

Ricky Gervais’ The Office is a uniquely British show. So British, in fact, that you’d think it might struggle to work outside this island of self-deprecation and constant embarrassment.

However, that clearly isn’t the case - it’s just been announced that India will become the latest country to create their own version of the show, making it ten international editions in total.

Wernham Hogg is now New Delhi paper company Wilkins Chawla, and David Brent is Jagdeep Chaddha. The series is expected to stick to the UK version of the script in many ways, including the pivotal Tim and Dawn romance plot.

Gervais said that he’s hoping for big ratings for the Indian Office, and that he’s “always excited and flattered to see remakes of my work.”

With yet another new Brent on the way, we take a look at how he and his show look around the world, with some versions more successful than others.

  1. 1.USA - 'The Office (US)'

    Everyone knows the US version of The Office - it’s arguably more famous than the original. Steve Carell’s portrayal of Michael Scott launched a huge movie career, and the nine-season run between 2005 and 2013  was an altogether warmer, more comforting show than the British source material. The big question is: which couple was better, Tim and Dawn, or Jim and Pam? 

  2. 2.Canada - 'La Job'

    Canada’s La Job ran for just a single season, which says it all about how well it was received. Excellently however, the show named its Brent character David Gervais, as a homage to the creator, while the Quebec office was called Les Papiers Jennings.

  3. 3.France - 'Le Bureau'

    Another one-season wonder was France’s Le Bureau - the first non-English adaptation of the show - featuring Gilles Triquet as the boss of Cogirep. Unlike in Canada, however, Le Bureau was actually critically acclaimed. It stuck very rigidly to the main story arcs of The Office, but with a decidedly French twist.

  4. 4.Germany - 'Stromberg'

    Stromberg went a different route to other Office remakes, in that they didn’t try to remake The Office, but instead create an ‘original’ show that looked very, very similar to Gervais’ baby. The BBC threatened to sue, and the two sides eventually settled, with Gervais and Stephen Merchant being given an ‘inspired by’ credit. It ran for four seasons between 2004-2012, with Bernd Stromberg as the boss of Capitol-Versicherung AG.

  5. 5.Israel - 'HaMisrad'

    Avi Meshulam managed the imaginatively-named ‘Paper Office’ in the Israeli version of the show. It’s been called a no-holds-barred remake, with political correctness having gone very much out the window.

  6. 6.Sweden - 'Kontoret'

    Ove Sundberg - the Swedish David Brent - was actually a supporting character in another show, who went on to become the main event in Kontoret, making this somewhat of a spin-off. It had a two-season run between 2012 and 2013.

  7. 7.Finland - 'Konttori'

    Finald have done an excellent version of casting here, we have to say. Pentti Markkanen, the office manager at Leskisen Paperi is very Brent-like, while the two salesmen have clearly been modeled on Jim and Dwight from the US version. Konttori only started airing last March, making it the most recent version of The Office currently on TV.

  8. 8.Czech Republic - 'Kancl'

    Finally, we have the Czech Republic’s Kancl, which was another which managed just one season. Marek Chvala, pictured here, was the Czech David Brent.