Foreign Office

Gervais's comedy gets NBC green light

The American remake of The Office has been given the green light by the NBC network.

But unlike many of the Brit comedy imports currently swamping the States, the show will be completely reworked for the new market.

King Of The Kill creator Greg Daniels is to mastermind the translation of the show from Slough to somewhere in the US.

NBC executive Kevin Reilly said: "Workplace comedies are a staple of TV. Unfortunately, most office comedies have all the reality leeched out of them.

"In The Office, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have created a show that perfectly captures the universal experience of the daily grind."

" I have no doubt that we will be able to translate this series for an American audience."

He told the Hollywood Reporter :"These are distinct British stereotypes, and we're going to find our American stereotypes of office life to translate, but we're going to work very closely with Ricky and Stephen.

Gervais added: "A nationwide search for the American David Brent is under way.

"I think it's got to be completely American, a completely American team. It's a matter of getting American actors, comedians to make it their own. "

The American version of Coupling, which used the scripts of the British original virtually word-for-word, recently lost its prime-time NBC spot.

Talks are under way for a US adaptation of Victoria Wood's Dinnerladies, and a versions of Father Ted and The Royle Family are also in the offing.

The Office series 2 is released on DVD on Monday. Click to save £7 from Amazon