BBC buys rights to US remake

The American version of The Office is to be screened in Britain, too.

The BBC has bought the rights to the remake, which launches on NBC on March 24, to screen on BBC3.

Ricky Gervais and co-creator Stephen Merchant acted as executive producers on the new show, but have maintained a hands-off approach.

New scripts have been written and characters changed for the US production, including renaming David Brent as Michael Scott.

As played by The Daily Show’s Steve Carrell, the character is still head of a paper merchant’s office – this time in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

The BBC’s controller of acquisitions , George McGhee, said: "There will be a huge curiosity around the US version of The Office, and we are delighted that the BBC is bringing this series to UK audiences,

NBC picked up the show after The Office, which had previously been confined to cable station BBC America, won two Golden Globes in 2004.

However, the reaction from the few who have seen episodes in full has been muted.

One blogger said: “It's not subtle enough to feel real, and it's not exaggerated enough to truly be funny. The show is more sitcom-y with regards to the timing and flow and it just ruins what worked perfectly in the original.”

No UK transmission date has yet been set.

For preview clips, visit the official NBC site.

Published: 4 Mar 2005