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Australia drops The Office USA
Australian TV has dropped the American remake of The Office after just two episodes because of disappointing audiences.
Ricky Gervais’s original series was a hit down under for the ABC network, but the follow-up failed to attract the same following when it aired on Ten.
The first episode, a virtual line-for-line remake of a British script, attracted fewer than 900,000 viewers – making it number 81 in the Australian ratings.
Episode two, written by the American team, slumped further down the viewing charts, with fewer than 700,000 tuning in.
So Ten decided to pull the third instalment, scheduled to air at 8pm last night, and put out a repeat of Everybody Loves Raymond instead.
A Ten spokesman said: “Unfortunately its ratings were softer than they hoped it would be.
"We're not saying never, never, never. But at this point it's out of the schedule."
The Office – An American Workplace, starring Steve Carell as the David Brent figure Michael Scott, is currently airing on BBC Three in Britain.
NBC has ordered a second run in the States, despite disappointing ratings there too, in the hope it will build an audience from modest beginnings, as Seinfeld did.Published: 1 Jul 2005
