‘I imagine most Americans don’t even know about the British show’: Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant on the US Office at 20

From the outset, though, both Merchant and Gervais knew they shouldn’t be the ones to bring The Office to the US.

“All of the people who knew The Office, loved The Office, and they were the industry.

So when Gervais and The Office co-creator Stephen Merchant got a call from TV producer Ben Silverman saying he wanted to adapt their drab workplace mockumentary for an American crowd, expectations were immediately low.