When he looks back at the legacy that he started alongside comedian Ricky Gervais with the original UK version of The Office, Stephen Merchant recalls being taken aback by every piece of success they earned. During an interview with Collider’s Christina Radish, the director and writer said that he and Gervais were aiming low, completely unaware that they were at the helm of one of the most popular TV shows of all time. At the beginning of their journey, Merchant revealed that he and the comedian said their “best case scenario was that [The Office] would be a million people’s favorite show worldwide, and that would be enough,” having no idea of the cult following to come. “Maybe that seemed ambitious,” he said, “but in our minds, we were like, ‘That would be great.’ We thought if it could be a certain amount of people’s favorite thing ever, then we would be happy.”
When steam picked up and the show not only became the “favorite thing ever” to residents in the UK but also those across the pond in the U.S., Merchant says that he and Gervais wrote it off, thinking, “‘Oh, it’s a cultural thing there.’” Remaining cautiously optimistic with a heavy side of pessimism, when the wheels began turning on the remake starring Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, and Jenna Fischer, Merchant says that he and Gervais remained skeptical. “‘No remakes of British shows ever succeed. They always try to remake them, and they never work.’” And, of course, we all know how that turned out.
Stephen Merchant Now Has A New Outlook on ‘The Office’ Spin-Off
Now, the tables have turned and Merchant is feeling certain about the approaching success of The Office spin-off, The Paper. When asked if the idea and interest in the project came as a shock, Merchant said,
“It’s not a surprise. It’s just that I feel like, why not? Every step of the way, it seemed like it was never going to quite work, so yeah, let’s do another one . I’m a fan of the American version and I’m a fan of Greg [ Daniels ], and I’m excited to see what he does. When you make a show, you don’t get to enjoy it in the way an audience does because you’re too excited. So, the idea that there’s going to be this show in this world that we helped create is really thrilling to me . I’m just interested to know [how they’re going to handle it] because office life now is very different. One in every three episodes, presumably they’re just on Zoom. If there’s a guy who has a crush on the receptionist, he’ll have to ask the human resources department if he’s allowed to ask her out. Things have changed. Office politics have changed. It’s a different world than when we did our version.”
What Will ‘The Paper’ Be About?
When whispers of The Office reboot began to spread, many folks had similar concerns as Merchant. Some were afraid that the new project would besmirch such a perfect piece of comedy, while cast members including Carell and Mindy Kaling were quick to point out the many reasons it wouldn’t work today. But, The Paper will take things in a completely different direction with the same documentary camera crew responsible for the hours and hours of pure gold from the cubicles at Dunder Mifflin following a sinking newspaper in the Midwest.
As of right now, The Paper hasn’t set a release date but the Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore-led series is set to begin filming this summer. Stay tuned to Collider for more information and relive all the glory of The Office as it’s now streaming on Peacock.
