Interview with the Boss

Here's a medialife interview with the executive producer of The Office, Greg Daniels:

How does “The Office” differ from the original?
The pilot episode is a remake of the British show's pilot, but after that we wrote five new scripts. The British show was more of a miniseries in that it wrapped up in 12 episodes and a Christmas special. As an American show, we are hoping to be on for several years, so instead of having the characters change over the first six episodes, we are more landing in a world and exploring it. Also, our cast are simply different people than the British cast, which is significant since our show is as much about watching the actors' faces to catch them lying to the camera or lying to themselves as it is about the lines.

What parts of the original did you preserve?
We tried to stay true to the spirit of the original, which is to have people cringe and recognize behaviors from their own experiences of office life. The American cast and American writers looked to their own lives to find those kinds of moments.

Is it hard to make a cult hit into something that would appeal to a wider taste?
The British show has amazingly high quality execution--writing, acting and directing. And it is funny, moving and truthful, which is why I love it so much. I felt going into this that I would worry about making our show as funny and moving and truthful and well-executed as I knew how and that was a better way of adapting it than having a particular strategy.

What types of changes did you have to make to suit the American audience? How involved were the original writers in the remake?
I went to England and met with them for a few days before rewriting the pilot. They made a visit here to meet the U.S. cast, and I have the pleasure of corresponding by email. They were always incredibly positive and supportive, but the main contribution they made to the adaptation was simply creating their brilliant original series, which I took as much inspiration from as I could. As authors say in book intros, the mistakes were all mine.

Another British remake, last year's “Coupling,” failed to translate well in the U.S. What makes you think “The Office” will be different?
I think "The Office" was a better show than "Coupling" in England, so our adaptation is starting from a better place.

Do you think “Coupling” would have caught on if it stayed around longer?
Maybe. I think most Americans didn't reject it because it was not true enough to the British show, however, but rather not great enough to replace "Friends."

How difficult is it to make the transition from one culture to another with comedy?
That depends on the comedy. [Executive producers and "Office" creators] Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant were very influenced by shows like “Simpsons” and “Seinfeld” and the movie “The Apartment,” as well as Laurel and Hardy. I think their style of comedy works great here.

Why did this succeed as a British sitcom? What did audiences like so much about it?
It started out very low-rated in England, but once the audience learned how to enjoy it, they loved it. The reasons I think are the incredibly high quality of the writing, acting and directing, and the originality of the mockumentary concept, which imbued a comedy show with the energy and unpredictability of a reality show. And, of course, the fabulous comedy. And the truly emotional romance. Oh, and the observations on everyday life.

Critics seem unsure so far if mainstream America will like the pauses and general awkwardness that the original and the remake both had, which many would argue are part of its charm. What's your reaction to that?
A lot of people probably won't like those awkward pauses at first because they are so different from most TV. I love that kind of stuff myself, and I think real life is full of it, so I'm hoping they'll get the hang of how to watch it soon enough.

Have any of the original's stars seen the new version? What did they think?
Ricky and Stephen have both seen it and are very positive. Ricky thinks Steve Carell gave one of the best comedic performances he has ever seen, and Stephen Merchant has been equally supportive.

How will the remake differ from the original plot-wise going forward?
All new plots after the pilot.

The original British “Coupling” was sort of a takeoff on the American “Friends.” How long until we see the British version of the American version of “The Office?”
My brain just exploded.