The Failure and Success of The Office (US)
And What I (We) Can Learn From It
A Bit of History
The original UK version of The Office was one of those shows that crept up on you. It aired at 10 p.m. on BBC Two, that odd little slot reserved for experimental or cult comedy—wedged between documentaries and Newsnight. This was the place where shows like The Young Ones, Alan Partridge, and The Thick of It lived. The testing ground for the too-weird-for-BBC-One brigade.
There wasn’t a big marketing push. If you’d heard of Ricky Gervais at the time, it might have been from Channel 4’s The 11 O’Clock Show, or maybe as that bloke from Spaced who misprinted an ad and caused all kinds of chaos. But generally, the cast were unknowns.
And yet—thanks to word of mouth—it exploded. A cult hit turned global export. It travelled, including across the pond to BBC America. But that’s not how the U.S. remake came to be.
The Rights
Enter Ben Silverman. At the time, he was working at the William Morris Agency. While in the UK, he caught an episode of The Office and was intrigued—though, at first, slightly confused by what he was watching. After asking around, a friend introduced him to Ricky Gervais (because, as ever in the industry, it’s who you know), and a meeting was set up.
Gervais was open to the idea of a U.S. version, but it wasn’t just his call—it also involved Stephen Merchant and the BBC. After a bit of wrangling, Silverman secured the rights and set up his own company, Reveille, to develop the remake.
The next hurdle: selling it. And nobody wanted it.
Selling the Show
You’d think a globally successful show would be an easy sell. Not so much. American TV had just come off a golden era of Friends, Frasier, and the big-laugh sitcom. There was also a bad track record of UK comedies flopping when remade stateside—Coupling being the most recent cautionary tale. CBS, Fox, HBO, Showtime—they all passed.
Eventually, NBC took the plunge. Gervais and Merchant signed off on Greg Daniels (of King of the Hill and The Simpsons) as showrunner. All systems go.
What could possibly go wrong?
The Pilot
They made one fatal mistake: the pilot was a near shot-for-shot remake of the British version. And it flopped.
Everyone regretted it. Silverman admitted they were too reverent—trying to capture lightning in a bottle instead of creating something new. John Krasinski (Jim) said he wasn’t thrilled about copying the British script but understood why they did it. Paul Feig (director – not of this episode) heard that part of the rights deal required them to remake the original pilot script—but Gervais denied that, saying he thought it was a weird choice.
Consulting producer Larry Wilmore likened it to having a ghostly feel—like actors were being haunted by another show. Greg Daniels later said he did it as a test—to see if NBC had the stomach for something tonally different.
But the pilot wasn’t a total waste.
Peter Smokler, the DP of This Is Spinal Tap, helped give the show its faux-documentary style. He only worked on the pilot, but it set the visual tone for the series. The cast learned the rhythm of the show by working “in character” at their desks between takes. Those early, awkward silences and office background moments? They became the show’s DNA.
Still, test audiences hated it. Daniels rang Gervais, who congratulated him—reminding him the UK Office had tied with women’s bowling for the lowest test scores ever. And they hadn’t changed a thing. “Innovation never tests well,” he said.
Critics didn’t love it either. Carrell’s Michael Scott was seen as a David Brent knock-off. It looked like The Office US was dead on arrival.
Diversity Day
Then came the twist.
Six months later, NBC ordered five more episodes. This time, Daniels and his team had one clear goal: make it its own thing.
Their second episode, “Diversity Day,” became a turning point. Daniels thought that race—rather than class—was the more relevant social tension in U.S. offices. So they went right for it.
Michael’s inappropriate joke lands the staff in diversity training, which (of course) Michael hijacks to disastrous effect. The episode would never get made today, but it achieved something vital. It set the show apart. It introduced the now-iconic use of the conference room, Michael’s incompetence in literally every structured setting, and the soft burn of Jim and Pam’s slow-brewing chemistry.
They weren’t just copying the British show anymore—they were building their own.
Season One
The first season was a gamble. The cast worked like it might be cancelled at any moment—because it might have been. It was cheap, scrappy, DIY. Larry Wilmore likened it to a student film. Kate Flannery (Meredith) still waitressed between shoots. Daniels would literally see her at her shift, handing her notes.
That lack of expectation gave them freedom. They could experiment.
The ratings told another story. The pilot pulled in 11.2 million viewers. But by “Diversity Day,” numbers had almost halved. By the season finale, they were down to 4.8 million.
It looked like The Office would be quietly killed off.
What Happened Next?
The cast moved on. The crew started other jobs. But it had fans. One of those fans was someone called Kevin Reilly who just happened to be President of NBC Entertainment.
Internally, screenings with execs gave the show a thumbs down. But one day, NBC screened it for assistants, interns, and junior staff. About forty of them. Their reaction? This was the only NBC show they’d actually watch.
Reilly decided to fight for it. He put himself on the line with Jeff Zucker, then President of NBC Universal, and somehow convinced the network to order six more episodes.
Season Two
The good news: it was coming back. The bad news: NBC slashed the budget by half. Silverman, stuck on a Siberian tarmac (of all places), started negotiating with the cast and crew to return for reduced fees—including Gervais and Merchant, who deferred theirs entirely.
They also had to shoot on the cheap—limited sets, minimal equipment. But then… two strokes of luck.
First: The 40-Year-Old Virgin was about to drop. No one thought an R-rated rom-com would do much. But it turned Steve Carell into a star. Silverman called Universal and begged them to cross-promote The Office with the film. NBC agreed to fund some of the marketing. Carrell was now a household name, and The Office was suddenly cool.
Second: Apple launched iTunes streaming. It was 2005—DVD box sets were still king. But now you could catch up. People who missed season one downloaded it. Then they watched live. Ratings improved.
Combined with relentless self-promotion from the cast (talk shows, fan events, even MySpace), the audience started growing. NBC ordered a full season.
By the end of Season Two, The Office won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. And that was just the beginning.
In total, the U.S. version ran from 2005 to 2013, collecting 30 awards and 164 nominations, becoming arguably the defining sitcom of the 2000s.
Source: The Office – The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s by Andy Green
What Can I (We) Learn?
1. Getting Anything Made Is Hard
Most pitches fail. It’s not enough to have a hit on your hands. Even when something is proven to work, you still have to fight to make it again—and differently.
2. Even Talented People Get It Wrong
The pilot was a misfire. Every single person involved is smart and successful. Sometimes you just don’t hit the mark. That’s okay. What matters is how you pivot.
3. Pivot Hard and Fast
“Diversity Day” wasn’t just a course correction—it was a mission statement. The second they stopped mimicking and started innovating, the show found its voice.
4. You Only Need One Fan (In the Right Place)
Without Kevin Reilly, the show would have died. Having someone believe in your work can change everything—even if it’s just one person. And they don’t have to be a network exec. Even one vocal fan can keep you going.
5. No Creative Project is Wasted
It would have been easy to give up after the pilot episode, but they didn't. They took the elements of what worked, e.g., the look, pace, etc., and it echoed throughout the entire series.
6. Luck Is a Factor
Talent, skill, and hard work matter. But so does timing. If The 40-Year-Old Virgin had bombed? If iTunes hadn’t launched? Who knows? Right place, right time can be the thing that tips the scales.
7. You Never Really Know What Will Hit
Success often comes quietly, then snowballs. Everyone wants the next big thing, but few shows hit like a freight train. Most—The Office included—need time to find their footing.
Finally…
Talking about MySpace and iTunes has made me feel incredibly old.
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