Ricky Gervais is a Billionaire Biotches! The Office is Opening a Branch in Israel!

[Brian Damage]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009...israel-version

Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's critically lauded comedy The Office is to be remade for an Israeli audience - the sixth foreign version of the show.


BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm, has licensed the show to an Israeli company, July August Productions, which will make 15, 25-minute episodes of The Office. The series will air on the Israeli satellite broadcaster Yes from April next year.


Local versions of The Office have also been made by broadcasters in the US, Chile, Canada, France and Russia.


The Israeli broadcaster will be hoping the show will translate as successfully as the US version on NBC, starring The 40 Year Old Virgin and Anchorman actor Steve Carell in Gervais's role as the deluded office manager David Brent.


NBC's version of The Office, which is set at the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the Dunder Mifflin paper company, had a shaky start, after being compared unflatteringly with the BBC2 original by US critics.


However, the show has developed into a critical and ratings hit for NBC and is now nearing the end of its fifth series, with a deal for repeats of the show to go into syndication nearly completed.


Gervais said: "I am thrilled and amazed that Israel are making The Office with local writers, directors and actors. I mean, who ever heard of Jewish entertainers?"


Giyora Yahalom, head of production at the Israeli satellite broadcaster Yes, added: "We are sure that the universal experience of contemporary office life will speak to Israeli viewers. There is no doubt that our viewers will enjoy the same jokes as their contemporaries in the UK."


Other BBC Worldwide shows that have aired in Israel include The Weakest Link, Dancing with the Stars and Mastermind.


The sale of The Office format to Israel was announced today at the Mip TV international programming market in Cannes.


Claudia Danser, vice-president for format licensing for BBC Worldwide, said that the next region of global expansion for The Office could well be Eastern Europe.


"There has been quite a lot of interest from Eastern Europe in making a series," she said. "Fingers crossed, we have already been in discussions for a pilot. There is one country in particular that has shown significant interest from several parties."


The original BBC2 version of The Office has run in 70 territories worldwide, a fact that Danser believes means that Israel's attempt to give the show its own flavour will be successful.


"Yes, definitely it will work. Even though Ricky Gervais said that it was originally never written with an international audience in mind the humour is so brilliant and the characters are so universal – everyone has terrible bosses. After speaking to the production company the feeling is that Israel will offer a particularly unique sense of humour to the adaptation," Danser said.


She added that the Israeli production was at such an early stage, a complete team of scriptwriters is yet to be put in place and there was as yet no information on where the show might be set or who will take the role of David Brent.