Set for "The Office" on NBC (Los Angeles)

www.nbc.com/The_Office/

Chandler Valley Center Studios is home to the indoor and outdoor sets for "Dunder Mifflin" from the NBC show "The Office".

The Office is the title of two television situation comedy shows created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. The first was the UK version, which was initially broadcast on BBC Two on 9 July 2001 and ran for two series plus a pair of Christmas specials. The show's success prompted NBC to create an American version, which premiered on March 24, 2005. Gervais and Merchant are credited as executive producers of the show along with Ben Silverman, Howard Klein and Greg Daniels.

Comparison of UK and US versions
All of the core elements of the UK series were brought over to the U.S. version. Both are structured as mockumentaries, without laugh tracks. Both are set in the offices of a paper supply company, with a boss whose high opinion of his own managerial skills (and his sense of humour) are not shared by his employees. Both feature an irritating "assistant to the regional manager" and two characters, an in-house sales representative and a receptionist, who are good friends with an apparent chemistry between them that hints to the viewers that their relationship could go beyond friendship if the receptionist were not already engaged.

The first episode of the first season of the American 'Office' was almost an exact adaptation of the first episode of the British version. The characters have different names, are played by different actors, and behave slightly differently. There is more extreme language in the British version. Starting with episode 2 in season 1 of the American version, the producers started making original episodes.

The UK original is set in the town of Slough, Berkshire. The fictional paper company in the show is called Wernham-Hogg. The U.S. version is set in the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, at a paper company called Dunder-Mifflin.

Each episode of the British version is about 29 minutes, as opposed to 20 to 22 minutes for the US version. This is due to the lack of commercials on the BBC version vs. the network US version with commercials.

A January 2006 Los Angeles Times article commented briefly on some of the changes that the producers of the U.S. version have introduced as the show has developed. NBC's entertainment president Kevin Reilly, whose support kept it on the air during a period of dismal initial ratings, characterized the differences in the characters this way: "I think Americans need a little bit more hope than the British." Reilly was talking about such differences as making the boss be a bit more competent, and plots that are slightly more upbeat, with humour less cruel.[citation needed]

The temporary employee in the American version, played by B.J. Novak, has much more of a presence than the equivalent role in the British version, played by Oliver Chris. In the British program, this character is only present in the secondary cast for the first six episodes. In contrast, the American temp is billed as the fifth lead character of the show. On the other hand, however, Michael Scott's friend Todd Packer plays a minor role in the American version, compared to his counterpart in the British series Chris Finch, who has quite a large role. Novak began the series as a writer as well as an actor, but by the second season was billed as "co-producer". Novak's character, Ryan Howard, was made a permanent employee in the third season.

The British version focused on a few main characters, mainly David, Tim, Dawn, and Gareth. The American version includes several characters that have no obvious counterpart in the British version, such as Angela, Oscar, Creed, Stanley, and Phyllis. This may be because while the British show, like most British television programs, had a short run (twelve episodes and one holiday special), the American program will have many more episodes in accordance with the standard American sitcom format of 22 episodes per season and multiple seasons. Thus the American program requires more characters to serve as material for more storylines.

American version
(Dunder-Mifflin
Scranton branch)
Regional Manager Michael Scott
(Steve Carell)
Sales Representative Jim Halpert
(John Krasinski)
Receptionist Pam Beesly
(Jenna Fischer)
Assistant (to the) Regional Manager Dwight Schrute
(Rainn Wilson)
Warehouse Employee
and Receptionist's Fiancé Roy Anderson
(David Denman)
Traveling Sales
Representative Todd Packer
(David Koechner)
Corporate Head Jan Levinson-Gould
(Melora Hardin)