Editing Ricky Gervais (section)

====''The Office''====
{{Main|The Office (British TV series)}}
''[[The Office (British TV series)|The Office]]'' started when [[Stephen Merchant]] had to make his short film while on a BBC production course. In August 1999 he made a docu-soap parody, set in an office, with help from [[Ash Atalla]] who was shown a 7-minute video called 'The Seedy Boss'. Thus the character of [[David Brent]] was created. Merchant passed this tape on to the BBC's Head of Entertainment [[Paul Jackson (producer)|Paul Jackson]] at the [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe|Edinburgh Fringe]], who then passed it on to Head of Comedy [[Jon Plowman]], who eventually commissioned a full-pilot script from Merchant and Gervais.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/profiles/story/0,,1250074,.html|title=The Guardian profile: Ricky Gervais|work=The Guardian|access-date=25 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203100709/http://www.theguardian.com/profiles/story/0,,1250074,.html|archive-date=3 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

The first six-episode series of ''The Office'' aired in the UK in July and August 2001 to little fanfare or attention.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.msn.com/en-ph/entertainment/people/ricky-gervais/AA3l0x9|title=Ricky Gervais| publisher=[[MSN]] |access-date=26 January 2015}}</ref> Word-of-mouth, repeats and DVDs helped spread the word, building up momentum and anticipation for the second series, also comprising six episodes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/profiles/story/0,,1250074,.html|title=The Guardian profile: Ricky Gervais|work=The Guardian|date=26 January 2015|access-date=13 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304212400/http://www.theguardian.com/profiles/story/0,,1250074,.html|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Following the success of ''The Office''{{'s}} second series, Gervais was named the [[Radio Times's Most Powerful People in TV Comedy|most powerful person in TV comedy]] by ''[[Radio Times]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2631307.stm|title=Gervais crowned 'king of comedy'|date=6 January 2003|work=BBC News|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913233929/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2631307.stm|archive-date=13 September 2017|url-status=live|access-date=13 September 2017}}</ref>

In 2004, ''The Office'' won the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy]] as well as [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy|Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy]] for Gervais, who said in a 2015 BBC interview that the award was the gateway to America for him.<ref name=":0">{{cite AV media |date=16 January 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfbPlRseDPU |title=What does Ricky Gervais really think of the Golden Globes? – Interview |publisher=Husam Sam Asi |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=20 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015160344/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfbPlRseDPU |archive-date=15 October 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

''[[The Office]]'' brand has since been remade for audiences in [[:sv:Kontoret|Sweden]], [[Le Bureau|France]], [[Stromberg (TV series)|Germany]], [[La Job|Quebec]], [[Os Aspones|Brazil]], [[:es:La ofis|Chile]], The Czech Republic, [[:fi:Konttori (suomalainen televisiosarja)|Finland]], [[The Office (Indian TV series)|India]], [[HaMisrad|Israel]], [[:pl:The Office PL|Poland]] and the [[The Office (American TV series)|United States]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://splitsider.com/2011/05/exploring-the-international-franchises-of-the-office/|title=Exploring the International Franchises of The Office|publisher=Splitsider.com|access-date=27 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731004048/http://splitsider.com/2011/05/exploring-the-international-franchises-of-the-office/|archive-date=31 July 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Gervais and Merchant are producers of the American version, and they also co-wrote the episode "[[The Convict]]" for the show's third season.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4687784.stm|title=Gervais writing US Office episode|work=BBC News|access-date=25 January 2015|date=7 February 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402204635/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4687784.stm|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Gervais has said that the episode "[[Episode Four (The Office, Series One)|Training]]" is his favourite, where Brent plays his guitar and sings. In 2021, on the show's 20th anniversary, he suggested the show would not have been produced in 2021 due to [[cancel culture]]: "I mean, now it would be cancelled. I'm looking forward to when they pick out one thing and try to cancel it. Someone said they might try to cancel it one day, and I say, 'Good let them cancel it—I've been paid!'"<ref>{{cite news|last=Meierhans|first=Jennifer|date=9 July 2021|title=Ricky Gervais: 'The Office would be cancelled now'|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-57317470|access-date=9 July 2021}}</ref>