It seems like remakes of The Office are all higher-ups really know how to do nowadays. The Office so many of you are familiar with is, itself, a remake of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s iconic collection of deadpan humour that is now an entire genre in and of itself. But we’re not mad that Showmax is getting in on the remake fun with its take on the series, which it announced earlier today.
The series has yet to be named, though it would be a crime for it to not be titled ‘Die Kantoor‘.
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Whatever it ends up called, the series only exists thanks to a new format agreement between Showmax and BBC Studios, which currently holds the right to the original The Office from back in 2001. It will debut as a Showmax Original, and will be produced by Rapid Blue locally – a company already under BBC Studio’s wing internationally.
“We are proud to be producing the first African version of The Office for Showmax and kykNET,” says Rapid Blue managing director Ziyanda Ngcaba. “The format is globally recognised and adored by audiences all over the world.”
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When we said that The Office remakes were all higher-ups knew how to do, we weren’t joking. The Afrikaans version of Ricky Gervais’ comedy marks the series fourteenth such reinvention, which has been remade for audiences in the US, Australia, France, Canada, Chile, Israel, India, Poland, and the Middle East. So far, at least.
As of now, production is only scheduled to begin sometime in 2025, so casting rumours for those filling some big shoes are pretty thin on the ground. If you’d like to catch yourself up on the Americanised version of the series before Die Kantoor launches, possibly next year, you can check out all nine seasons over on Showmax.