As many know, the famous nine-season NBC comedy The Office was not an original idea. It was actually based on a British series of the same name which first aired in 2001 and ran for 14 episodes. Although the British series didn't run nearly as long as the American one, it's still loved by a large following of fans and was critically acclaimed when it first aired.
There were ten different spinoffs of the show in countries all over the world, but due to its universal success and cultlike following, it is only the American version that has stood up as a true competitor to the original (although the German version was actually also quite popular in its own country).
The two shows were based around the same idea and characters and had manifold similarities, especially in the first season of the American show, however, there are many distinct differences between the two. Those differences range from slight changes in character names and backgrounds to big changes in theme: The British version of The Office, being shorter, is more about how bleak and hopeless the life of an average office worker with average problems can be - a hopeless love triangle, obnoxious boss, annoying coworkers, boring job, general monotony, etc.
Meanwhile, because it ran for longer, the American version was able to take those ideas and turn them on their head: We get to watch characters grow, develop, change, and watch them learn to love their lives, each other, and that boring, not-so-monotonous job. Even Michael Scott, the American doppelganger for the British David Brent, is given a heart and slowly becomes one of the most lovable characters in the series.
It's no secret that fans of the American and British versions don't get along as they seem to clash over just about everything, whether it's the Americans saying the British version was too depressing, or the Brits saying the American version changed too much and softened the original point, effectively ruining the message of the show.
In the midst of all that ongoing disagreement, one has to wonder: What do the stars of the show think? This goes especially for Ricky Gervais, who both helped to create the original version of The Office and starred in it as the obnoxious, try-hard boss: What does he think of Steve Carell's performance as Michael Scott?
Ricky Gervais Actually Co-Produced The American Office
While some fans of the original show might have felt confused and blindsided by the change in tone when the remake aired across the pond, it's certain that Ricky Gervais did not. He actually produced the series, so he had a huge amount of say on what ended up in the show and what got changed. And since this was America, he knew some things needed to be changed.
In the first episode of the Office Ladies podcast, where actresses Jenna Fischer (Pam) and Angela Kinsey (Angela) discuss their time on the show, Fischer revealed some things that Gervais said at lunch during their first day of shooting:
"He said, 'You know, in England, you can be really, really bad at your job for a long time and you never get fired... in America, that's gonna frustrate people. So my one piece of advice is, you know, Michael, he can be a buffoon, he can be silly, he can be irritating, but he should - I suggest - you should show glimpses of him actually being a good salesperson.' And we do that throughout the show. You see, in future episodes, that he is actually good at sales."
So Gervais knew that in order for the show to read as well in America as it did in the UK, that there would need to be substantial changes made in some characters. Co-creator Stephen Merchant also recognized that other changes would need to take place because of the way American TV shows are formatted, which is to say longer, and with more episodes per season.
Since Ricky Gervais was involved in the production, it would not make any sense for him to be displeased with how the character of Michael was written and changed over the years.
And What Did He Think of Carell's Performance?
There was a brief period in 2011 around the finale of Season 7, in which many believed that Gervais had dissed, denounced, and given up on the American version of the show he created. This came after comments he made about the finale, saying that it was "jumping the shark," and even in that, doing so poorly.
However, shortly after these comments were made, Gervais released a statement saying that they had been taken out of context, and were more meant as a jab at himself than a criticism of the show:
"Sorry, who dissed The Office finale? I fucking didn’t, that’s for sure. I simply said it’s different to the original which I created and made with different ambitions. What’s wrong with that?
"The bit about it 'jumping the shark' and being like Chris Martin in Extras was meant to be a little self-deprecating in-joke. I myself, did a fun but pointless, over-hyped cameo in the episode too remember. I did it for a laugh like everyone else, I assume. I certainly wasn’t dissing anyone involved more than myself.
"The US version of The Office has probably made me ten times the money that the UK version did. I wouldn’t knock it. It’s still my show. All I said was I do it for different reasons."
Gervais did do a cameo on the show: In season 7, episode 14, "The Seminar," his original character, David Brent, meets Michael Scott coming out of an elevator, and the two share a delightful moment connecting as kindred spirits in comedy: Michael even gives David a hug at one point.
If anything, that cameo mirrors the two actor's relationship in real life. Gervais told the Hollywood Reporter that when he found out Carell was leaving the show after the seventh season, he had this to say:
"[The show is] bigger than I ever thought it would be. It's more successful…. He's bigger than I bet he ever thought he would be, and he's done an amazing job."
Likewise, in a more recent interview in 2015, Carell said about Gervais:
“Gervais always gives me grief in public, but privately he’s incredibly kind.”
The actor has also gone on record as saying that much of the pervasively offensive persona that Ricky Gervais is known for is a front, telling interviewers on CNN in 2012 that though he will make fun of him on stage, he will always check beforehand and make sure that the jokes he's going to tell are alright.
"There is a gentler side," he said, "That people don't necessarily see."
Gervais, too, has shown that his respect for Carell goes way deeper than a simple appreciation of his performance. In the same CNN video, he said:
"He's great. He's fantastic. He's not only brilliant, but he's one of the loveliest people in Hollywood: Untouched by it, family man, nice, honest, hardest working guy, I mean I don't know how he does it."
So, all in all, it's very safe to say that, while fans of the two different Offices may not get along, the stars get on exceedingly well.
