The Office (The Office)

Origin and Year: United Kingdom, 2001	Director: Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant
Section: British Nostalgia	Runnning time: 6 x 30 min
27.09.2024 at 14.00	Screening place: Television institute Dominikánská 11

What else can be said about The Office today? Ricky Gervais created the world’s worst boss, made himself a megastar, influenced many other comedies with his mockumentary style, and set the bar for everyone else trying to handle awkwardness or workplace relationships since. Gervais and his creative partner Stephen Merchant did not do any of this first, but the mixture they managed to mix of these ingredients transformed and advanced more than just British comedy. And that not only thanks to the DIY style with which the inexperienced creators managed to push their way onto the screen, or their great gift to humanity – their decision not to use artificial laughter. Despite the awkwardness, The Office managed to keep genuine emotions at the core of the narration of absurd office stories. To come back years later to watch the first season of this TV legend is not only to be entertained by human ridiculousness, but also to catch a glimpse of a historical moment that still has an imprint on contemporary comedy.