[imagesource:goodfon]

Showmax and BBC Studios are teaming up for the new South African adaptation of the iconic mockumentary series The Office.

The adaptation will be produced by Rapid Blue, a production company within BBC Studios’ international network, known for their work on shows like Dancing With The Stars and Family Feud.

Created by Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant nearly two decades ago. The British original comedy series, with its innovative mockumentary format and deadpan humour, continues to garner some of the finest reviews in history. It soon gave rise to the American adaption, which is still a memetic cultural phenomenon today.

In 2020, it became the most streamed program internationally and won five Emmys. Massive shoes in other words…

The Office has been localised for audiences in several countries, including Australia, France, India, and Israel. The South African version is the show’s fourteenth foreign adaptation. The comedy has won both the BAFTA and the Golden Globes.

The Afrikaans-language series of the South African adaption, which has not yet been given a title, will leverage the region’s abundant linguistic and cultural variety.

Fans can anticipate the same embarrassing humour, unpleasant workplace politics, and a new group of people to love – or hate – while narrative and cast specifics are still under wraps. Its choice to be produced mainly in Afrikaans implies that it would have a distinctively South African flavour, based on workplace dynamics and local humour.

The production is scheduled to begin in 2025, so it won’t be long until we witness The Office‘s humour being applied to a South African context.

Head of Premium Content and Co-Productions at MultiChoice Nicola van Niekerk states, “We’re delighted, just seven years later, to start reimagining the most iconic mockumentary of them all. Tali’s Wedding Diary was our very first Showmax Original.”

The Office’s localisation is a part of Showmax’s broader strategy, which has been expanding its lineup of original programming. Recent triumphs include Wyfie, nominated for Best TV Series at the Seoul International TV Drama Awards, and Spinners, which took up the Magnolia Award for Best Foreign Series.

[source:ignafrica]