Who developed The Office for American television?

Greg Daniels developed The Office for American television. He adapted the British sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant into an American mockumentary for NBC. Daniels served as the American version’s principal developer and was its showrunner during the first four seasons.

The adaptation retained the documentary-style format and workplace premise but relocated the story to the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. Daniels and the writing team reshaped the characters and tone for U.S. audiences, helping the series move beyond being a direct imitation of its British predecessor.

Daniels is sometimes confused with Paul Lieberstein or Michael Schur because both were important writers, producers, and showrunners. Lieberstein later became a major creative leader and played Toby Flenderson, while Schur wrote for the series and portrayed Mose Schrute. Ben Silverman was an executive producer involved with the project, not its developer.

Daniels later returned as showrunner for the ninth and final season. The series ultimately ran for nine seasons and 201 episodes, becoming one of NBC’s best-known modern sitcoms.