“The Office” shows Mexican adaptation with “La Oficina” on Prime Video

Mexico is getting its own remake of “The Office.”

“La Oficina” comes from Prime Video, Amazon MGM Studios and Gary “Gaz” Alazraki’s Máquina Vega, the companies announced Wednesday. It is based on the successful BBC cult series starring Ricky Gervais, from which the US spinoff with Steve Carell developed. Alazraki will serve as director and executive producer of the series, with Marcos Bucay as showrunner.

The show takes place in Aguascalientes at a family business called Jabones Olimpo. The office is run by Jerónimo Ponce III and like many bosses in this series, he is overwhelmed. The rest of the employees have to deal with the headaches that come with working for an unqualified manager.

The series is the latest remake in the comedy mockumentary format. Prime Video – where La Oficina streams exclusively in Latin America, Brazil and Spain – has already released an Australian version. There were also remakes set in France, Chile and Poland.

“It’s truly exciting to make our own version of one of the most successful comedies of all time,” Alonso Aguilar, head of Mexico Originals at Amazon Studios, said in a statement. “Mexican office worker subculture is one of the richest and most surreal in the world, and with Marcos Bucay and Gaz Alazraki, the country’s two most successful comedy creators, we know we have something unique that will exceed all expectations and delight fans. “The previous versions left me speechless.”

“I’ve wanted to adapt ‘The Office’ ever since I bought the Ricky Gervais DVDs in 2003,” Alazraki added. “Everything about the humor and format makes me think that it is the bravest comedy I have ever seen… it is an honor for me to have the opportunity to create this version, ‘La Oficina’, with such a talented partner as Marcos I’ve admired him since all of his video clips became viral sensations. “I thank Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant for trusting us with their baby, and there is no better partner than Prime Video in trying to make all of Mexico laugh about the work experience in our country.”

“La Oficina” is the second Spanish-language remake of the series, after “La Ofis” ran in Chile in 2008.

“Doing the Mexican version of ‘The Office’ is a dream because it was thanks to the original series ‘The Office’ that I decided to write comedies,” said Bucay. “This series is a tribute to Mexican office culture and will be a pleasant surprise as we have managed to take the format of ‘The Office’ and make it truly for Mexicans.”

This is far from the only thing happening in The Office ecosystem. A spin-off of the US series is in the works at Peacock. The main characters are Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore and the action takes place at a struggling newspaper. Here’s the official logline: “The documentary film crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch is looking for a new subject when they discover a dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher tries to revive it with volunteer reporters. “

Variety was first to report the news.