Could The Office Work In Belfast?

With The Office already being a successful British import to the States; hypothetically speaking, what changes would we have to make if we wanted to bring it back to the UK and have it set in Belfast.

Location is key. Of course we can't have a Northern Irish office in the middle of America for example. Number one, it wouldn't make sense having it in a completely different country. And number two, it would work out very expensive to shoot. In the actual office, you could find something very similar, because this type of environment is universal, being one of the reasons so many watch, they can relate to it.

The writing style. As much as the Michael Scott version is praised, most of the Americanisms simply wouldn't work here, even though we can understand them. And even the David Brent era, some slang and even mannerisms would change because Cockney for example, we sometimes notice and understand it but put it with our accent and how we live in the world, it wouldn't make sense to a Belfast audience. I'm not talking about turning this into a multi camera type of show for a Northern Irish audience to get it but we're not so used to seeing our actors, in comedies, on a single camera. We're used to the studio audience, the multi camera set up and the addition of politics thrown in there every once in a while.

Political views. While every country and sometimes every city or state has their own stand point; there's no denying that Nothern Ireland has their own, pulling in a numbet of different directions. Without giving away your opinion of this recent topic, you could write an entire episode of how the Office's flag gets taken down or metaphorically, the signature sign of the company is vandalized and taken down. Not many could make an episode out of something so simple but because of the different views surrounding this topic, people here will understand, relate and find the situation funny.