Ricky Gervais comedy The Office sold to Russia by the BBC

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Russia is set to become the latest country to get its own version of the hit British comedy The Office.

Channel One, the nation's most watched channel, is to make 24 episodes of 30 minutes with its affiliated production company Red Square, after a licensing deal with BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial wing.

The broadcaster also has the rights to develop new storylines beyond the original 13 scripts to make a longer-running series, under the editorial supervision of the BBC Worldwide executive producer, Duncan Cooper.

The BBC Worldwide head of sales for Russia, Ben Donald, said this was a breakthrough because it was the first scripted format the channel had licensed to Russia.

"Russia is an important territory for us; we've had much success with other formats such as Dancing with the Stars, Junior Mastermind and most recently Great Russians, which is currently causing huge debate in the media," Donald said.

"We are obviously very eager to hear about the cast members, including who will be the David Brentski of Russia, and the location of their 'Slough'."

The original version of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's award-winning series has sold to more than 70 countries around the world, with recently licensing deals to France and Canada.

The newest foreign series will air on Channel 13 in Chile next month.


Source:MediaGuardian

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