BBC’s The Office set for Czech remake

Czech public broadcaster CT has ordered a local version of British comedy format The Office.

The Czech version will be produced in-house by CT and go out on its flagship CT1 channel. The six-episode series will go into production in January 2014. It will have the local title of Kancl and be set in the Czech city of Brno. Czech actor Václav Kopta has been cast as as Marek Chvála, the local version of David Brent.

It will be the ninth local version of the show, which starred and was created by Ricky Gervais. He said: “I’m extremely flattered and excited that there is about to be a new version of The Office. Prague was the first place in the world to produce a stage version, so I’m very glad a local adaptation is coming to TV too. Cue jokes about Gervais and another fat Cheque”.

David Ziegelbauer, creative producer at CT said: “We’ve treated The Office scripts with great respect, conscious to preserve the genius of the originals, while tailoring them to the Czech audience. I am confident that we are bringing a new kind of entertainment to Czech Republic audiences.”

The Office aired on the BBC in the UK and the pubcaster’s commercial arm distributes the finished version and the format. The original UK version has been sold into 90 countries.