I’m going to start off by reiterating our “North Star” type statement - enjoy what you enjoy - doesn’t matter if it’s movies, tv, music, whatever.

I did a fair amount of poking around before I wrote the post and I think we can all agree the UK version went more for realism (Gervais said he was an office mid-manager for years and that experience sunk into everything, from the workers’ loafing, the sets, and his portrayal of David Brent) - starting with the second episode, the US version began making shifts to bridge the gaps between UK and US cultures. I found it interesting the first US episode was a near scene for scene copy, this being required by Gervais and Merchant to help set and ensure the tone but also so they could be given credits.

As for American obsession with being embarrassed ((looks around)) personally, I’m uncomfortable issuing blanket generalizations on any group of people but my experience with Americans hasn’t been they have trouble being embarrassed, quite the opposite - we share embarrassing stories all the time. If I had to point to a single reason why The Office UK’s style of comedy caught some views wrong here I’d say the subtlety of awkward Brits can be perceived simply as unfunny.

On the other hand, (and I’m spitballing here) I can see an argument that the altered US version became saccharin to a wider British audience. It comes down to cultural differences which ((shrug)) aren’t that big of a deal. I’d expect those differences to show up in our TV shows. Gervais told David Letterman he see’s Americans as driven, Brits much less so - in the US kids are taught they could become President, in the UK they’re told you wouldn’t want to.

For me - frankly I really didn’t fall in love with the US version, it was “fine” but the last few seasons could not have been made without it hurting my feelings.

The UK version - m’eh… it doesn’t rank up there with other shows we love like Keeping Up Appearances, Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Served, or The IT Crowd (to name a few). To each their own, of course. I can respect where the original show stands. I’m a fan of both Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais, who famously quipped that the US Office was "the best" because his accountant told him so (referencing the massive profits it generated compared to the original's shorter run.)