Tim Key and Gbemisola Ikumelo join The Office
Tim Key and Gbemisola Ikumelo have entered the world of The Office.
The new iteration, reportedly neither a reboot or straightforward spin-off of the US version of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's original BBC series, but a mockumentary set in the same universe as the hugely successful American adaptation starring Steve Carell, is rumoured to be called The Paper.
As well as This Time With Alan Partridge star Key and Black Ops' Ikumelo, former Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated US stand-up Alex Edelman and Eric Rahill (Friendship) have also joined the cast for the series, which is being made for the Peacock channel in the States. They will appear alongside the previously announced Frank Of Ireland star Domhnall Gleeson, Sabrina Impacciatore, Melvin Gregg, Chelsea Frei and Ramona Young.
Character details are currently being kept under wraps, with the comedy co-created by Greg Daniels, showrunner for the long-running US version, and Michael Koman (Nathan For You, Girls5eva) for Universal Television. Bafta-winner Ikumelo, Edelman and Rahill will serve as writers on the project in addition to appearing onscreen.
The series' official description is: "The documentary crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch is in search of a new subject when they discover a dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters."
Gervais, Merchant, Daniels and Koman are executive producing with Howard Klein, Ben Silverman and Banijay Americas.
The UK original, set in Slough, ran for two series on the BBC from 2001 to 2003 and made stars of Gervais, Martin Freeman, Mackenzie Crook and Lucy Davis. The US adaptation transplanted the mockumentary to Scranton, Pennsylvania for nine seasons on NBC between 2005 and 2013, and starred Carell, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson and Jenna Fischer in the equivalent roles, with Catherine Tate and Idris Elba making recurring appearances.
Fischer revealed she was cancer-free on Wednesday, having received treatment for breast cancer since December.
Meanwhile, an Australian adaptation of The Office will launch on Amazon Prime Video next Friday. The stand-up Felicity Ward, a regular performer in the UK, stars as the boss Hannah Howard, the first woman to take the lead role in any of the various international remakes.
The cast also features London-based improviser Steen Raskopoulos. You can watch the trailer here: