Hot on the heels of BBC Two comedy series The Office's 2004 Golden Globe wins for Best Comedy Series and Best Actor in a Comedy Series for co-creator and star Ricky Gervais, buzz began around an American adaptation for NBC. Steve Carell, then best known for his appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and supporting roles in big-screen comedies Bruce Almighty and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, was tapped to lead the series; his tone-deaf Dunder Mifflin paper company manager Michael Scott an adaptation of Gervais' David Brent.
Developed by Greg Daniels, writer of several episodes of The Simpsons and co-creator of King of the Hill, the series was announced as The Office: An American Workplace. This was shortened to just The Office when it made its debut on NBC on March 24, 2005 with a direct adaptation of the original BBC pilot script, albeit with name and localization differences. While the full, discarded title may seem familiar to viewers for its eventual use within the series, the reasons behind it go beyond simple distinct branding and were part of a larger, although unfulfilled, plan.
NBC's remake kept most of the main characters and broad strokes of its source, but the needs of 22-episode US broadcast network television seasons saw the remake almost immediately look past the original incarnation's dozen episodes. This clear need to think bigger informed Daniels' choice for the subtitle. As writer, and later co-executive producer, Michael Schur (known to audiences for his recurring role of Mose Schrute in the series) revealed in the eighth episode of the 2020 retrospective podcast An Oral History of The Office, Daniels was thinking ahead toward expanding the universe of his show. The subtitle An American Workplace was to be a key part of this, designed to be applied to myriad settings for potential spinoff series.
Ultimately none of the planned spinoffs were produced, the closest being The Farm, set to focus on "assistant to the regional manager" Dwight Schrute and his estranged brother and sister. This effort stalled after a backdoor pilot episode aired as one of The Office's final episodes. More successful was Parks & Recreation, a sister series to The Office with a similar mockumentary set-up. Alternately scheduled immediately prior to or after The Office during their time as NBC Thursday night schedule-mates, Parks & Recreation's similarities to The Office came from the series' roots as a direct spinoff before it veered into its own direction, one both setting it apart as a spinoff and from necessitating the An American Workplace subtitle.
As The Office wound down its ninth season, the debut of the faux PBS documentary being produced throughout the run of the show neared. Its title in-universe was revealed as The Office: An American Workplace. More than just a callback to the original working title, within the context of the show it also worked to separate it from the earlier fake BBC Two documentary at the center of the original The Office, all-but confirmed to have existed in the world of the NBC series after Gervais reprised of the role of David Brent in two Season 7 episodes. The longer title also found a home within the United Kingdom, where The Office: An American Workplace became the de facto, if mostly unofficial, title when broadcast there to differentiate it from the original series.
The latest rumors of a spinoff for The Office swirled after interest was expressed by NBCUniversal Vice Chairman Bonnie Hammer in advance of the launch of streaming service Peacock in 2019. While such a project has yet to debut, Daniels has indicated the continued longevity and interest in the series keeps the potential for a reboot ever-strong. In the meantime, stars Carell and John Krasinski are due to appear onscreen together in the upcoming film Imaginary Friends, while Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey have reunited for the Office Ladies podcast, rewatching the series with fellow cast and crew members as guests.