Ricky Gervais in The Office. (BBC)
Ricky Gervais has suggested that The Office would be “cancelled” if it was made today.
The sitcom first aired on BBC Two in 2001, and it later spawned a nine-season US spin-off that remains hugely popular to this day.
Ricky Gervais reflected on the show’s success in an interview with BBC News on the 20th anniversary of its BBC debut.
“I mean now it would be cancelled,” Gervais told BBC News.
“I’m looking forward to when they pick out one thing and try to cancel it. Someone said they might try to cancel it one day, and I say, ‘Good let them cancel it. I’ve been paid!’”
However, Dr Simon Weaver, a senior lecturer in media and communications at Brunel University in London, told the BBC that The Office is unlikely to be “cancelled” anytime soon.
“I doubt that The Office will be criticised in the same way that, for example, Little Britain has been,” Weaver said.
“In The Office, the audience are encouraged to identify not with the ignorant Brent, but with the characters Dawn and Tim, and the victims of Brent’s ill-conceived comments are never racial or gendered caricatures, rather they are ordinary, intelligent people.”
Ricky Gervais said his quote about The Office had been misinterpreted
Needless to say, Ricky Gervais’ comments about The Office quickly went viral on Twitter, with many calling the comedian out for his claims.
On Friday (9 July), Gervais claimed his quote was being taken out of context.
“Just to be clear, I did not say The Office would be cancelled if it were made today. That makes no sense.”
Just to be clear, I did not say The Office would be cancelled if it were made today. That makes no sense. It’s still around. This is my actual quote. “Someone said they might try to cancel it one day, and I said, ‘Good, let them cancel it. I’ve been paid!'” Clearly a joke.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) July 9, 2021
He added: “It’s still around,” before repeating his quote in the BBC interview where he said the show could one day be cancelled over its dated jokes.
Gervais insisted that the comment was “clearly a joke”.
When one fan asked if he would write the same material today, Gervais replied: “There are even more ridiculous things to ridicule these days.”