More

'Inside Comedy': Steve Carell Talks About Remaking 'The Office' (VIDEO)


First Posted: 02/10/2012 6:56 am Updated: 02/10/2012 7:01 am

Amazing
 Inspiring
 Funny
 Scary
 Hot
 Crazy
 Important
 Weird
Inside Comedy

Many successful British television shows have crossed the pond over the years to be remade for an American audience with variable results. For every "Sanford And Son" or "Shameless," there's a "Free Agents" or "Prime Suspect."

So when plans were first announced for a U.S. version of hit comedy "The Office," many said it was doomed to mediocrity and inevitable failure.

On "Inside Comedy" (Thurs., 11 p.m. EST on Showtime) former "Office" star Steve Carell sat down with David Steinberg to talk about the problems inherent in remaking such an iconic show.

"The odds were really against us and everyone said 'this will never work.' ... We knew we were going to be decimated by critics, fans of the original show wouldn't like it."

But Carell took the view that since the original show was so great, then a new version that was only half as good would still be "a pretty good show."

The U.S. version has thrived, of course, and Season 8 of "The Office" airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. EST on NBC. "Inside Comedy" airs Thursdays at 11 p.m. EST on Showtime.

TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.

Related on HuffPost:

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6: "How I Met Your Mother"
1  of  22
PLAY
FULLSCREEN
ZOOM
SHARE THIS SLIDE 
"How I Met Your Mother" (8 p.m. EST on CBS)
Lily and Marshall throw a housewarming party, where Ted nearly comes to blows with Marshall's boss (guest star Martin Short), and Barney hits on a crazy divorcee.
MORE SLIDESHOWS NEXT >   |   < PREV
FOLLOW HUFFPOST TV

Many successful British television shows have crossed the pond over the years to be remade for an American audience with variable results. For every "Sanford And Son" or "Shameless," there's a "Free A...
Many successful British television shows have crossed the pond over the years to be remade for an American audience with variable results. For every "Sanford And Son" or "Shameless," there's a "Free A...
Many successful British television shows have crossed the pond over the years to be remade for an American audience with variable results. For every "Sanford And Son" or "Shameless," there's a "Free A...
Many successful British television shows have crossed the pond over the years to be remade for an American audience with variable results. For every "Sanford And Son" or "Shameless," there's a "Free A...
Related News On Huffington Post:
 

Read more from Huffington Post bloggers:
Garry Lee

Garry Lee: Netflix: 'Please Don't Assume That British People are Interested in British Television'

Netflix, please do not assume that British people are always interested in British television. Giving me a sorting button to access exclusively British content and not a similar sorting button for exclusively accessing American television shows is only really adding insult to injury.

Filed by Catherine Lawson  |  Report Corrections

More in TV...


 
 
  • Comments
  • 4
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Post Comment Preview Comment
To reply to a Comment: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to.
View All
Favorites
Recency  | 
Popularity
photo
Toni Goodman
63 Fans
 
06:20 PM on 02/12/2012
I find the show much more enjoyable without Michael. I know people will hate me for that, but it's my personal taste. I never cared for the Michael character. Love Steve's acting, just never felt attached to the character like I am Andy.
Permalink  |
Jeseta
3 Fans
04:00 PM on 02/12/2012
I feel like the only reason it has been successful is because it is completely different. Other than being set in an office the show has a completely different feel and it accepted that it needed to be 'americanized' and went with that. Any show in a true UK style is sure to fail with US audiences.
Permalink  |
photo
Revolver Ocelot
Always the last to know
132 Fans
01:22 PM on 02/10/2012
Dwight getting his own TV show is a horrible idea.
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
J0E1
Phil Hill 2012
687 Fans
11:06 AM on 02/10/2012
I miss Carell on the show.  Andy is an ok replacement, def could have been worse, but he just doesn't pull off the roll as well as Carell did.
Permalink  |