Ricky Gervais Explains Why The British 'Office' Had Such A Brief Run (VIDEO)

Jerry Seinfeld gets a lot of credit for being the rare comedian to step away from a mega-hit comedy while it was still on top. But Ricky Gervais has him beat on that score: while "Seinfeld" lasted for nine seasons, Gervais stepped away from the original U.K. version of "The Office" after only two six-episode seasons and two special episodes after that. Thursday on "CBS This Morning" (weekdays, 7 a.m. ET on CBS) Gervais explained why he made the decision to end the show after such a brief run.

"It's so intense, particularly when you do everything yourself, it's not like there was a team of 20 writers and producers. You put everything into it, and that was the first thing I did, and it's sort of like a lifetime's work, really. I didn't want to repeat myself or water it down, so I just left it as it was, and I've never regretted that, really. I miss it, but I've never regretted."

Gervais believes that the show's brief run may have had something to do with its later success in syndication and being re-made in other countries. "You know, that showed in like 90 countries. I think if it had gone on forever, there wouldn't have been as many remakes," he explained, referencing the American version of "The Office," which has made over 170 episodes.

Ever the comedian, Gervais closed the discussion with a joke. "It's a franchise, I'm like Ronald McDonald," he quipped.

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CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated that "Seinfeld" ran for seven seasons; it ran for nine.