The Office is an American mockumentary comedy television series that airs on NBC and is developed by Greg Daniels. An adaptation of the BBC series The Office, the series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. To simulate the look of an actual documentary, it is shot in a single-camera setup, without a studio audience or a laugh track. The presence of the camera is openly acknowledged by the characters.

The Office was adapted for American audiences by executive producer Greg Daniels, a veteran writer for Saturday Night Live, King of the Hill, Rugrats and The Simpsons. The creators of the original BBC series, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, have production credits, and also co-wrote the season three episode, "The Convict". It is co-produced by Daniels's Deedle-Dee Productions, and Reveille Productions, in association with NBC Universal Television Studios. The show debuted on NBC as a midseason replacement on March 24, 2005, replacing the sitcom Committed (which was itself a mid-season replacement).