The Office is a British sitcom that was originally broadcast by the BBC in the United Kingdom from 2001 to 2003 as the original series of The Office. The television programme was created and written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant; the former also played the main character, manager David Brent. The series is set in the Slough office of a fictional paper merchant, Wernham Hogg, and is presented in a mockumentary format depicting the everyday lives of its employees.