The Office Being Remade in Finland

LONDON: BBC Worldwide has licensed the scripted-format rights for The Office to Finnish broadcasters Elisa Entertainment and Nelonen.

Solar Republic will be producing the local Finnish version, which is titled Konttori. Casting for the 16-episode series has already begun. Comedian Sami Hedberg is confirmed to play office-manager David Brent, known in the local version as Pentti Markkanen. The series will be set in Riihimäki, home to Finland’s highest flagpole.

Suzanne Kendrick, the head of global format sales at BBC Worldwide, said, “It’s been 15 years since The Office first aired in the U.K., so it is a great pleasure to see this incredibly adaptable format celebrate this milestone with a Finnish version. It’s fantastic that the show continues to resonate, with local versions proving a hit with audiences from Sweden to the U.S.A . I’ve no doubt it will enjoy the same success in Finland particularly with Sami Hedberg in the lead role.”

Ani Korpela, the head of content at Elisa Entertainment, commented, “We have a close relationship with the Finnish TV and film industry, and from this we have the unique opportunity to produce the Finnish version of The Office together with Nelonen and BBC Worldwide. An updated and localized The Office is a perfect production for our customers.”

Unne Sormunen, the head of domestic programming, Nelonen Media, added, “At Nelonen we are always investing in local content and big personalities like Sami Hedberg; there is no better fit for David Brent in our country. It is a pleasure to be partnering for the first time with Elisa and BBC Worldwide to experiment and find new ways of producing high-quality TV entertainment.”