The Office is a British mockumentary television sitcom first broadcast in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, it follows the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictional Wernham Hogg paper company. Gervais also starred in the series as the central character, David Brent.

Two six-episode series were made, followed by a two-part Christmas special. Gervais wanted to base the series lifespan on that of Fawlty Towers, his favourite television show. "I didn't think that was the way to make it last longer, but I think that is the secret to [The Office's] longevity, that you've only got those ones to watch."

When it was first shown on BBC Two, ratings were relatively low, but it has since become one of the most successful of all British comedy exports. As well as being shown internationally on BBC Worldwide and channels such as BBC Prime, BBC America, and BBC Canada, it has been sold to broadcasters in over 80 countries, including ABC1 in Australia, The Comedy Network in Canada, TVNZ in New Zealand, and the pan-Asian satellite channel Star World, based in Hong Kong. It was shown in the United States on BBC America from 2001 to 2016, and later on Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim from 2009 to 2011.

The show centres on themes of social clumsiness, the trivialities of human behaviour, self-importance and conceit, frustration, desperation and fame. Its success led to a number of localised adaptations (based on its basic story and themes) produced for the television markets of other nations, creating a global The Office franchise, including the successful and Primetime Emmy Award-winning American remake on NBC starring Steve Carell as David Brent's counterpart, Michael Scott, and on which Gervais and Merchant acted as executive producers. Gervais also reprised his role as David Brent in two episodes of Season 7 of the US version of the series. Several direct follow-ups to the original British series were also released, including the 2016 film David Brent: Life on the Road.