La Ofis (Chilean TV series)

La Ofis uses a mockumentary format to explore the everyday work life of the workers at the fictional "Papeles Lozano" paper company in Santiago, Chile.^[7] The series mainly focuses on branch manager Manuel Cerda, played by Luis Gnecco, who is described as "pathetic", "incompetent" and "lacking social skills".^{[3][6][7][10]} Cerda's awkward attempts at humor, which include dark humor such as sexist remarks and xenophobia against his Peruvian coworker, often lead to embarrassment and discomfort among his staff, similar to that of his American counterpart Michael Scott.^{[6][11][12][13]}

La Ofis was produced by Canal 13 with the help of Chilecorto.^[6] The founders of Propalta films, Nimrod Amitai and Nacho Arnold, were in charge of both the general direction and general production of the series.^[6][5] The series is based on the British and American versions of The Office.^[2][7][10]

According to production accounts, the idea of a Chilean adaptation of The Office began when a screenwriter named Carlos Bleycher gave Amitai a CD with the British version of The Office on it, which prompted Amitai to suggest to Julián Elfenbein (his boss) the idea of making an official adaptation of The Office in Chile, resulting in them buying the rights to produce an adaptation.^[2][14] After having produced a pilot, they pitched the idea to Chilevisión, but they were rejected.^[2][14] After the rejection, they pursued Canal 13, which accepted the idea and started the show's production.^[12][14]

The series aired on August 6, 2008.^[2][15] It ran in intervals of seven to eight days across late 2008, ending on November 22 of that year.^[16]