Will Ferrell, Idris Elba, Kathy Bates and James Spader add to the guest-starring Hollywood star power. Novak who play Kelly and Ryan, the kind of couple you never want to work with and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star Ellie Kemper and Ed Helms (The Hangover trilogy) are the 'will they?' 'won't they?' couple you wish you did. Two of the show's writers also make a most welcome appearance on screen in the form of Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project) and B.J. Rainn Wilson gets all the best lines as the Battlestar Galactica obsessed beet farmer who takes on the position of assistant to the regional manager a little too earnestly.

Apart from the aforementioned Carell, the staff of Dunder Mifflin includes¬ Blades Of Glory star Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesly, the company's long-suffering secretary and object of unrequited desire for Jim Halpert, played by John Krasinski. Just like the British version, the Stateside The Office was a career maker for many. Powered by a demented self-belief and incredibly thick skin, Scott is as brilliant comedy creation who, much like the show, initially aped his British counterpart but quickly took on a life of his own, defying all expectations to become a brilliant comedy character in his own right.

At the time Carell was hot off his star-making turns in Bruce Almighty and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and The 40 Year old Virgin was about to be released in cinemas. Set in Scranton, Pennsylvania The Office stars Steve Carell, winner of his own Golden Globe for best performance in 2006 for his portrayal of the brash, over-bearing boss with a heart of gold Michael Scott. This is one of the funniest shows on television. Mundane, however, is one thing The Office isn't. Much like its British counterpart, the American remake is a hilarious look at how the staff of a paper company survive the mundanities of their daily work life. However, anyone who has watched the US version of the show will know that none of the side-splitting gags, gleeful awkwardness and tear-jerking pathos have been lost in translation. After all the ground-breaking Brit-com had taken home six BAFTAS and a Golden Globe amongst its sizeable awards haul and built a huge fanbase the world over.

It was always going to be a brave move remaking Ricky Gervais's classic mockumentary The Office.

The office season 2 episode 23