The Office is an American television sitcom airing on National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and developed by Greg Daniels. It is an American adaptation of the BBC series with the same name. Unlike many American sitcoms, The Office is shot in a single-camera setup, without a studio audience or a laugh track, and is made in the form of a documentary, or "mockumentary". It depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. Although fictional and scripted, the show takes the form of a documentary, with the presence of the camera openly acknowledged.

The Office was adapted for American audiences by executive producer Greg Daniels, a veteran writer for Saturday Night Live, King of the Hill and The Simpsons. Original series creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who wrote "The Convict" episode, have production credits. It is co-produced by Greg Daniels' Deedle-Dee Productions and Reveille Productions, in association with NBC Universal Television Studios. The show debuted on NBC as a midseason replacement on March 24, 2005, replacing the sitcom Committed.

In keeping with its mockumentary format, the show has no laugh track. All music must be diegetic, with songs either sung or played by the characters or heard on radios, computers or other devices. In "The Dundies" episode however, Elton John's Tiny Dancer is played just before and also alongside the closing credits. Featured music tends to be well known, and often older, popular songs in order to reflect the character, such as Michael's attempt to seem hip by using "My Humps" as a ringtone.