If you’ve ever sat in a South African office and thought, “This place deserves its own documentary,” you’re about to feel very seen. The globally beloved mockumentary series The Office is getting a proudly local re-imagining — and it’s swapping paper sales for polony production in a small-town South African setting.

Titled Die Kantoor, the series is the brainchild of award-winning writer and director Bennie Fourie, who is no stranger to comedy storytelling. This time, the familiar handheld-camera awkwardness and workplace absurdity unfolds inside a fictitious polony factory in Klerksdorp, where egos are inflated, tempers are short, and chaos is never far from the vending machine.

Fourie explains that while the format is licensed from the BBC — the original custodians of The Office — the creative brief was clear: keep the skeleton, but make everything else unmistakably South African. With the country’s “boiling pot of cultures,” the show leans hard into local dynamics, conflict styles, humour, and personalities that feel instantly recognisable to anyone who’s ever worked behind a desk.

At the centre is a man-child boss convinced this documentary will turn him into a star, supported by a chain-smoking, permanently overwhelmed logistics sidekick, a 90-year-old receptionist, displaced corporate staff, simmering love lines and just enough dysfunction to make viewers whisper, “I work with that person.”

Behind the scenes, the production style mirrors the raw aesthetic fans love — minimal lighting changes, multiple cameras rolling constantly, and performances allowed to breathe in real time. For Fourie, it’s been a decade-long dream realised, built on a deep love for mockumentary classics like The Office and Parks and Recreation.

The series premieres on kykNET on 18 January, with a double-episode drop on Showmax from 20 January, rolling out weekly after that — perfectly timed for holiday-season binge-watching.

But there are several behind-the-scenes revelations, character dynamics and production choices that only truly come into focus when you hear the full story from the creators themselves.

For that, listen to Tara Penny’s exclusive HOT 1027 News report, below… where Bennie Fourie unpacks the creative risks, the casting magic and what viewers can really expect when the cameras start rolling in this uniquely South African office.

One thing is certain: whether you loved the UK original, binged the US version, or have never watched an episode in your life — Die Kantoor promises the same delicious discomfort, now flavoured with local spice.

All photos: Showmax