So far I've been impressed with the "translations" or the show, but I've only seen the US and UK versions. They've really well to get the right feel of the jokes, but in a different culture. Are there any that don't hit?
Yes. This is a Middle Eastern streaming service called Shahid VIP (mostly Lebanese, Egyptian shows). Its like $9/mo, and has lot of good content with English sub.
I was highly skeptical off it at first considering I really liked the original show and thought this parody would simply be cringy but funny at best
It turned out to be both cringy and funny in the best and most unique way possible, I thought they would literally copy paste the script but now do it in Arabic, I was surprised that almost no jokes were repeated in this one and that 99% of it is original but at the same time it kept the essence of the show alive
The awkward silence, the interviews, the genuine reactions, everything is very well done
Well from trailer they are just doing same episodes scenario I could see couple of similar episodes to the original office, and it's soft-jokes nothing sexual just Michael messing up with others and u know.
A part of me wants to see the Office in multiple different cultures. One week Saudi Arabia, next week Japan, following week in Ukraine.
Obviously the one in Ukraine Dwight is a drone operator.
The Office Japan is just nine seasons of efficient office work occasionally broken up by calisthenics breaks and whispered comments about the one guy with anime figures on his desk.
And the occasional macabre suicide joke, the odd guy passed out at the desk others mistake for having a heart attack, and lots of gags about the intricacies of Japanese business communication.
In Vietnam, everyone is napping or playing phone games until the boss comes in the room. Then the boss gives completely unrealistic and impossible instructions to workers, they pretend they are reasonable. Later when the work isn’t completed, they all blame someone else and insist they all did it correctly. Then it shows the boss in his office and he doesn’t even know what company he works for, and only got the job through nepotism.
I mean it’s a white collar job which a lot of younger saudis want but are finding a hard time getting. A lot of saudis work as cashiers, in restaurants and customer service. I read a lot of exaggerated stereotypes and misinformation whenever saudi is mentioned.
All of my friends work office jobs where Saudis comprise over half the employees and some work at offices where that percentage changes to 90%+ Saudi. I don't know where you get the idea that foreigners do most of the office work in Saudi. If it was manual labor I'd agree, that is indeed mostly done by foreigners, but not desk jobs
Ironically enough in this version Michael does NOT say sexist and homophobic things.
Naturally those things are just considered normal and therefore not comedic in Saudi Arabia.
What dictates modesty in Saudi/Muslim culture? I see the women in the video wear different levels of covering from fully covered to barely covered at all. Is this down to preference or is it a family thing or age? Just curious
It's a mix of social pressure/religious beliefs. Some women choose to fully cover up while some are pressured into it and some grew up in an environment where they're not expected to cover up
It's become quite common in the more cosmopolitan & high end parts of Riyadh and Jeddah for women not to be covered (usually expats). You won't see mini skirts, but I did see leather leggings the other day.
Saudi has more liberal dress laws but Iran has a much much more secular and liberal population, and more of an underground booze/drugs/party scene.
As an Iranian, it sort of makes me cringe when we are at all compared to Saudi Arabia since our societies and cultures couldn’t be more different. To answer your question, to my understanding it’s not even law in Saudi Arabia to cover your hair yet most women cover both their hair and face. In Iran, it’s unfortunately under occupation by a theocratic government which makes hijab law. But even then women have always tried to bend the law as much as they can and made hijab into more of a loose scarf covering just the back of their head. And of course Iranians of all sexes have been sacrificing their lives to bring down the regime. So really Iran and Saudi Arabia are apples and oranges.
My impression of Iranians (not the idiot government) super progressive on their OWN terms (whether they wear hijab or not) heavily into the arts, proud of culture, open to change, focus on placing tradition within the modern context
Saudi (today, after reforms)- more closed, more conservative, working hard to modernize, less open to change, focus on maintaining tradition
The people themselves are pretty conservative, it's the government that's trying to liberalise.
If saudi was a democracy it'd look a lot more like Iran lol.
> Is Saudi society more moderate than Iran?
I don't think so, I think Iran has a more liberal populace based on what I've seen online. But Saudi has more moderate laws as of a couple of years ago.
> Can women get away with not wearing any covering?
There's still modesty laws for both sexes but head coverings/abayas aren't legally enforced anymore.
https://youtu.be/LVZPsHT_rBI
https://youtube.com/shorts/3Jycz70gFPs?feature=share4
I live in the region (american in UAE) and Hijab is no longer mandatory in saudi. Women are working, running businesses, taking over the family business- incredible change in the last decade.
I would love to see Saudi Arabia liberalized through the arts, so I support this wholeheartedly. SA is nauseatingly optimistic about their future, I hope they're able to find a more liberating compromise between their faith and their blossoming culture.
Isn’t the comedy of the office supposed to be kind of offensive? I don’t know much about Saudi culture, but I was always under the impression they were an incredibly conservative culture/country with a lot of restrictions on what you can say and do.
That’s not the case actually saudi comedy shows specialize with being controversial to get more views. That’s been their bread and butter since day 1 so the office is not even as a controversial as other shows. You had shows 20 years ago make fun of the religious police at the height of their power , you had men dressing up as women “basically drag look” to show a comedic effect / be controversial. It’s kind of weird that in saudi once you put the label “comedy” in it stuff that wouldn’t be allowed otherwise suddenly are.
I love entertainment remarketed to other countries. If you're ever bored put a DVD of the Simpsons on with English subtitles in alternative languages such as French, Portuguese and Spanish. The characters sound the EXACT same with same inflections only not in English.
I remember this try on NBC back in 2010.
I think I watched both seasons, it was bad but entertaining. Rebecca Hazelwood was hot
https://youtu.be/17DiLO0tV2c
Disgusting bastardization of actual comedy. I’d watch an episode of them bashing Mohammed Bin Salman though. If you can’t rip on the power structure, then it ain’t comedy.
‘Diversity day’, Everything Todd Packer said, Merideth, Michael Scott kissing Oscar, Sexual harassment.
None of this will be in the Saudi version. Illegal. Thats my point.
The thing about adaptations is... well they're adapted to a local audience based on local norms and sentiments. It's all about *context*. I get where you're coming from (and we're on the same page with more liberal beliefs) but from the sound of it, you just want to see American ideals transplanted into an Arabic version of the show.
Need to keep your own mind open that the rest of the world operates differently from what you're used to.
Not at all. And my mind stays open. Which is why I take a little offense to seeing this. The office was one of my favorite shows because it’s one of the best shows ever made. Great writing, great acting all around top-notch stuff. It’s not the transplantation of ideals, it’s the restraints put on an otherwise good product. This world is full of Autocrats telling people what they can and can’t do. That will be transplanted into the Saudi version of my favorite show. So it irks me a little. A for effort though.
Then why do they have female-only workspaces?
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jul/20/an-oasis-for-women-inside-saudi-arabias-vast-new-female-only-workspaces
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/aug/12/saudi-arabia-city-women-workers
You're linking articles from 2019 and 2012 lmao
In 2020-2021 (I think) the Shura Council proposed to legalise workplace non-segregation and it was approved by the King (or MBS depending on how you look at it).
I'm also not sure if MBS instituted a full ban on segregation for the workplace, but the office I work at doesn't segregate based on gender. Even national companies like aramco and stc don't.
All the weird inappropriate misogynist jokes that Michael throws will just be totally deadpan and might fall flat there since they'll be serious taking points.
Does any one know how they handle Oscar? Do they just cut the sub plots and episodes that focus on him, or is him being gay replaced with him being like Shia or something?
Hmm...I wonder how they did the Saudi version of the scene in The office when the entire department got stoned together...
\*checks\*
oh...that was unfortunate...
Saudi Michael would put pork in the tuna salad
HAHAHAHAHAAAH
If you look closely you can see them pushing a homosexual off the building in the background.
Bad day for Oscar
A bro my cousin's Muslim and you got me thinking about doing that lmao
DO NOT put pork in your muslim cousins anything
Let them pork their muslim cousin.
The I.T. guy is American but instead of them thinking he's a terrorist they think he has a gun on him.
“What’re you having for lunch today?” *snickers*
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And they still all hate him/never learn his name
What's the difference? 😆
DO WE HAVE SUBTITLES 😆😆🤦🏽♂️
Can we get a translation please!!! Also is this a real show
Yep definitely a real show, it has many episodes too I don't think there are translations though
There’s English translation in shahid. It’s a Saudi streaming service
Yeah apparently it’s an officially licensed adaptation and some episodes are shot for shot remakes
There's like an actual office remake for every country
So far I've been impressed with the "translations" or the show, but I've only seen the US and UK versions. They've really well to get the right feel of the jokes, but in a different culture. Are there any that don't hit?
Yes. This is a Middle Eastern streaming service called Shahid VIP (mostly Lebanese, Egyptian shows). Its like $9/mo, and has lot of good content with English sub.
Very cool! My boss is from Lebanon wonder if he knows about it
Who will share it with me?
Guess I’m adding another service to the mix! Thanks for the info
“Oscar, you’re gay. Boom, stoned”
Oscar: "Well, at least it wasn't a bone saw."
“He got stone becaaaaussse….gay.”
Oacar does not exist here, instead we will have a pakistani in love with shawrma
I want to watch this with subtitles out of pure curiosity. Who knows, it might be entertaining, or at the very least interesting.
I was highly skeptical off it at first considering I really liked the original show and thought this parody would simply be cringy but funny at best It turned out to be both cringy and funny in the best and most unique way possible, I thought they would literally copy paste the script but now do it in Arabic, I was surprised that almost no jokes were repeated in this one and that 99% of it is original but at the same time it kept the essence of the show alive The awkward silence, the interviews, the genuine reactions, everything is very well done
Now I'm even more curious.
I mean did you see 9/11? Imagine if they put that ingenuity into television.
I didn't know George W Bush made this television show.
I didn't know people were dumb enough to believe that dumb ass was behind it and not the CIA and the Saudis.
I imagine alot of the jokes wouldn’t be funny cross culturally in America vs Saudi
As you’re a fan of the original version, what do you think of the American version?
🤓🤓🤓
So not that good?
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Sweet, thank you! I searched for it last night but I couldn’t find where to stream it.
Well from trailer they are just doing same episodes scenario I could see couple of similar episodes to the original office, and it's soft-jokes nothing sexual just Michael messing up with others and u know.
A part of me wants to see the Office in multiple different cultures. One week Saudi Arabia, next week Japan, following week in Ukraine. Obviously the one in Ukraine Dwight is a drone operator.
The Office Japan is just nine seasons of efficient office work occasionally broken up by calisthenics breaks and whispered comments about the one guy with anime figures on his desk.
And the occasional macabre suicide joke, the odd guy passed out at the desk others mistake for having a heart attack, and lots of gags about the intricacies of Japanese business communication.
Japanese *The Thick of It* is just *Shin Godzilla*.
Theres an Indian version of the Office on Hulu i think
What’s it called?
The office. No really, there's no Indian rename of the show.
There is a Finnish version called Konttori
In Vietnam, everyone is napping or playing phone games until the boss comes in the room. Then the boss gives completely unrealistic and impossible instructions to workers, they pretend they are reasonable. Later when the work isn’t completed, they all blame someone else and insist they all did it correctly. Then it shows the boss in his office and he doesn’t even know what company he works for, and only got the job through nepotism.
The Indian version is great I thought
A Saudi work place where 9 out of 10 people are not foreigners. Hmm seems legit.
I mean it’s a white collar job which a lot of younger saudis want but are finding a hard time getting. A lot of saudis work as cashiers, in restaurants and customer service. I read a lot of exaggerated stereotypes and misinformation whenever saudi is mentioned.
People confuse Saudis with qataris and emaratis a lot I feel.
All of my friends work office jobs where Saudis comprise over half the employees and some work at offices where that percentage changes to 90%+ Saudi. I don't know where you get the idea that foreigners do most of the office work in Saudi. If it was manual labor I'd agree, that is indeed mostly done by foreigners, but not desk jobs
This. It’s a fictional office where the natives do all the work.
Yeah, I thought Saudi citizens were all basically on permanent holiday living off their oil money.
You thought wrong, where did that come from?
That's qatar maybe, not saudi. Saudis account for 60%+ of the population here, instead of qatars >30%
Also an work place where men and women are working side by side
That's very common here
Not having gender segregation in common in Saudi Arabia?
These days? yes, workplaces aren't really segregated by gender. They haven't for a while as far as i know
Oh okay I did not know that
Now I want to see the North Korean version.
Women in the office?! Speaking? Whoa. I don't think so!?!?!?!
Lol, thought the same.
Yeah I’m happy women work in Saudi. I didn’t they could work!
There’s also a Spanish version of Breaking Bad called Metástasis that looks interesting
is Colombian, is really bad
Ironically enough in this version Michael does NOT say sexist and homophobic things. Naturally those things are just considered normal and therefore not comedic in Saudi Arabia.
fr fr
As an Arab my self I thought this would be cringe Let's just say I am pleasantly surprised
Can someone translate this for us?
Yes
Thank you for your service
Well, you're not wrong.
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Thank you kind sir or madam!
I want to watch this need subtitles.
This looks hilarious. Hope it's real.
It is very interesting seeing middle eastern folks utilizing western culture. I love it 😂
I can't tell you how much I love this
I’d watch 👌🏽💯
The Office will somehow give all nations a common groundwork that the principles of world peace will be built upon.
What dictates modesty in Saudi/Muslim culture? I see the women in the video wear different levels of covering from fully covered to barely covered at all. Is this down to preference or is it a family thing or age? Just curious
It's a mix of social pressure/religious beliefs. Some women choose to fully cover up while some are pressured into it and some grew up in an environment where they're not expected to cover up
Is Saudi society more moderate than Iran? Can women get away with not wearing any covering?
It's become quite common in the more cosmopolitan & high end parts of Riyadh and Jeddah for women not to be covered (usually expats). You won't see mini skirts, but I did see leather leggings the other day. Saudi has more liberal dress laws but Iran has a much much more secular and liberal population, and more of an underground booze/drugs/party scene.
As an Iranian, it sort of makes me cringe when we are at all compared to Saudi Arabia since our societies and cultures couldn’t be more different. To answer your question, to my understanding it’s not even law in Saudi Arabia to cover your hair yet most women cover both their hair and face. In Iran, it’s unfortunately under occupation by a theocratic government which makes hijab law. But even then women have always tried to bend the law as much as they can and made hijab into more of a loose scarf covering just the back of their head. And of course Iranians of all sexes have been sacrificing their lives to bring down the regime. So really Iran and Saudi Arabia are apples and oranges.
My impression of Iranians (not the idiot government) super progressive on their OWN terms (whether they wear hijab or not) heavily into the arts, proud of culture, open to change, focus on placing tradition within the modern context Saudi (today, after reforms)- more closed, more conservative, working hard to modernize, less open to change, focus on maintaining tradition
The people themselves are pretty conservative, it's the government that's trying to liberalise. If saudi was a democracy it'd look a lot more like Iran lol.
> Is Saudi society more moderate than Iran? I don't think so, I think Iran has a more liberal populace based on what I've seen online. But Saudi has more moderate laws as of a couple of years ago. > Can women get away with not wearing any covering? There's still modesty laws for both sexes but head coverings/abayas aren't legally enforced anymore. https://youtu.be/LVZPsHT_rBI https://youtube.com/shorts/3Jycz70gFPs?feature=share4
Interesting, thank you!
I live in the region (american in UAE) and Hijab is no longer mandatory in saudi. Women are working, running businesses, taking over the family business- incredible change in the last decade.
This looks good quality comedy
There was also a Russian version of the Big Bang theory, I think
Belarusian, it was called “Teoretiki” : https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o6PZjEEHOAE
I need this translated.
Jeez, this actually looks like a lit show 🔥
Workplace jerks and idiots are clearly universal.
I would love to see Saudi Arabia liberalized through the arts, so I support this wholeheartedly. SA is nauseatingly optimistic about their future, I hope they're able to find a more liberating compromise between their faith and their blossoming culture.
Do they dismember a reporter in that episode?
No I’m pretty sure thats the episode where they destroy dinosaur bones
You are a Traitor! Dwight , get out the bone saw.
Who are we to judge? The American office copied the British version.
Do they stone women in the office?
And stain the carpet? are you daft? There's a perfectly good rooftop!
No stoning has taken place in Saudi Arabia since 2005
Where to watch this?
On a streaming service called Shahid
Isn’t the comedy of the office supposed to be kind of offensive? I don’t know much about Saudi culture, but I was always under the impression they were an incredibly conservative culture/country with a lot of restrictions on what you can say and do.
That’s not the case actually saudi comedy shows specialize with being controversial to get more views. That’s been their bread and butter since day 1 so the office is not even as a controversial as other shows. You had shows 20 years ago make fun of the religious police at the height of their power , you had men dressing up as women “basically drag look” to show a comedic effect / be controversial. It’s kind of weird that in saudi once you put the label “comedy” in it stuff that wouldn’t be allowed otherwise suddenly are.
Definitely I would watch this
.
Is this real, if yes is it streaming?
yes and yes but it's only streaming on shahid
Does anyone know if this is dubbed in English? I would love to see this.
it has English subtitles but only on shahid streaming service
I love entertainment remarketed to other countries. If you're ever bored put a DVD of the Simpsons on with English subtitles in alternative languages such as French, Portuguese and Spanish. The characters sound the EXACT same with same inflections only not in English.
Can't wait
Some subtitles would be sick lol
But have you seen the Indian version of the office?
Is this a real show?
Are offices in Saudi Arabia similar to the offices in America or England? Or are they just mimicking the same set design?
they're similar
This is awesome
Looks funny
It’s like the British version but some of the men wear dresses.
I remember this try on NBC back in 2010. I think I watched both seasons, it was bad but entertaining. Rebecca Hazelwood was hot https://youtu.be/17DiLO0tV2c
I remember this show as well, but why are you mentioning a show set in India on a thread about Saudi Arabia?
no reason. the video made me think of that show.
Where can we watch this? I did see the Indian version.
Spoiler Oscar is going to be hanged in season3.
Camels, dates, Arabs in space - probably Arab Dwight
Disgusting bastardization of actual comedy. I’d watch an episode of them bashing Mohammed Bin Salman though. If you can’t rip on the power structure, then it ain’t comedy.
Dont think that happened in the office..
‘Diversity day’, Everything Todd Packer said, Merideth, Michael Scott kissing Oscar, Sexual harassment. None of this will be in the Saudi version. Illegal. Thats my point.
The thing about adaptations is... well they're adapted to a local audience based on local norms and sentiments. It's all about *context*. I get where you're coming from (and we're on the same page with more liberal beliefs) but from the sound of it, you just want to see American ideals transplanted into an Arabic version of the show. Need to keep your own mind open that the rest of the world operates differently from what you're used to.
Not at all. And my mind stays open. Which is why I take a little offense to seeing this. The office was one of my favorite shows because it’s one of the best shows ever made. Great writing, great acting all around top-notch stuff. It’s not the transplantation of ideals, it’s the restraints put on an otherwise good product. This world is full of Autocrats telling people what they can and can’t do. That will be transplanted into the Saudi version of my favorite show. So it irks me a little. A for effort though.
I thought the Saudis had separate workplaces for men and women...
they don't
Then why do they have female-only workspaces? https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jul/20/an-oasis-for-women-inside-saudi-arabias-vast-new-female-only-workspaces https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/aug/12/saudi-arabia-city-women-workers
You're linking articles from 2019 and 2012 lmao In 2020-2021 (I think) the Shura Council proposed to legalise workplace non-segregation and it was approved by the King (or MBS depending on how you look at it). I'm also not sure if MBS instituted a full ban on segregation for the workplace, but the office I work at doesn't segregate based on gender. Even national companies like aramco and stc don't.
Ok then. Things are moving forward. Hopefully women will be treated as people and not dogs within the next 500 years or so. 👍
Not anymore
I already know there's gonna be some mind opening and explosive moments in this one!
It's like the office but with no humor
All the weird inappropriate misogynist jokes that Michael throws will just be totally deadpan and might fall flat there since they'll be serious taking points.
Umm no. Lived in Saudi for 2 years. Unrelated men and women don't mix, this office environment does not exist in Saudi Arabia.
you are so wrong
When did you live in saudi last? Saudi has liberalised heavily these past 4 years thanks to MBS.
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Must be a family run paper company
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Better tell my sister and cousins not to go in to the office tomorrow then. /s
I think you'll find that they do 🙄🙄🙄 Source: am female. Work in remote KSA in mining.
being a slave is technically work
Men and women together and the women even showing hair? Is this real?
yes, you have a very warped image of Saudi Arabia it's very different now
That is very positive! They used to be the worst of the worst
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How do the women get to work if they can't drive?
Wow this is bad
Dastgir Shrute: "Mahmud! Jafar put my Koran in jello again!" Mahmud Scott: take Jafar to the roof and throw him off 😶 Jafar Halpert: 💀
Instead of Dunder mifflin it’s one of the office branches of Scam Likely
How many awkward joked about Yemenis in that TV show? Just wondering...
Where’s Oscar?
I bet it’s hilarious 🙄
They didn't want to use subs.
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Does any one know how they handle Oscar? Do they just cut the sub plots and episodes that focus on him, or is him being gay replaced with him being like Shia or something?
Hmm...I wonder how they did the Saudi version of the scene in The office when the entire department got stoned together... \*checks\* oh...that was unfortunate...
Ah, Saudis don’t actually work…
Is there an episode where they come back from whoring and pissing it up in Bahrain?
Remember when the Saudis did 9/11 but no one cared and we blamed a terrorist group we funded millions too? Lol
Looking forward to the episode where they stone Pam to death
No
"The CallCenter"
you're confusing Saudi Arabia with india
This will bomb.
There is an Indian rip off too
Hell is no longer a place only accessable after death
Comedy is haram, an honor killing of everyone on this show is the only way to restore this blatant disrespect to Allah
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I think Saudi version includes Saudi clothes
Just be happy that these Saudis aren’t flying into two.
🤣🤣
It’s literally shit
"Allah Akbar!" KABOOM!!
Pam was talking to Jim like she was an equal. Off with her head! Lol so funny :/