Ricky Gervais’ David Brent Movie Acquired by Netflix

The American version of The Office lasted for nine seasons and 200 episodes, but it never really topped the original U.K. show, co-created by and starring Ricky Gervais as David Brent, the weaselly middle manager of the Slough branch of the Wernham Hogg Paper Company. Though Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s Office only stuck around for two seasons and a two-part finale on the BBC, its impact was enormous. Beyond inspiring the American show (and many other international adaptations) it helped popularize the mockumentary style of TV comedy.

David Brent did make two brief appearances on the U.S. Office, and Gervais has resurrected the character on a few occasions in various forms. But now he’s made a full-on sequel film, David Brent: Life on the Road, which reunites the faux documentary crew that made the original series with their befuddled subject. The film is opening in British theaters later this summer, but a U.S. release was unclear until Gervais went on Opie Radio this morning and broke the “top secret” news that Netflix had acquired the worldwide rights to distribute the film.

Watch Gervais in the clip below (which, fair warning, has some NSFW language):

Gervais just released the film Special Correspondents on Netflix (which I haven’t seen), so he must have been happy with how that went. Here’s the official plot synopsis for Life on the Road:

Directed, written by and starring Ricky Gervais, David Brent: Life on the Road is a feature length film which sees a documentary crew catching up with David Brent twelve years on from the mockumentary ‘The Office’. Brent is now a travelling salesman, chasing his dream of rock stardom by self-financing a UK tour with his band, ‘Foregone Conclusion’.

David Brent: Life on the Road opens in U.K. theaters on August 19. The U.S. release is still up in the air. Catch y’all on the Free Love Freeway.