The Office

Yes, there are strong similarities, though differences of style. The main similarities are that both take place in an office setting and revel in the awfulness of the worst aspects of office life, and both are fine examples of their respective types. The Office is filmed in a spoof docu-soap style, whereas Made in Canada is filmed more "straight", with the exception of one character or another's "This is not Good"/"I think that went well" tag-line straight to camera at the end of each episode. Whereas David Brent follows in the superb tradition of Alan Partridge in exemplifying the humour of cringing embarrassment (that is, the viewer's embarrassment on the character's behalf), MIC relies on the tightly scripted, tightly plotted, tightly characterized tradition of the best of North American comedy writing. Among shows seen on British TV, Larry Sanders is the closest I can think of in style, plotting (every character backstabbing every other character), quality of writing (sharp, cruel, and ruthless), and quality of performing. The character of Alan Roy, CEO of Pyramid Productions, is a comic creation of the first order, utterly lacking in self-awareness, endlessly funny because of the self-delusion he reveals every time he opens his mouth; and there's not a weak link in the supporting cast.

Anyone in the UK who enjoyed Larry Sanders should agitate for the BBC or Channel 4 to show this.

The Canadian show 'The Newsroom' is more like The Office than this show