Imo the success of the US Office is that it took the cringeworthy hyper relatable observational comedy of the UK Office and made it a little more hopeful. It lost some of the shock power of original but made it far more addictive as comfort TV. It's still really funny and relatable but also slightly escapist in a way the original isn't. Thus 9 seasons vs 2 and a christmas special.

That said it's been years since I watched the original (I've watched the US one far far too many times over the pandemic) and all this chat makes me want to rewatch again.