Brow Beat

Ricky Gervais’ Office Character Dreams of Rock Stardom in the Trailer for David Brent: Life on the Road

Ricky Gervais is bringing back his character from The Office, David Brent, for a movie spinoff, and it’s about as awkward as you might expect. What’s more surprising is that based on the film’s new trailer, David Brent: Life on the Road will be a full-blown rock mockumentary that finds the former office manager on a self-funded tour with his band, Foregone Conclusion.

Brent is, of course, as painful to watch as ever, performing onstage with the same total lack of self-awareness the character had 12 years ago. Rapper and comedian Doc Brown joins Brent on his ill-advised tour and performs a snippet of their previous collaboration, the reggae-infused “Equality Street,” which Gervais and Brown made for Comic Relief a few years ago.

Though the U.K. version of The Office ended in 2003, Gervais has brought back Brent multiple times over the years, even appearing on its American counterpart on a few occasions. He also appeared in character for a series of guitar tutorials, including, appropriately, “Life on the Road.”

The movie will hit theaters in the U.K. and Ireland on Aug. 19 and will appear on Netflix for American audiences sometime next year.