Contrary to popular belief, this show is not an official remake of the BBC sitcom The Office (2001), but actually started as an unlicensed rip-off of it. The show was treated as an original by the channel Prosieben, until it eventually got the attention of the BBC, who noticed how similar it was to their own version. In fact, several dialogue scenes were copied almost verbatim, and many other similarities were so apparent that the BBC threatened legal action against the show's production company Brainpool. Beginning with the second season, to avoid legal issues, the text "Inspired by the UK BBC series The Office created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant" was added to the ending credits. It has since been acknowledged as a remake.
Christoph Maria Herbst, who in real life doesn't wear a beard nor the typical Stromberg-style half-bald head, needs to start growing his hair about 5-6 weeks before filming begins so that the Stromberg-esque hairline stands out. For the beard, which he refers to as the "toilet bowl," Herbst needs about three weeks.
Stromberg is one of the few German TV series in which product placements have been implemented. In the fifth season, Capitol employees consume rice pudding from the Müller company several times and prominently. This is even explicitly pointed out by subtitles and corresponding remarks by Stromberg himself. Furthermore, toy weapons from Hasbro were integrated into the plot. Although the practice has been legally permissible since 2010, part of the fan base reacted with criticism to the product placements.
The scenes set in the fictional town of Finsdorf were filmed in the spring of 2009 in the Walberberg district of Bornheim. A former convenience store at the corner of Hauptstraße/Flammgasse, which had been vacant for several years, was prepared as the backdrop.
In the fourth season, Stromberg is transferred as a punishment to the small Capitol insurance branch in the fictional town of Finsdorf. For this purpose, a website was specially created, and ProSieben aired commercials for the town ("Juwel der Heide"). Bernd Stromberg describes the village disparagingly as "Finsterdorf" (Dark Village), "Inzesthausen" (Incestville), and "Doofdorf" (Stupidville). On the website finsdorf.de, which was set up for the viral marketing campaign, Bernd Stromberg was welcomed as a new resident. GoYellow provided a snippet of the original map, on which the village of Böddenstedt was renamed Finsdorf. Additionally, a fictional nuclear power plant was built nearby.