Besides Peacock’s upcoming The Office spin-off, Amazon MGM Studios is also currently producing the upcoming The Office Australia remake, based on Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s original British mockumentary sitcom.
During a recent interview, Amazon executive Sarah Christie finally shared the first details about The Office Australia, as she discussed the pressure of living up to the original’s legacy. The reboot hails from Amazon MGM Studios, BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand and Bunya Entertainment.
“It is huge, iconic IP,” Christie said (via Deadline). “NBC’s Michael Scott joining Gervais’ David Brent in the annals of TV comedy history, and other incarnations in countries as wide apart as Germany and Chile, the challenge is sizeable. We want to honor the legacy but also provide something Australian to give it that local flavor.”
What to expect from The Office Australia?
Out of all the other remakes of The Office, the Australian version will be the first one to be led by a female boss. Leading the reboot’s cast is comedian Felicity Ward, who plays the role of Hannah Howard. Christie also shared that she can’t wait for everyone to watch Ward’s performance in The Office Australia, which had already wrapped up its production.
“There are 14 versions of The Office out there, and we’re the first where the boss is a woman… And she is just as flawed, worthy, and in love with herself as the other ones,” Christie continued. “Felicity Ward is just phenomenal, and we can’t wait for people to meet her Hannah. She’s brought her all to this role.”
Joining Ward are Edith Poor, Steen Raskopoulos, Shari Sebbens, Josh Thomson, Jonny Brugh, Pallavi Sharda and Susan Ling Young. Some of them are expected to portray familiar characters from the original. At the moment, the official synopsis for The Office Australia hasn’t been released yet, but Christie confirmed the pandemic will play a key part in the story.
“We have the wealth of the original series from Ricky Gervais that everyone loves and reveres around the world, and that’s a great starting block to build on,” She said. “The office itself has changed a lot in the past five years and that was our starting off point — is it a place people want to be anymore? Hannah wants to prove to her staff that it is. Head office wants to send everyone home to save money but she says, ‘Absolutely not’ and wants everyone in full time. She loves her staff and wants to keep them together.”
