Watch out Australia, the hit BBC comedy series The Office is touching down on local shores this October.
Ahead of its release, TV Week spoke with some of the show’s stars on the red carpet of the 2024 Logies to find out what viewers can expect.
“I’d describe [the show] as like a hug in terms of it’s a format and a structure that everyone’s used to,” Felicity Ward told TV Week.
“We know it, you know it – if you love The Office already. If you know, you know. But if you don’t, it’s also a really lovely, warm, funny, moving at times as well, show to step into.
“And then mostly funny. Jokes, they can expect, yes, fun, funny, gags. I dance a lot more, I think, than the other incarnates of The Office.
“There’s a lot of music… Probably the most musical boss [there’s been]. There’s a lot of stimming. If anyone has ADHD, you all know what that means. A lot of musical stimming,” she concluded.
Who is cast in The Office Australia?
Felicity Ward – who is known for Time Bandits – will portray the lead character of Hannah Howard who is the Managing Director of a fictional packaging company, Flinley Craddick.
The Australian version of The Office will be the thirteenth iteration of the franchise, and marks the first time a female will take on the lead role.
Along with Felicity, the cast also includes an array of prominent Australian and New Zealander comedians and actors.
Starring in the upcoming Australia iteration of The Office are:
- Edith Poor (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power)
- Steen Raskopoulos (The Duchess, Feel Good)
- Shari Sebbens (The Sapphires, Thor: Love and Thunder)
- Josh Thomson (How to Please a Woman)
- Johnny Brugh (Thor: Love and Thunder, What We Do in the Shadows)
- Susan Ling Young (Reckoning)
- Raj Labade (Appetite)
- Lucy Schmidt (The Pledge)
- Zoe Terakes (Talk To Me, Nine Perfect Strangers)
- Pallavi Sharda (The Twelve)
- Claude Jabbour (Last King of the Cross)
When does The Office Australia premiere?
All eight episodes of the series will be available to stream exclusively on Prime Video on 18 October 2024.
What is the plot?
According to the show’s synopsis, “In The Office, Hannah Howard is the managing director of packaging company Flinley Craddick. When she gets news from Head Office that they will be shutting down her branch and making everyone work from home, she goes into survival mode, making promises she can’t keep in order to keep her “work family” together.
“The staff of Flinley Craddick indulge her and must endure Hannah’s outlandish plots as they work toward the impossible targets that have been set for them.”
It is hard to predict the success rate of the Australian version given that both the American and UK versions had very different outcomes.
Despite being the original, the British version was released in 2001 and was only renewed for two seasons with only six episodes each.
Although it was successful enough to inspire the US series which has nine seasons, its more miserable tone was dropped as viewers favoured the more upbeat tone of the American series.
The American version propelled the careers of numerous actors including Steve Carrell, John Krasinski, Mindy Kaling, Rainn Wilson, Ellie Kemper and Ed Helms.
Stream The Office on Prime Video from $6.58/mth, with a 30-day free trial. Subscribe now.
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