New office. New Aussie boss. Prime Video has announced that the anticipated Australian Original The Office.
The comedy series is the thirteenth version of the global hit juggernaut franchise, and comedian and actor Felicity Ward (Time Bandits, Wakefield, The Inbetweeners 2) is the first-ever female lead in the iconic role.
Ward plays Hannah Howard, the Managing Director of Flinley Craddick, a packaging company.
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 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 set for them.
Prime Video also released a first-look image from the series featuring an Australian and New Zealand comedy talent ensemble.
Starring alongside Felicity Ward is Edith Poor (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Power of the Dog), Steen Raskopoulos (The Duchess, Feel Good), Shari Sebbens (The Sapphires, Thor: Love and Thunder), Josh Thomson (How to Please a Woman, Young Rock), Jonny Brugh (Thor: Love and Thunder, What We Do in the Shadows), Susan Ling Young (Reckoning, Hungry Ghosts), 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, Stateless) with Susie Youssef (Deadloch, Rosehaven), Justin Rosniiak (Mr Inbetween, Last King of the Cross), Carlo Ritchie (Mikki vs the World), Rick Donald (Population 11, Wentworth), and Chris Bunton (Relic, Wolf Like Me) in guest roles.
Over 20 years ago, the world was introduced to The Office, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.
While many aspects of the workplace have changed since then, especially post-2020, the physical office is a timeless precinct for comedy that will never tire an audience as long as the characters are authentic, familiar, faced with relatable dilemmas, and, most importantly, entertaining and hilarious.
This universal appeal has seen the BAFTA- and Golden Globe-winning cult comedy remade for audiences worldwide, including France, Canada, Chile, Israel, India, the Middle East, and Poland, where a third season has just been announced. This Australian version is the thirteenth adaptation.
The eight-part Australian Amazon Original series The Office is based on a BBC Studios format and co-produced by BBC Studios Australia & New Zealand, Bunya Entertainment, and Amazon MGM Studios.
The Office was developed for Australia by writers Julie De Fina (Aftertaste) and Jackie van Beek (The Breaker Upperers, Nude Tuesday), who served as executive producers. Kylie Washington (Return to Paradise) is the executive producer, with lead producer Sophia Zachariou (Ladies in Black, The Moth Effect) and producer Linda Micsko (The Letdown, Laid).
Van Beek also serves as set-up director (Time Bandits, What We Do in the Shadows, Wellington Paranormal) alongside directors Christiaan Van Vuuren (Bondi Hipsters, A Sunburnt Christmas) and Jesse Griffin (Educators), who is also a writer on the series.
Prime members can watch all episodes of The Office on the 18th of October.
