2 days Ago By Meg Watson
The first trailer for Prime Video’s Australian adaptation of The Office has dropped online, and it’s been widely judged “cringe” – only not in the way the show’s creators might have hoped. The mockumentary franchise, which was created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and first screened in the UK in 2001, has always been defined by its awkward humour. But many fans on social media have called this first look at the local version “embarrassing”.
“[It’s] the Raygun of The Office cinematic universe,” one Facebook comment reads. This is the 13th version of the show (it has also been remade in France, India and Saudi Arabia, among others). The most successful remake is undoubtedly the US version, starring Steve Carell, which ran for nine seasons.
The Australian version is the first to feature a woman in the lead role, with Felicity Ward starring as Hannah Howard, the “charming yet pretty inept, and definitely not self-aware” managing director of a Sydney packaging company. Intent on keeping her “work family” together after a directive from head office to make everyone work from home, Ward’s character draws heavily on Carell’s Michael Scott, a more kind-hearted (and eventually beloved) boss than Ricky Gervais’ David Brent. The Gareth/Dwight character is also played by a woman, Kiwi actor Edith Poor ( The Power of the Dog , The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power ).
The cast also includes Shari Sebbens ( The Sapphires ) as well as comedians Steen Raskopoulos, Josh Thomson and Jonny Brugh. Felicity Ward (Hannah Howard, left) and Edith Poor (Lizzie Moyle) star in the Amazon Prime version of The Office Australia The show tackles modern workplace issues including the right to work from home, and Australian cultural phenomena such as the Melbourne Cup. So why are people so turned off by the prospect? While some sexist comments take issue with the gender-flipped casting, the majority of complaints focus on the overly familiar humour (which some read as “cheesy”) and retread of the concept.
In a world of endless sequels and remakes, it was always going to be tough to sell yet another iteration of The Office , 23 years after the original – especially in a streaming environment where you can always just watch the old versions. Loading Adding an Australian edge could give it interest and relevance but, as one YouTube commenter wrote, “we already have Utopia ”. In announcing their project, executive producers and writers Julie De Fina (co-creator of the Australian comedy series Aftertaste ) and Jackie van Beek (who co-wrote, co-directed and co-starred in The Breaker Upperers with Deadloch star and fellow Kiwi Madeleine Sami) said: “Office environments have changed so much, so we felt like it was perfect timing to investigate what the office means to us and how our work families – good or bad – affect our lives”.
The show streams in full from October 18. Until then, it might be worth keeping an open mind. After all, fans initially thought the US remake was a terrible idea too .
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License this article Streaming For subscribers Film & TV production Australian TV Meg Watson is a culture reporter at The Age and Sydney Morning Herald Connect via Twitter or email . Most Viewed in Culture Loading.
