The comedian, actor and writer Ricky Gervais has expressed that he is excited about The Office, the show he created with Stephen Merchant, being remade into a new version set in Australia. This comes years after a successful adaptation was made in America.
The famous show is now set for an Aussie version which will air on Prime Video. The new adaptation will also see a female in the lead role of office boss for the first time.
Gervais has played the lead role in the original British version of The Office, manager of Wernham Hogg Slough branch, David Brent, while Steve Carrell played Michael Scott, head of Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Now the Australian comedian and actor Felicity Ward will take on a middle management character based on Gervais’ original. She’s called Hannah Howard and is the managing director of the packaging company Flinley Craddick.
In a statement released alongside the announcement of the new show, Gervais said, “I’m very excited about Australia remaking my little show from the turn of the century. Office politics have changed a bit in 20 years, so I can’t wait to see how they navigate a modern-day David Brent.”
The Office Australia will take place in the present day and begins with Hannah’s seniors telling her that her branch is closing down, so all her employees will have to start working from home. However, like Brent and Scott, Hannah begins making promises she can’t keep to try and keep her team together.
The Australian version of the show will be the 13th adaptation of Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s BBC original, having received remakes in countries including France, Canada, Chile, and Israel.
