Felicity Ward to star in Amazon’s The Office Australia
David Farnor | On 04, Jun 2023
First there was the UK’s David Brent, then came the USA’s Michael Scott. Now, middle-management has a new archetype in Aussie Hannah Howard, as Amazon takes The Office Down Under for a remake of the hit comedy.
Prime Video, BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand and Bunya Entertainment today are teaming up for The Office Australia, a new Australian comedy series with the franchise’s first female lead.
Comedian and actor Felicity Ward (Wakefield, The Inbetweeners 2) will play Hannah Howard, 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 was over 20 years ago that the world was introduced to the bleak mockumentary world of The Office, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. While many aspects of the workplace have changed since then, especially post-2020, Amazon still sees the physical office as a timeless precinct for comedy – indeed, this will be the 13th iteration of the format, with remakes in other countries including France, Canada, Chile, Israel, India, the Middle East and Poland, where a third season has just been announced.
Ricky Gervais, co-creator, co-writer, and star of The Office, 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 can’t wait to see how they navigate a modern-day David Brent.”
Production on the eight-part Australian Amazon Original series will commence in Sydney in June, with filming to take place over eight weeks. In addition to Felicity Ward’s Hannah Howard, The Office Australia stars 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), Pallavi Sharda (The Twelve), Susan Ling Young (Reckoning, Hungry Ghosts), Raj Labade, Lucy Schmit, and Firass Dirani (Underbelly, House Husbands).
“We are thrilled to be bringing one of the biggest comedy franchises ever made to Prime Video customers in Australia and around the world,” said Sarah Christie, senior development executive Prime Video Australia. “It is an honour to continue the international comedy legacy of The Office locally while introducing new, quintessentially Australian characters. We can’t wait for audiences to meet Hannah Howard, the first female boss The Office format has explored.”
The Office Australia is executive produced by Julie De Fina (Aftertaste), Jackie van Beek (The Breaker Upperers, What We Do in the Shadows, Wellington Paranormal), and Kylie Washington, with lead producers Sophia Zachariou (The Moth Effect, The Chaser’s War on Everything, Gruen, The Checkout), Linda Micsko (The Letdown, Laid), and Greer Simpkin (Mystery Road, In Limbo). Van Beek serves as lead set-up director with De Fina as head writer. Christiaan Van Vuuren (Bondi Hipsters, A Sunburnt Christmas, Dom and Adrian) and Jesse Griffin (Educators) will also direct on the series.