Prime Video has announced that the Australian original “The Office” will premiere on 18 October. The comedy series is the thirteenth version of the global hit juggernaut franchise and has the first-ever female lead in the iconic role, comedian and actor Felicity Ward.
Ward has had roles in Time Bandits, Wakefield, and The Inbetweeners 2. In The Office, plays Hannah Howard, managing director of Flinley Craddick. All eight episodes of The Office will be available on 18 October, exclusively on Prime Video in 240 countries and territories worldwide in the Prime membership.
Prime Video also released a first-look image from the series which features an ensemble of Australian and New Zealand comedy talent. 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.
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 was over 20 years ago that the world was introduced to the wonderfully 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, the physical office is a timeless precinct for comedy. This universal appeal has seen the BAFTA- and Golden Globe-winning cult comedy remade for audiences around the world, 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 co-produced by BBC Studios Australia & New Zealand, Bunya Entertainment, and Amazon MGM Studios, and is based on a BBC Studios format. The Office was developed for Australia by writers Julie De Fina (Aftertaste) and Jackie van Beek (The Breaker Upperers, Nude Tuesday) with the pair also serving as executive producers.
Kylie Washington (Return to Paradise) is 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.
