The Office is getting another international remake, this time by way of Australia. The acclaimed British sitcom, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, was a major hit in the UK, and when NBC decided to remake the series on US soil, it soon became an international sensation, currently enjoying endless rewatches on streaming platforms. Now, as well as the confirmed US spinoff, The Office is getting the reboot treatment once again. While many fans only know the UK and US versions, the American remake is actually the second international reboot of the original series. To date, The Office has been remade in 12 countries, with the new Australian version becoming number 11.
Deadline has confirmed that the new series will run for 8 episodes, with all episodes being available to stream on Prime Video on October 18. Alongside an official episode count and release date, the report featured the first official image of Hannah Howard, a manager who has been compared to Michael Scott (Steve Carell) thanks to their similar senses of humor. Check out the official image from The Office remake below:
As well as setting its story in new territory, the Australian remake of The Office will become the first show in the franchise to feature a female lead character. Starring Australian comedian Felicity Ward, the new series follows the Finley Craddick packaging company, led by managing director Hannah Howard (Ward).
The Office Australia Is All About Working From Home
Whatever your thoughts are on the increasingly popular workplace practice, working from home has become a standard part of corporate life for a lot of companies around the world since the COVID-19 pandemic. Not content with re-hashing the same story with a different accent, The Office AU follows Finley Craddick as the company looks to sell its premises, telling its staff to work from home. Being the overly keen manager that she is, Hannah Howard refuses the new policy and fights desperately to save the office. The official synopsis for the new show reads:
“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.”
Australia isn’t the only country getting a new reboot of The Office. It was confirmed earlier this year that a new US reboot/spinoff is heading to Peacock in the future. Moving away from Dunder Mifflin, the new series will follow a dying Midwestern paper company as they hire unpaid interns to help keep the newspaper alive. Full details about the reboot have yet to be revealed. However, it has already been confirmed that Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impecciatore will lead the new, currrently untitled series.
