A female-led reboot of ‘The Office’ is in the works.
The comedy, which began as a British mockumentary sitcom led by Ricky Gervais and centering around the inner workings of a Slough branch of a paper company before getting a spin in the US, with Steve Carell, is now headed for Australia.
Variety reports that, for the first time, the franchise will see middle management being led by a woman – Australian comic and actor Felicity Ward – and will stream on Amazon Prime Video. Ward played Lizzie in The Inbetweeners 2.
She will portray Hannah Howard, the MD of packaging company Flinley Craddick in ‘The Office Australia’.
Variety reports that in the series, Howard gets word from head office that her branch will shut down and staff will need to work from home. She then, the outlet says, goes into survival mode, makes a bunch of promises she can’t keep and launches outlandish plots to get her “work family” together.
Ward wrote on Instagram: “Yep, I’m playing the lead in the Australian version of #theoffice . OMFG. absolutely cannot believe it.”
Gervais has 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.”
This is the 13th iteration of the show created by Gervais and Stephen Merchant. As well as the UK and US, it has been in France, Canada, Chile, Israel and the Middle East.
Variety said filming of the eight-part series will start June, in Sydney, and it will launch on Prime Video worldwide, excluding the US, in 2024.
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