By Jesse Whittock, Stewart Clarke
The Newsreader – Season 2 | Trailer | ABC TV + iview
EXCLUSIVE: Many people decided the office was no longer for them after the Covid-19 pandemic, but not Felicity Ward and her new alter ego Hannah Howard. Comedian and actress Ward stars in The Office Australia, one of the most anticipated series outside the US. It marks the first time a woman has played the iconic (mis)manager role that Ricky Gervais first made famous on the BBC.
Sarah Christie, Senior Development Executive at Amazon MGM Studios in Australia, which is working on The Office for the Prime Video streaming service, is aware of the pressure of expectations and the need to try something new. "It's a huge, iconic movie. IP,” she told Deadline. With NBC’s Michael Scott joining Gervais’ David Brent in the annals of TV comedy history, and other incarnations in countries as far apart as Germany and Chile, the challenge is considerable.
"We want to honour the heritage but also offer something Australian to give it a local flavour," Christie said. "There's 14 versions of The Office and we're the first where the boss is a woman… And she's just as flawed, worthy, and in love with himself as the others."
