Australian comedian Felicity Ward is set to star in the first ever female-led adaptation of The Office.
The eight-part series will be co-produced by Amazon Studios, BBC Studios ANZ, and Bunya Entertainment. It will be launched in around 240 countries and territories around the world.
Ward will star alongside the likes of Edith Poor (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), Steen Raskopoulos (The Duchess), Shari Sebbens, Josh Thomson, Jonny Brugh, Pallavi Sharda, Susan Ling Young, Raj Labade and Lucy Schmidt.
The show will follow Hannah Howard (Ward), the managing director of packaging company, Flinley Craddick, in a post-Covid present day. When her managers inform her that her branch will be closed down and everyone forced to work from home, she “goes into survival mode,” making promises she can’t keep in order to keep her “work family” together.
Alongside the initial announcement of the show’s release, co-creator of the original BBC show Ricky Gervais added, “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.”
Felicity Ward best is known for her stand-up, as well as her appearances on Spicks and Specks, Thank God You’re Here, and Good News Week. She has also appeared in The Inbetweeners 2 and Wakefield.
This will be the 13th version of the hit British mockumentary show that ran from 2000-2001, co-created by Gervais and Stephen Merchant. The original series was highly critically acclaimed during its short run, winning several BAFTAs and being nominated for two Primetime Emmys. It has gone on to be remade in countries including India, Israel, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Germany, France, Finland, Sweden, and Poland, with varying levels of success. However, the US version, starring Steve Carrell, John Krasinski, and Rainn Wilson, and dubbed ‘a rare triumph,’ is currently the most renowned remake.
The newest incarnation of The Office will begin production in Sydney in June, with an expected release in 2024.
Words by Faye Price
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