Fans of The Office, I come bearing great and/or terrible news!
So, do you know how the version of the series you probably memorized was a US remake of the UK original? Actually, 11 other countries have remade the series. (It’s the reason Ricky Gervais doesn’t have to worry about angering anyone in Hollywood. Cheeky monkey! What won’t he say?)
Well, now Australia’s doing its own version, and the trailer just dropped.
The Office: Australia edition
The re-remake looks to be an odd mishmash of the US and UK versions of the show, with a post-Covid twist. There are, of course, new characters, at least in name and appearance.
The trailer introduces us to the first female to lead an Office series, Australian comedian Felicity Ward as Hannah Howard. Ward seems to be playing Hannah closer to a David Brent than a Michael Scott, though there are certainly some Scott-isms to be had in there.
As you’d expect, there also appears to be a Jim/Tim, a Pam/Dawn, a Dwight/Gareth, and a grab bag of other parallels. There’s a lady in there who at least looks oddly like Creed.
And they sadly don’t work at DownUnder-Mifflin—I checked. The company is called Flinley Craddick.
Social media reacts to The Office's Australian edition
Obviously, the Internet is going to have opinions on this. And friends, they are about what you’d expect.
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see but after watching this I reckon this Aussie The Office remake is gonna bomb spectacularly.
— Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottlieb) September 18, 2024
‘Kath and Kim Does The Office’ sounds good in theory but…pic.twitter.com/R4xSyNDmsl
It has been drawn to my attention that an Australian version of The Office has been made and I would like to preemptively apologise for what is certain to be the Raygun of television.
— Tim Callanan (@MrTimCallanan) September 17, 2024
Just watched the trailer for the office Australia.. pic.twitter.com/kZiaVgou5V
— Prison Matt ? (@PrisonMatt_) September 18, 2024
*Groans in Australian*
— Adele K Thomas (@AdeleKThomas) September 19, 2024
Utopia is already our "Australian Office".
I don't like that it's clearly imitating the US Office, instead of using the original UK series as a springboard for an Aussie tone.
Instead its a copy of a US remake that was originally tweaked for US audiences. https://t.co/vQv7Hg4OU6
I just watched the trailer for the Australian version of The Office.
— Josè (@SigmaTweeter) September 19, 2024
W T F? @PrimeVideo
It looks like they are trying very hard to be funny and failing terribly. pic.twitter.com/VjrPpypIWm
First of all, how dare you.
— mitrebox (@mitrebox) September 18, 2024
Second of all Utopia (the Australian show) is already a superior Australian version of The Office and recommended for people of any country who find humor in absurd bureaucracy. https://t.co/ZvHZjKAug9
Normally the trailers for movies or TV shows at least somewhat entice me to watch something, but the trailer for The Office Australia is the worst trailer I’ve ever seen. If this is what they’re running with, this could be the worst show in a very, very long time.
— Matthew Stone (@stone1_matthew) September 18, 2024
This looks fine. I just don't understand why this is a thing when Australia already has workplace comedies ('Utopia') and America has moved on from 'The Office' ('Abbott Elementary, 'Animal Control', etc.)... https://t.co/Vhp3fGa8BE
— Jon Bridges (@jonnbridges) September 18, 2024
It’s unclear how much of this is “women starring in thing bad” or “this actually looks inept,” though I imagine the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
It’s not a complete roasting, however. There are a few out there who like what they see:
The Office, revised and updated for the post-pandemic era, and set in Australia. Was not expecting this but having seen the trailer, quite looking forward to it! https://t.co/JT7u7rK6iX
— Arcopol Chaudhuri ?? (@mishtydoi) September 18, 2024
The Office Australia is going to be amazing! https://t.co/BAJWYVPKk6
— Donnie Coulter (@DProduce) September 19, 2024
The Australian Office debuts on Amazon Prime on October 8th. And like most shows in the year 2024, it has (*ginormous sigh*) 8 episodes.
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