New office. New Aussie boss. Prime Video announced that hotly-anticipated Australian Original The Office will premiere 18 October. The comedy series is the thirteenth version of the global hit juggernaut franchise and has the first-ever female lead in the iconic role, comedian and actor Felicity Ward (Time Bandits, Wakefield, The Inbetweeners 2) who plays Hannah Howard, Managing Director of Flinley Craddick. All eight episodes of The Office will be available 18 October exclusively on Prime Video in 240 countries and territories worldwide (excluding the U.S.) in the Prime membership. Prime members across the globe enjoy savings, convenience, and entertainment, all in a single membership.
Prime Video also released a first look image from the series which features an ensemble of Australian and New Zealand comedy talent. Starring alongside Felicity Ward is Edith Poor (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Power of the Dog), Steen Raskopoulos (The Duchess, Feel Good), Shari Sebbens (The Sapphires, Thor: Love and Thunder), Josh Thomson (How to Please a Woman, Young Rock), Jonny Brugh (Thor: Love and Thunder, What We Do in the Shadows), Susan Ling Young (Reckoning, Hungry Ghosts), Raj Labade (Appetite), Lucy Schmidt (The Pledge), Zoe Terakes (Talk To Me, Nine Perfect Strangers), Pallavi Sharda (The Twelve), Claude Jabbour (Last King of the Cross, Stateless) with Susie Youssef (Deadloch, Rosehaven), Justin Rosniiak (Mr Inbetween, Last King of the Cross), Carlo Ritchie (Mikki vs the World), Rick Donald (Population 11, Wentworth), and Chris Bunton (Relic, Wolf Like Me) in guest roles.
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.
It was over 20 years ago that the world was introduced to the wonderfully bleak mockumentary world of The Office, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. While many aspects of the workplace have changed since then, especially post 2020, the physical office is a timeless precinct for comedy, and one that will never tire an audience as long as the characters are authentic, familiar, faced with relatable dilemmas, and, most importantly, entertaining and hilarious. This universal appeal has seen the BAFTA- and Golden Globe-winning cult comedy remade for audiences around the world, including France, Canada, Chile, Israel, India, the Middle East, and Poland, where a third season has just been announced. This Australian version is the thirteenth adaptation.
The eight-part Australian Amazon Original series The Office is co-produced by BBC Studios Australia & New Zealand, Bunya Entertainment, and Amazon MGM Studios, and is based on a BBC Studios format. The Office was developed for Australia by writers Julie De Fina (Aftertaste) and Jackie van Beek (The Breaker Upperers, Nude Tuesday) with the pair also serving as executive producers. Kylie Washington (Return to Paradise) is executive producer with lead producer Sophia Zachariou (Ladies in Black, The Moth Effect) and producer Linda Micsko (The Letdown, Laid). Van Beek also serves as set-up director (Time Bandits, What We Do in the Shadows, Wellington Paranormal) alongside directors Christiaan Van Vuuren (Bondi Hipsters, A Sunburnt Christmas) and Jesse Griffin (Educators) who is also a writer on the series.
Since 2019, Prime Video has commissioned 30 Australian Original series and features in Australia—The Test Season One-Three, Making Their Mark, LOL: Last One Laughing Australia with Rebel Wilson, Back to the Rafters, Luxe Listings Sydney Season One-Three, award-winning feature-length documentary Burning, The Moth Effect, Head Above Water, Kick Like Tayla, Warriors On The Field, Class of ’07, Deadloch Season One & Two, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, Dance Life, the lifestyle special Hugh van Cuylenburg: G.E.M, a series of ten stand-up comedy specials, Neighbours, Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles, Five Blind Dates, The Office and the upcoming The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Top End Bub.
Prime members will be able to watch all episodes of The Office anywhere and anytime on the Prime Video app for smart TVs, mobile devices, Fire TV, Fire TV stick, Fire tablets, Apple TV and stream online. In the Prime Video app, Prime members can download episodes on their mobile devices and tablets and watch anywhere offline at no additional cost. Prime Video is available in Australia at no extra cost to a Prime membership at just AU$9.99/month or $79 annually. New customers can find out more at www.primevideo.com and subscribe to a free 30-day trial.
