The Australian remake of The Office hadn't even started filming when fans began to complain – mostly about the casting of comedian Felicity Ward as the franchise's first female lead.
"A lot of people love the British Office for how politically incorrect it is," says Ward. "And when we announced the show a year ago, there were lots of people who were like, 'Oh it's probably going to go woke!' They were already angry that it wouldn't be as offensive."
Ward plays Hannah Howard, the incompetent, fragile and needy manager of a Western Sydney sales office for paper company Flinley Craddick – our very own Michael Scott or David Brent, the bumbling leaders of the sitcom's US and UK versions.
She's far from a feminist icon, says Ward, adding that it's a joy to play a pure "chump".
"Hannah is an absolute nightmare," she says. "She's terrible at her job, incompetent. People don't like her, they tolerate her. Nobody knows why she has a job or how she isn't fired everyday.
"She's like Liz Truss – she shows that now even women can be in positions of power and mediocre at their jobs."
We meet Hannah in a spiral, as upper management announces Flinley's offices are closing in favour of remote work, citing high rents and low in-person, post-COVID attendance.
With no community or life outside of work, Hannah scrambles to keep the office open, promising record sales while telling her employees that in-person attendance is, per higher-ups, mandatory.
Hannah's desperate attempts across the eight-episode season to prove how fun office life is – IRL Zoom trivia, pyjama party, team bonding at a reptile park – go as well as you'd expect.
"I'm the first to say I did no preparation for this role," says Ward.
"I empathise, sadly, with Hannah going, 'Come on everyone! We're friends, aren't we?'. That's just me from primary school onwards, though I hope I have a bit more self-awareness than Hannah."
A global formula
Only running for two seasons from 2001 to 2003, the BBC original, created by and starring Ricky Gervais, established a winning formula: A mockumentary set in a branch of a paper company, run by a delightfully delusional, incompetent middle-manager.
And while debates continue over which is supreme, its sunnier American remake starring Steve Carell was the version that cemented The Office as a pop-culture phenomenon across its nine seasons.
Wrapping in 2013, The Office US had a second wind as gen Z discovered it on Netflix, reaching its apex in 2020 when it was "by far" the streamer's most-watched show in the US.
But people seem to be particularly attached to The Office. It's a comfort watch for many, including Billie Eilish, who estimates she's watched the US version 30 times start to finish.
And while there have been more than 10 remakes of the show, including in France (Le Bureau), Brazil (Os Aspones) and Saudi Arabia (Al Maktab), Australia's is the first English-language version since the US's. With Australian comedies Fisk, Kath and Kim and Summer Heights High reaching new, adoring audiences globally via streamers, there's an international appetite for Australian comedy abroad.
Add in that it's streaming globally (except in the US) on Amazon Prime, and it has the potential to pop off – if people give it a chance.
"This is the thing – people are reviewing the trailer," says Ward. "Like people are angry at their trailer? Oh, babe, you're so ready to be angry at this!
"But I'd say, if you love the American Office, you already love a remake already."
What's new?
Across its first season, the Australian Office slowly establishes a distinct identity not immediately apparent in its pilot — which Ward acknowledges is "doing a lot" to set up the series.
Developed by writers Julie De Fina (AACTA-nominated comedy Aftertaste) and Kiwi writer-director Jackie van Beek (Nude Tuesday, The Breaker Upperers), the series plays within the sandbox of the franchise. Expect zooms to deadpan reactions and familiar characters.
"There's a couple of similar relationship dynamics," says Ward, "but apart from that, it's all original scripts, it's all original storylines, it's all original characters."
To use the US characters as reference points, Greta (Shari Sebbens) and Nick (Steen Raskopoulos) are our love-locked Pam and Jim. Hannah's enthusiastic assistant Lizzie (Edith Poor) is Dwight, Stevie (Zoe Terakes) is exasperated warehouse manager Darryl, and so on.
But each has their own quirks beyond an accent or gender change. Accountant Deborah (Lucy Schmidt), for example, may line up best with Angela, but her no-nonsense attitude is less uptight and more unravelled middle-aged lesbian with nothing to lose.
Ward says what truly sets the series apart is that it's a "capsule of Australian culture". There are awkward office sausage sizzles, a Melbourne Cup Day that gets too boozy, escalating tension around who isn't cleaning the jaffle maker after use, and awkward-offensive misunderstandings around who can and can't do a Welcome to Country. (While funny and charming throughout, the show shines brightest in these moments.)
Still, the likes of American political commentator Matt Walsh have pre-emptively written off the show as "proof comedy is dead" due to its diverse casting.
Beyond its gender-flipped characters, Flinley's Western Sydney office reflects the cultural and racial diversity of its setting – with Ward calling the show's diverse cast and crew an asset to its ability to make risqué jokes about race, gender, sexuality and disability.
"It's a modern way to be edgy," says Ward. "Whether [old jokes] were racist or homophobic or bigoted or what have you, those identities are in the room now, or on set making the jokes.
"It's very easy to make fun of minorities. I think it's much more difficult to write scathing comedy that's coming from marginalised communities."
The Office is now streaming on Prime Video.
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