The Office is officially getting a new Australian remake and people are not convinced it is going to be a resounding success.
News of the new Aussie regeneration of the Ricky Gervais/Stephen Merchant-created sitcom was announced on Monday (August 19), with all eight episodes of the show set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on October 18.
The show will star Australian comedian Felicity Ward as the franchise’s first ever female lead, playing Hannah Howard, the managing director of the Flinley Craddick packaging company.
It will be the 13th version of The Office around the world, after the huge success of the US version, starring Steve Carell as Michael Scott, having run for nine seasons from 2005 to 2013.
Following the announcement, fans of the The Office have been reacting on social media, with some expressing doubt that the new version can live up to its predecessors, and others questioning why it would be happening now, over two decades since the debut of the UK original.
VERY australian-TV-industry-coded to poop a The Office remake out 20 years too late pic.twitter.com/u7BmTIJj6I
— Jay K Cagatay (@jayktweets) August 19, 2024
It took Australia this long to tackle The Office? https://t.co/wOMsymgUrl
— SJWJamesBond Wants Nazis Banned ︽✵︽ Agent of GIRL (@mvbrat91) August 19, 2024
If any of you show me even a second of the Australian remake of The Office I’m sending you anthrax in the mail
— The One and Only Peter Falk (@thepeterfalk) August 19, 2024
i can only assume an australian version of the office will suck
— matt (@mattDCLXVI) August 20, 2024
Others have complained that the new reboot proves that there are not enough new ideas being commissioned.
First Death In Paradise, now The Office.
C'mon Australian television executives, can't we do better?
— "Ceasefire Now" says CJ Murrumbeena (@CJMurrumbeena) August 20, 2024
the australian version of the office, may be the worst thing to happen to TV since australian top gear
— Stuart Collinson (@pommystu90) August 19, 2024
australian reboot of the office?! good lord… next theyre going to make a british version or something! https://t.co/wVrzubdRQ0
— Charlotte
(@pooptornado4) August 19, 2024
Others have pointed out that an Australian version of The Office is somewhat redundant, given the existence of Utopia, an Australian comedy series that has been running for five seasons and is set in the working life of the office of a government infrastructure organisation.
If this ends up being bad, just watch Utopia instead. Pretty much a blend of The Office, The Thick of It, and the Australian public service, and is a right hoot. Oh, and mums love it. Source: mine. https://t.co/sB5DmzNq16 pic.twitter.com/yy3oNTi3ed
— John Whinfield | Voice Actor
(@JakVox) August 19, 2024
We already have an Australian version of The Office. It’s called Utopia. And it’s better than The Office https://t.co/BTJGm8GGw7
— Keelan (@I_am_da_BOM) August 20, 2024
like is this not the office but australian pic.twitter.com/N5AZ1dDxBE
— taylor venus
(@harleysalicent) August 20, 2024
Isn’t the Australian version of The Office called Utopia?
— Katherine of Tarragon (@TarragonKath) August 20, 2024
See other reactions to the news here:
An Aussie version of The Office?? Oh Oh. This spells disaster
Australian Version, Launches October 18 – could it possibly be any good? https://t.co/Hvw2DZqpzI #TheOffice #australianTV
— Tiger Tom (@Tommy10cents) August 20, 2024
An Australian reboot of the office? pic.twitter.com/sZNzre9AHg
— The Antidisestablishmentarian. (@Lacertosus_7766) August 20, 2024
In addition to the Australian version, a new spin-off from the US version of The Office is in the works, starring Domhnall Gleeson. It will feature a new set of characters set in the same universe, and in June, Carell confirmed he would not appear in the show.
The official teaser for the show states: “The documentary crew that immortalised Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch is in search of a new subject when they discover a dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters.”
The post Fans of ‘The Office’ are suspicious of the new Australian remake appeared first on NME.
