Review - Australia's take on the beloved mockumentary sitcom The Office brings us to the Sydney branch of Flinley Craddick, a small packaging company on the brink of being shut down under some real post-2020 circumstances.
We follow the branch's regional manager Hannah Howard (Felicity Ward) - the franchise's first ever female lead - as she scrambles to keep her office running with deranged promises and workplace schemes.
Hannah Howard (Felicity Ward) is hell-bent on keeping her "work family" together, even if it means lying about false orders to work from the office and subjecting everyone to TGIF Fridays. Photo: JOHN PLATT
Howard is hell-bent on keeping her "work family" together, even if it means lying about false orders to work from the office and subjecting everyone to TGIF Fridays (IRL). When Howard is caught out for her lies, she delivers a classic punch to the masses.
"Am I a liar? No, I'm a truth bender. I'm a truth masseuse."
It's lines like these that bring a refreshing take to the bumbling bosses of the past. Hannah Howard is still as inept as her UK and US counterparts, but Ward's take on the character is a bit more manipulative, bringing an edge to the gender dynamics of the show.
The comedian and actor told RNZ's Nine to Noon that her character is something of "a riddle, swallowed by an idiot and shat out by a moron."
"She's a loving, compulsive liar ... a really good-natured character, but she's so manipulative and she'll say anything to get out of a difficult situation," Ward says.
Ricky Gervais as office manager David Brent in the BBC TV series The Office. Photo: YouTube screenshot
The Office franchise now has 13 iterations, including versions in France and India. But like many fans of The Office, I'm particularly loyal to the award-winning British original and its beloved US counterpart.
The Office UK (2001) followed David Brent (Ricky Gervais), the delusional office manager of Wernham Hogg paper company in Berkshire. Brent's antics genuinely made me recoil in my seat as he subjected his bored employees to deeply uninspiring and inappropriate jokes. The show was sharp and cynical and hilarious.
A few years later, in 2005, The Office was reimagined in a US setting, with an all new cast and an equally foolish regional manager at Dunder Mifflin paper company in Scranton. Steve Carrell's Michael Scott brought new warmth and heart to this version as it unravelled into joyous absurdity for nine long seasons.
Now, nearly two decades later, it's Australia's turn to pick up the baton.
The cast of Prime Video's The Office Australia. Photo: JOHN PLATT
Any remake has big boots to fill, but The Office Australia had an especially difficult task. Capturing the magic of those two series would be like catching lightning in a bottle. It already happened with the US version, there's no way it would happen again Down Under.
I went into the first three episodes of The Office Australia with admittedly low expectations. I was prepared to cringe, but not in the way the format wants you to. More in the way of, 'Why did we need to need to make this anyway?' and 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.'
I'm happy to report actually watching the show shut all those hating thoughts right down. The Office Australia made me laugh out loud several times, and after I finish this review, I'm heading straight back in to finish the rest of the series.
Felicity Ward, Shari Sebbens and Steen Raskopoulos star in The Office Australia. Photo: Prime Video
The characters and the world feel familar but fresh, and the humour has been adapted to more Australia/New Zealand sensibilities. It's a bit more unhinged, a bit out-the-gate, still acknowledging its British roots but with the warm tones of The Office US.
There's beersies in the office and everyone's betting on the Melbourne Cup. The office tradies are in desperate need of a smoko. And when Greta (Shari Sebbens) shares her relationship concerns with boyfriend Jonny (Jason Perini), his solution is to offer her a threesome with a friend.
In the second episode, a member of the office who has "retired then unretired" dies. People can't quite remember his name, but Howard throws him an impromptu celebratory wake anyway, remembering him as someone who didn't leave and come back "because of a cost-of-living crisis or because the pension's unliveable, but because he loved being here so much."
Shari Sebbens plays Greta in The Office Australia. Photo:
New Zealand fans might also recognise some familiar faces - The Office Australia stars Edith Poor,Josh Thomson, Johnny Brugh and Lucy Schmidt in key roles. Jackie van Beek also helped developed the show for Australia, serving as a main writer and directing four of the episodes, while Jesse Griffin directed two.
The Office Australia is available to stream now on Prime Video.
