EXCLUSIVE: Many people decided the office was no longer for them after the Covid-19 pandemic, but not so Felicity Ward, or her new alter-ego, Hannah Howard. Comedian and actress Ward is starring in The Office Australia , one of the most hotly anticipated series outside of the U.S.
, marking the first time a woman has played the iconic (mis)manager role that Ricky Gervais first made famous on the BBC. Sarah Christie, Senior Development Executive at Amazon MGM Studios in Australia, which is working on The Office for the Prime Video streaming service, is aware of the weight of expectation and the need to try something new. “It is huge, iconic IP,” she told Deadline.
With NBC’s Michael Scott joining Gervais’ David Brent in the annals of TV comedy history, and other incarnations in countries as wide apart as Germany and Chile, the challenge is sizeable. Related Stories News Uncertainty Over Australian Streamer Regulation "Causing Great Angst," Claims Producers Body News David Guion & Michael Handelman Tapped To Pen Amazon MGM Adaptation Of Beverly Cleary's 'The Mouse And The Motorcycle' “We want to honor the legacy but also provide something Australian to give it that local flavor,” said Christie. “There are 14 versions of The Office out there and we’re the first where the boss is a woman .
.. And she is just as flawed, worthy and in love with herself as the other ones.
” The series, which Amazon is making with BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand and Bunya Enterta.