Australian remake of “The Office” criticized

Amazon Prime Video has released the trailer for the Australian adaptation of the sitcom “The Office” and the reactions on the Internet have so far been predominantly negative.

The mockumentary series, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first aired in the UK in 2001 and has since led to a dozen remakes in other countries – most notably the US version starring Steve Carrell.

In this episode, comedian Felicity Ward plays Hannah Howard, the managing director of a Sydney-based packaging company, surrounded by characters painted very similarly to the US and UK versions. This is the first version of the series to feature a female lead.

Rather than reinventing the concept, the show relies on nostalgia and has understandably been criticized for being dated, out of touch with reality, and just plain embarrassing and bad. Others have criticized the parody jokes about the “girlboss” and the timing, as employees are pushing back against corporate efforts to return to the pre-pandemic “five days a week in the office” routine.

Australian commentators have drawn disparaging comparisons to other comedies about toxic and/or dysfunctional workplaces that the country has already produced and which have received praise for their writing/performances, such as Utopia and The Games.

The series, written by Julie De Fina and Jackie van Beek, also stars Edith Poor, Steen Raskopoulos and Shari Sebbens.