Prime Video orders female lead remake of The Office UK

Prime Video turns The Office UK into a new female comedy with stand-up Felicity Ward in the role that first made Ricky Gervais famous.

Gervais' David Brent becomes Hannah Howard in the series, with Ward putting her own spin on bad team management at packaging company Flinley Craddick. When she is told by HQ that her branch is closing and everyone has to work from home, she resorts to survival, making promises she can't keep to keep her "work family" together.



Ward (pictured) is best known as a stand-up and from ABC series Spicks and Specks (2014) and Wakefield.

Additional cast includes Edith Poor (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), Steen Raskopoulos (The Duchess), Shari Sebbens (The Heights (AU)), Josh Thomson (Young Rock), Jonny Brugh (Mystic), Pallavi Sharda (The Twelve), Susan Ling Young (Reckoning), Raj Labade, Lucy Schmit (Legend of the Seeker), and Firass Dirani (Underbelly).

This is the thirteenth remake of the series and the first with a female lead. In the US, Steve Carrell's Michael Scott is one of the sitcom's best-known characters. There have been remakes before in France, Canada, Chile, Israel, the Middle East and Poland, where a third season has just been ordered.

The Office: Australia will launch worldwide on Prime Video (excluding the US) in 2024. BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand and Bunya Entertainment are attached to the eight-part series. Filming for the series will begin in June in Sydney, Australia, and will take eight weeks to complete.

"We are delighted to bring one of the largest comedy franchises ever created to Prime Video customers in Australia and around the world," said Sarah Christie, Senior Development Executive Prime Video Australia. "It's an honor to continue The Office UK's international comedy legacy locally while introducing new, quintessentially Australian characters. We can't wait for audiences to meet Hannah Howard, the first female boss to explore The Office ."

Gervais, who co-created the original BBC series with Stephen Merchant, added: "I'm really excited about the Australian remake of my little turn-of-the-century series. Office politics have changed a bit in 20 years so I can't wait to see how they navigate a contemporary David Brent."