Since first airing in the UK in 2001, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s comedy The Office has spread like a weed into comedy ecosystems around the world.
The original was sold to over 80 countries. To date, more than a dozen countries have made their own adaptations, including Poland, Canada, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and a hugely successful U.S. version. The question is not why we would get the Australian version, but why it took so long.
We all know that setup. In a boring office, a crappy boss treats his employees like his own personal audience with the help of a nifty sidekick, while two people who aren’t just weirdos spend their time flirting with each other. spending time. As long as there are boring jobs and annoying bosses, it’s a format that will never die.
Office: Australia
In the Australian version, Hannah Howard (Felicity Ward) is the managing director of the Sydney branch of packaging company Finley Craddick. Her always entertaining performance here is closer to the US version of Steve Carell than Ricky Gervais, but that’s no big surprise.
The Office: Watch the trailer
The Office may be around forever, but over the decades comedy has moved away from the raunchy approach that made Gervais a star. Remember that scene in the first episode of The Office when the deadly serious David Brent tearfully tells Dawn that he’s getting fired, and then says it’s just a joke? This version does not have that scene.
office. Image: Prime Video/BBC/Bunya Entertainment.
When the regional director (Pallavi Sharda) tells Hanna that the staff is perfectly fine with working from home, the office will be closed and everyone will work remotely, she panics. What if, she says, instead of closing the office, we brought everyone back full-time and earned enough to cover the full rent by the end of the year?
Now you have a watch to get you through the rest of the season. If Hannah doesn’t find a way to bring in money, it’s all over.
Then again, almost every version of The Office has a subplot that goes, “Oh, they’re going to shut us down,” and tying it to working from home doesn’t make this version any funnier . In particular, it quickly becomes clear that while theoretically everyone wants to work from home, the only two capable workers are Nick (Steen Raskopoulos) and Greta (Shari Sebbens). As seen in each movie, there is some kind of flirting going on at work. Another version of this series.
Do they really want to leave their true love behind, not to mention the naughty cop’s persistent Lizzie Moyle (Edith Poore)?
Office: Rich seams
A lot has changed in the office over the past two decades, from stagnant wages, increased automation, endless cost-cutting, excessive workloads, obscenely wealthy upper echelons, and 90-minute commutes to rich comedy. There is no doubt that it has been dug up. Well, probably not the commute, as anyone who remembers the Australian sitcom The Squinters knows all too well. But in this version, The Office doesn’t play that role.
ScreenHub: Prime Video: New shows and movies to stream in October 2024
There are some decent jokes sprinkled throughout. In the first episode, Lizzie sells off her office chairs to raise cash and everyone is forced to work at standing desks (which are just old desks). Hannah may want everyone in the office, but Zoom has plenty of interesting backgrounds she can’t wait to show off. Maybe if this wasn’t The Office you could do this kind of thing.
office. Image: Prime Video.
Instead, it’s a checklist of tics and tropes that we’re familiar with over the course of two seasons and two specials in the UK version, and nine full seasons in the US version. Excerpt from an interview to highlight a joke you already got? Are you facing the camera to highlight a joke you already got? mischief? A vaguely threatening warehouse worker? A co-worker who seems almost unemployable? Do you have a boss who is almost impossible to hire? And it will be.
Office: Silly Errands
Expecting realism from a sitcom is a fool’s errand. Expecting fresh jokes? It’s a little more reasonable. But the appeal here isn’t that you’re getting a brand new and funny Australian sitcom. We’re getting local versions of international formats that you (probably) already know and love. The important thing is not to be good at it, but to be good at giving viewers the same impression as before.
office. Image: Prime Video.
Based on that alone, the (Australian) office is perfectly fine. There’s not much gas left in the tank, but the fact that we can now see some fresh faces of our favorite characters is a small charm in itself. An all-new sitcom starring the same talent about office work in 2024 would almost certainly have been funnier, but why do something original and exciting when the tried-and-true format is already sitting on the shelves? Should you bet on it?
The Office will premiere on Prime Video on October 18, 2024.
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