Prime Video Releases The Official Trailer For Highly-Anticipated Australian Amazon Original Series The Office

AUCKLAND, New Zealand - September 18, 2024 - Incompetency has a brand-new name and it’s Hannah Howard. Meet the charming, yet pretty inept, and definitely not self-aware new female boss in the official trailer for The Office, which Prime Video released today. Comedian and actor Felicity Ward is the first woman to play the iconic lead role, 23 years after The Office first debuted. All eight episodes of The Office premiere October 18 on Prime Video so block out your calendar or, even better, chuck a sickie and binge the series. The Australian Amazon Original comedy series will be available on Prime Video in 240 countries and territories worldwide (excluding the U.S.).

The highly-anticipated Australian version of The Office is the thirteenth adaptation of the global hit franchise and follows the employees at a packaging company, Flinley Craddick in Sydney. The series stars Felicity Ward as Hannah Howard, managing director, Flinley Craddick, Sydney; Edith Poor as Lizze Moyle, receptionist, front desk executive and productivity manager; Steen Raskopoulos as Nick Fletcher, sales representative; Shari Sebbens as Greta King, sales representative; Josh Thomson as Martin Katavake, head of human resources; Jonny Brugh as Lloyd Kneath, head of IT; Susan Ling Young as Tina Kwong, sales representative; Raj Labade as Sebastian Roy, intern; Lucy Schmidt as Deborah Leonard, head of finance; Zoe Terakes as Stevie Jones, head of the warehouse; Pallavi Sharda as Alisha Khanna, regional director, Flinley Craddick Australia; Claude Jabbour as Mason, Greta’s boyfriend and Jason Perini as Johnny, warehouse staff. Guest stars include Susie Youssef, Justin Rosniiak, Carlo Ritchie, Rick Donald, and Chris Bunton.

When Hannah gets news from the Head Office that they will be shutting down her branch and making everyone work from home, she goes into survival mode, making promises she can’t keep in order to keep her “work family” together. The staff of Flinley Craddick indulge her and must endure Hannah’s outlandish plots as they work toward the impossible targets that have been set for them.

“We are so excited for you to meet Hannah Howard, brought to life by the exceptionally talented Felicity Ward,” said Sarah Christie, head of Australian Originals, Amazon MGM Studios. “Office life has changed a lot in the last few years, and we can’t wait to share our very own Aussie spin on a beloved franchise with Prime Video customers around the world. We’re so proud of the series, the phenomenal cast and creative collaborators Julie De Fina, Jackie van Beek, Kylie Washington, Sophia Zachariou, BBC Studios Australia & New Zealand and Bunya Entertainment.”

“I’ve never been so excited to play an optimist incompetent trapped in her own delulu,” said Felicity Ward. “Hannah Howard is every bit the disappointment of a boss we’d all hope she’d be.”

Executive producers and writers, Julie De Fina and Jackie van Beek said: "We hope that audiences love watching the thirteenth version of The Office as much as we loved making the thirteenth version of The Office. Great cast, superb crew, excellent catering.”

“The Office is one of the most iconic formats in the world and one of the crown jewels in the BBC format safe,” said Kylie Washington, general manager and creative director, production, BBC Studios ANZ. “Office environments have changed so much, so we felt like it was perfect timing to investigate what the office means to us and how our work families - good or bad - affect our lives. Having our first female boss wasn’t just about a gender flip, it’s about looking at the whole workplace through the lens of a female boss. It’s certainly time!”

Sophia Zachariou, producer and former co-managing director, Bunya Entertainment, said “The mockumentary format is such a brilliant genre to investigate the human psyche, and the original UK version of The Office with Ricky Gervais blew my mind when I first watched it over 20 years ago. When Kylie and I started talking about doing an Australian version of The Office but with a (world first) female in the lead and with such a pure comedic premise, we thought what could possibly go wrong!?”

It was over 20 years ago that the world was introduced to the wonderfully bleak mockumentary world of The Office, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. While many aspects of the workplace have changed since then, especially post 2020, the physical office is a timeless precinct for comedy, and one that will never tire an audience as long as the characters are authentic, familiar, faced with relatable dilemmas, and, most importantly, entertaining and hilarious. This universal appeal has seen the BAFTA- and Golden Globe-winning cult comedy remade for audiences around the world, including France, Canada, Chile, Israel, India, the Middle East, Poland, and South Africa, which was recently announced.

About Prime Video
Prime Video is a one-stop entertainment destination offering customers a vast collection of premium programming in one application available across thousands of devices. On Prime Video, customers can find their favourite movies, series, documentaries and sports - including Amazon MGM Studios produced series and movies Saltburn, The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power, Reacher and AIR; licenced fan favourites 1882, 1923 and Lioness. Customers can also go behind the scenes of their favourite movies and series with exclusive X-Ray access.

About BBC Studios ANZ
BBC Studios, a global content company with British creativity at its heart, is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC Group. BBC Studios Productions Australia produces BBC formats for the local market and international streamers including Top Gear Australia, The Office Australia, Dancing with the Stars, award-winning The Great Australian Bake Off, The 1% Club and Mastermind and produces original series including Return to Paradise and Ray Martin: The Last Goodbye. BBC Studios Productions Australia owns independent production label Werner Film Productions. The BBC Studios business in Australia and New Zealand has nine channels: BBC UKTV on Foxtel and Fetch TV and BBC Earth, BBC Drama, BBC News, CBeebies, BBC Kids and BBC Brit on Fetch TV in Australia; and BBC UKTV, BBC Earth, BBC News, BBC First and CBeebies on Sky TV in New Zealand. BBC News is available to livestream via bbc.com and the BBC app. It operates SVOD BritBox and distributes great British content from the BBC and other British producers to free-to-air, subscription channels and SVOD platforms and works with partners to bring BBC Studios consumer products, home entertainment and live events to the local market, including for the global Aussie hit, Bluey. Our ANZ Ad Sales team offers domestic and international commercial opportunities across our broadcast and digital portfolio, including BBC.com.

About BBC Studios
BBC Studios is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC Group with sales of £2.1 billion (2021/22: £1,630 million). Able to take an idea seamlessly from thought to screen and beyond, the business is built on two operating areas: the global Content Studio, which produces, invests and distributes content globally and Channels & Streaming, with BBC branded channels, services and joint ventures in the UK and internationally. Around 2,500 hours of award-winning British programmes are made by the business every year, with over 80% of total BBC Studios revenues coming from non-BBC customers including Discovery, Apple and Netflix. Its content is internationally recognised across a broad range of genres and specialisms, with brands like Strictly Come Dancing/Dancing with the Stars, Top Gear, the Planet series, Bluey and Doctor Who. BBC.com is BBC Studios’ global digital news platform, offering up-to-the-minute international news, in-depth analysis and features.

About Bunya Entertainment
Bunya Entertainment is a dynamic, internationally focussed Australian drama and comedy production company. The company is part of the Bunya Media Group and was set up by Sophia Zachariou, Greer Simpkin and David Jowsey as Co-Managing Directors to focus on commercially driven screen projects for a global audience. Bunya Entertainment recently produced the six-part one hour drama series Ladies in Black for the ABC and the 2021 six-part comedy series The Moth Effect for Amazon MGM Studios. The series was nominated for best comedy at the 2021 AACTA awards. The Office Australia is the second commission with Amazon MGM Studios and will screen on Prime Video.

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