36. The Office (Australia’s Version)
If you’re new here, hello I’m Lottie and I love The Office. I have an affinity and am deeply emotionally attached to the American version starring silver fox Steve Carrell. If you’re not new here, you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that I have indeed binged the Australian version starring Sydney-born comedian Felicity Ward as the Michael Scott adjacent character, Hannah Howard. This eight-part series just premiered on Prime Video (not sponsored*) last Friday 18th of October (Zac Efron’s birthday**). I came into this endeavour, wanting to service you all and determine if it’s worth your time. No pre-reading of reviews, nothing has pre-empted my opinions.
To start on a high note, Felicity Ward is undeniably talented. I’m yet to watch more of her work, but she’s either naturally Michael-Scott coded or has done great research and preparation before undertaking one of the most iconic roles in modern television history. Her mannerisms are on par, the looks to the camera reminiscent of Scott’s and overall absolutely carries the show. I only dislike the alliteration of her name; Hannah Howard. Perhaps this unnecessary touch was a way to make her immediately cringe-worthy, so if no one likes the show, they can attribute some of the critiques to that.
I’ll break down the rest in simple terms:
Jim and Pam compared to Nick and Greta: nothing compares to watching this narrative play out in the American show so they had no chance of meeting my expectations. It’s not until the last two episodes that the Australian show even broaches its storyline which I respect.
Meredith parallels with Deb: this show needed a character like this, she fits so right in the Australian context of it all, and she’s got the most edge of all characters, again, I respect her.
Dwight compared to Lizzie: possibly harder than Michael Scott to replicate, unfortunately, Lizzie came nowhere near Dwight. I don’t think there will ever be another Dwight, though I respect her for trying. Edith Poor is possibly the hardest-working actor, bar Felicity Ward, out there.
Toby parallels with Martin: Though they aren’t as obvious parallels, they hold the same HR roles within the office. I’ll always have a soft spot for Toby in my heart, but I appreciate the cocktail of characters Martin is. He is smart like Oscar, on top of things like Angela and of course rule abiding like Toby.
I encourage you to watch the first few episodes. If I were to choose one to skip, personally “Melbourne Cup” didn’t impress me much. It’s a pretty good place to start if it gets renewed for another season. There was a lack of chemistry between the cast, it almost felt like they were strangers communicating, not people who see each other eight hours a day, five days a week. Eight episodes were enough to give us enough of a taste of what happens when production companies invest in Australian talent when passed the baton of iconic television.
*Of course I know I don’t have to disclaim this I just thought it would be funny to include.
**Of course I had to include this, respectfully.
