More than 20 years after British comedian Ricky Gervais gave insufferable middle-manager David Brent global fame, an Australian version of the hit show 鈥淭he Office鈥� is being made, this time with a female lead.
Australian comedian Felicity Ward will play Hannah Howard, the managing director of packaging company Flinley Craddick, the Aussie version of Brent, known as Michael Scott in the hit U.S. series, according to British broadcaster the BBC.
Since its debut in 2001, 鈥淭he Office鈥� has won multiple awards and inspired local versions in countries including Chile, Israel, India, and Poland. The Australian series is the 13th adaption and the first to cast a woman in the lead role.
According to a press release, the eight-part series follows Ward鈥檚 character as she goes into 鈥渟urvival mode鈥� when the company鈥檚 head office shuts down her branch, forcing everyone to work from home.
Ward is best known for her appearances on Australian comedy programs and game shows, as well as TV mini series 鈥淲akefield鈥� and the film 鈥淭he Inbetweeners 2.鈥�
She has also performed at comedy festivals and tweeted Thursday that she鈥檇 been keeping her new role secret for four months.
The Australian edition is co-produced by BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand, Bunya Entertainment, and Amazon Studios.
Production begins in Sydney in June and filming is expected to take eight weeks.
In a statement, Gervais, who co-created 鈥淭he Office鈥� with Stephen Merchant said he was excited about the Australian version.
鈥淥ffice politics have changed a bit in 20 years, so can鈥檛 wait to see how they navigate a modern-day David Brent,鈥� he said.
After so many adaptations of the hit show worldwide, BBC Studios ANZ general manager and creative production director Kylie Washington said it鈥檚 now 鈥淎ustralia鈥檚 turn.鈥�
鈥淲e figured the world is ready for a lovable, flawed, lady boss, ruling over her packaging empire in The Office Australia,鈥� she said.
The new series is set to air in 240 countries from 2024.
