Australian ‘The Office,’ Starring Felicity Ward, Gets Release Date

The Australian edition of “The Office” — the 13th global incarnation of the iconic comedy series — is taking shape, with Prime Video setting a release date and releasing a first-look at its lead, Felicity Ward.

The “Time Bandits” and “Wakefield” star will play Hannah Howard, managing director of packaging company Flinley Craddick and the first female lead of “The Office” franchise. All eight episodes will become available globally on Oct. 18 via Prime Video (excluding the U.S.).

Starring alongside Ward is an ensemble of Australian and New Zealand comedy talent. The cast includes Edith Poor (“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”), Steen Raskopoulos (“The Duchess”), Shari Sebbens (“The Sapphires”), Josh Thomson (“How to Please a Woman”), Jonny Brugh (“Thor: Love and Thunder”), Susan Ling Young (“Reckoning”, “Hungry Ghosts”), Raj Labade (“Appetite”), Lucy Schmidt (“The Pledge”), Zoe Terakes (“Talk to Me”), Pallavi Sharda (“The Twelve”) and Claude Jabbour (“Last King of the Cross”). Meanwhile, Susie Youssef (“Deadloch”), Justin Rosniiak (“Mr Inbetween”), Carlo Ritchie (“Mikki vs the World”), Rick Donald (“Population 11”) and Chris Bunton (“Relic”) will appear in guest roles.

In the Australian version of “The Office,” Howard gets news from head office that they will be shutting down her branch and forcing everyone to work remotely, a move that sees her go 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 Howard’s outlandish plots as they work toward the impossible targets that have been set for them.

The Amazon Original series is co-produced by BBC Studios Australia & New Zealand, Bunya Entertainment and Amazon MGM Studios, and is based on the BBC Studios format. “The Office” was developed for Australia by writers Julie De Fina (“Aftertaste”) and Jackie van Beek (“The Breaker Upperers,” “Nude Tuesday”) with the pair also serving as executive producers. Kylie Washington (“Return to Paradise”) is executive producer with lead producer Sophia Zachariou (“Ladies in Black,” “The Moth Effect”) and producer Linda Micsko (“The Letdown,” “Laid”). Van Beek also serves as  set-up director alongside directors Christiaan Van Vuuren (“Bondi Hipsters,” “A Sunburnt Christmas”) and Jesse Griffin (“Educators”), who is also a writer on the series.