The Office's 2024 Australian spinoff just revealed the first look at Steve Carell's replacement—or, at least, the woman who will be the boss.
The Office first originated in the United Kingdom with the show being created by, and starring, Ricky Gervais. Gervais played David Brent, a general manager at a paper merchant whose antics lead to an eventful and chaotic work environment.
Most people, however, will know the United States reboot of the series which first aired in March 2005 and went on for nine seasons. That's where Steve Carell's iconic role of Michael Scott, the boss at Dunder Mifflin Scranton, was born.
Sadly, Carell left the show in Season 7, leaving it to finish its last two seasons without its foundational star - aside from a brief cameo in the series finale.
The Office Australia Gives First Look at Its New Boss
Move over Steve Carell—The Office has revealed the first look t a the boss of Australia's upcoming Prime Video spinoff show, as reported by Deadline, and she couldn't be more different.
This new show will follow the workers at a branch of Finley Craddick packaging company (not a paper merchant like the original series), and their boss will be Hannah Howard, who is played by Felicity Ward (Time Bandits, Wakefield, The Inbetweeners 2).
This is the first time the franchise has ever had a female-led show.
Here's a look at the brief synopsis released by Prime Video, which teases Hannah Howard "making promises she can't keep" and orchestrating "outlandish plots" in order to "keep her 'work family' together:"
"When she gets news from Head Office that they will be shutting down her branch and making everyone work from home, Hannah 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."
Additional cast members of Australia's The Office include Edith Poor, Steen Raskopoulos, Shari Sebbens, Josh Thomson, Jonny Brugh, Susan Ling Young, Raj Labade, Lucy Schmidt, Zoe Terakes, Pallavi Sharda and Claude Jabbour.
Additionally, Susie Youssef, Justin Rosniiak, Carlo Ritchie, Rick Donald, and Chris Bunton will appear in guest roles.
Amazon Studios' The Office: Australia will debut all eight episodes of its first season on October 18, only on Prime Video. A new poster can also be seen below.
The Long Legacy of The Office
There should be no doubt that Felicity Ward's Hannah Howard will make a lasting mark on The Office's legacy with a hilarious and memorable performance. She's a talented actress, after all, and with it being a Prime Video original, the quality could easily be there all around.
Technically, The Office: Australia is unrelated to any other version of the show, including Steve Carell's mainstay US series. It takes place in its own storyline and won't interact with any other iteration of the show.
Australia is also far from the only country to try its own spinoff on the concept. In total, 16 different countries (including Greece, Israel, Sweden, and more) have either released or are set to release their own adaptation of the hit series.
Those hoping for a continuation of the US version of the series are in luck, however. Peacock has picked up a proper spinoff called The Paper that takes place in the same fictional universe as the original series.
Details on that project are slim, but actors Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore will star. Given that it takes place in the same universe as The Office, it also leaves the door open for fun cameos from the original cast--perhaps even Steve Carell himself!
The original United States version of The Office can be found streaming on Peacock.
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