The Australian version of The Office has been cancelled after one season after being hit by negative audience reactions.
The eight-episode run premiered on Amazon Prime Video in October last year, with Felicity Ward playing Hannah Howard, the managing director of the Flinley Craddick packaging company. She was the first ever female lead of an Office spin-off.
It was met with mixed reviews and became the subject of some social media backlash, with one X user writing that it made them “want to drink a pint of bleach” and another describing it as “possibly the worst version” of the show. It did, however, perform well in Australia, earning the top-rated opening weekend for a local original show on its release.
Now, it has been reported by The Nightly that Prime Video have cancelled the show, although they have not given a reason for their decision.
It was the 14th adaptation of the BBC series, originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and airing for two seasons in 2001 and 2002 and a Christmas special in 2003.
NME gave the “workaday Australian remake” a two-star review, describing it as being “dogged by déjà vu” but adding: “It took the US Office two seasons to stop being a bad cover version and hit its stride. In this cutthroat climate of streaming where series are prematurely culled, will this be allowed time to settle into its own unique rhythm? A fatalistic question that would probably be followed in The Office by a reaction cutaway shot to somebody’s eyes awkwardly darting from side to side.”
When the Australian adaptation was announced in May 2023, Gervais said in a statement: “I’m very excited about Australia remaking my little show from the turn of the century. Office politics have changed a bit in 20 years, so can’t wait to see how they navigate a modern-day David Brent.”
Elsewhere, the new spin-off show The Paper debuted last month on Peacock in the US and Sky and NOW TV in the UK. It takes place in the same universe as the US version and stars Domhnall Gleeson as an idealistic new employee looking to revive a local newspaper.
In a four-star review, NME wrote: “Tim Key may be a scene-stealer but he’s matched by Impacciatore, who imbues narcissistic Esmeralda with deranged dignity. Quite often, she’s the agent of chaos who busts this show out of its comfort zone. In one episode, she becomes convinced that office duffer Barry (Duane R. Shepard Sr.) is an incubus pursuing her in her dreams. Does it all add up to watercooler TV? Probably not, but The Paper is definitely worth a binge on your next annual leave day.”
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