New The Office won't please everyone… or almost no one (opinion)

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When it was announced that The Office would get an Australian version, I was afraid, in disbelief and, deep down, oddly enough, with an open heart for whatever might come. Most fans, of course, didn't like the idea, as the series is one of the most loved of all time – and the first thought that comes to mind is always “why change what's already good, right?”

My optimistic side reminded me that our favorite version of the series would remain there untouched, so why not make room for new versions of what we love? And, more than that, bringing different cultural elements to add to the plot?

Well, the big problem here is that, with a huge base of loyal fans of the American version of The Office, it was already expected that the new Australian series would have a long and difficult battle ahead to be loved.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, according to those who supported it even before the premiere), the version has everything to fall into oblivion.

In the production, which maintains the obligatory mockumentary style, we follow Hanna Howard, the administrative director of the packaging company Flinley Craddick. When she receives news that the parent company intends to close the office – making all employees work remotely – she goes into denial.

To keep the “corporate family” together in person, it promises goals that are practically impossible to meet, putting employees in bizarre situations at work.

In the new version we have all the main elements of the American Office: a boss who wants to be loved by her employees, that kiss-ass in a brown suit, the couple of friends who are secretly in love with each other, the coffee addict who just wants to go home … and so on.

The character dynamics also remain the same, with pranks between two employees who are always teasing each other, glances at the camera in absurd situations and the boss who is always shouting “meeting room, five minutes!”.

Maybe here it is the biggest pitfall of the Australian version of the series: the lack of personality. And yes, we all know it's just an adaptation of the original series. But adaptations can (and should!) add different touches, new dynamics and characters that can make that production unique.

This is what we can say about the American The Office, for example. While it only tried to replicate the British version in the first season, it was far from reaching its full potential. Everything changed, however, when the series developed its own personality, even though it was still adapting an already known story.

Still, the Australian version has a current backdrop that leaves plenty of room for discussions and jokes. After all, the home office vs. in-person war is still going strong two years after the end of the pandemic and, in the midst of all this, we still see people having difficulty muting the audio in meetings or turning off the camera when necessary.

With little personality of its own and even less endearing characters, The Office Australia is exactly what you probably imagined it would be: a duller version of the jokes we love.

The Office USA is on Prime Video

Enjoy the 30-day free trial of Prime Video to watch (or rewatch) the US version of The Office!