The Office remake will have a female protagonist for the first time, and Ricky Gervais has lent his backing to the project.
The franchise has generated a number of various adaptations throughout the world, notably in Finland, Greece, and Saudi Arabia, since the initial incarnation of the programme aired in the UK in 2001.
The Office returns to Australia with Felicity Ward, 42, in the starring role.
The Australian comedian and actress will portray Hannah Howard, the managing director of a packaging firm named Flinley Craddick, and will be the first woman to perform the role among the other versions throughout the world.
Ricky, 61, who co-created The Office with Stephen Merchant, expressed his delight at the news.
‘I’m very excited about Australia remaking my little show from the turn of the century,’ he said.
‘Office politics have changed a bit in 20 years, so can’t wait to see how they navigate a modern-day David Brent.’
The new episode will be set against the backdrop of the Covid-19 epidemic, with Hannah receiving the terrible news that her packaging company’s branch will be closed and her staff would be assigned to work from home.
Hannah ‘goes into survival mode’ as a result, attempting to keep her ‘work family’ together… However, she is’making promises she can’t fulfil’ in the process.
Felicity is best recognised for her roles on television series such as Thank God You’re Here and Good News Week.
View this post on Instagram
She also played the role of Lizzie in the 2014 film The Inbetweeners 2.
Confirming the news of her Office remake, Felicity wrote on Instagram: ‘Ooft. here we go then. Yep, I’m playing the lead in the Australian version of #theoffice . OMFG. absolutely cannot believe it.’
Several people also expressed their excitement, with one person commenting on Instagram: ‘Genius casting. Genius Felicity. Can’t freaking wait.’
‘I find it easy to imagine you entombing a stapler in some jelly, so this could work,’ another remarked.
Felicity also posted a widely-known meme of a boy looking strained, while stating: ‘Me holding onto the secret for months that I’m the new boss in #theoffice Australia.’
The Australian version of The Office is set to launch on Prime Video.
