So, shake it off…the cast is brilliant and the awks-comedy is too glorious to behold to listen to people who don’t like this new series*.
THE OFFICE AUSTRALIA was always going to be a tough sell. Independent of the fact it’s the 12th spin-off from the ground-breaking Gervais/Merchant mockumentary that spawned each one (including the much loved 9 seasons of the US version that became a lockdown re-watch staple), ‘THE OFFO’ was always going to be a target.
After smashing through all 8 episodes of this Australasian iteration, this reviewer thinks anyone who doesn’t love THE OFFICE AUSTRALIA didn’t watch it at all.
Felicity Ward plays Hannah Howard, the titular boss and centrepiece of the series. Ward as Howard delivers a level of insecurity and lack of awareness fans would be comfortable with though it’s Hannah’s motivation and determination to perform that’s makes her stand out. If all the world’s a stage then this ‘documentary’ is Hannah’s global tour, and 8 eps is not enough to fully appreciate her overwhelming power (additional seasons would, like the UK & US versions, offer the writers and performers a chance to give viewers a greater insight to this and other characters, and rust us on as champions of this messy muddle of a woman). Ward really makes Howard a stand-alone character in a world of comparison to the other bosses, and (by Ward’s own admission) it is the ADHD-esque energy that Hannah brings to the office that makes her most overwhelming in the best way.
Edith Poor shines as Lizzie Moyle, FC’s brow-beaten receptionist and enthusiastic lickspittle to Hannah, replete with assistance crow. She’s dark, focused, and despite that which ostracises her Lizzie really wants to just fit in. What a needle to thread, and well done to Poor for giving us this interpretation. Shari Sebbens and Steen Raskopolous are wonderful as Greta King and Nick Fletcher respectively, offering just enough hints to their love story without overtaking any of the episodes while also engaging in a normality that grounds the series. Jonny Brugh is a delight as Lloyd Kneath, the beleaguered IT manager who is struggling with returning to work post-COVID as he moved north during the pandemic and his commute is now 2 hours each way. Plus he doesn’t seem to be very good at his job, so…that’s a problem.
It was Josh Thomson’s performance that most deeply tickled my funny bone. His characterisation as Martin Katavake, the HR rep, delivers a dryness not seen even in the Nullarbor mid-Summer. It is very clear Martin is over everyone’s shit – especially Hannah’s – and just wants to get on with getting the day done and going home. Filling out the rest of the excellent core cast are Zoe Terakes, Pallavi Sharda, Susan Ling-Young, Raj Labade, and Lucy Schmidt.
The guest cast, including Susie Youssef, Heath Franklin, Rick Donald, and Carlo Ritchie, all shine in their various moments too – a real sign of a solid ensemble comedy.
Understandably the first episode has a lot of heavy lifting to do in establishing Flinley Craddick – our fictitious Aussie paper company – and its menagerie of dysfunctional staff. It does so with aplomb, however the series really establishes its deep antipodean roots with the Melbourne Cup-themed episode (I’ve worked in that office on a Cup day like that and it was at least that ugly), and starts to connect the characters in a gentle and genuine way. The episodes slip and slide through myriad other opportunities to showcase the cast and the laughs contained therein. For mine, it is the episode entitled ‘The Wake’ that brought the biggest belly laughs. Hannah has to reduce her headcount and advises her boss she already fired someone…who turns out to have died very recently. Not one to miss an opportunity to be the centre of attention, even vicariously, she arranges for a wake in the office for the newly-departed and little-known colleague. How little-known? Come for the free food; stay for the tribute PowerPoint.
Of course there are similarities to the original (that in itself is the nature of a format play). There’s an awkward, needy boss; a determined and equally-but-differently awkward number two; and a burgeoning love story. The gloriousness of this Aussie story is how those seeds are sprinkled on the fertile soil of office life down under and intermingle with the other characters and situations that play across the season…and full credit to creatives Julie De Fina and Jackie van Beek for their deft touches to draw out the uniqueness of every situation that draws us in and allows us to see ourselves and people we know in these characters and stories.
The overwhelming feeling I had as I finished each episode was “next, please!”. I wanted more – more of each character, more layers of their lives and motivations, more of the drudgery of normal office life played for its excruciating and hilarious best. The only disappointment I experienced was a lack of a season two call as I know this is where we will start to get a much deeper appreciation of our new office-bound besties. THE OFFICE AUSTRALIA has all the right comedic and emotional beats needed to endear itself the first time around and be eminently re-watchable as you revisit your new workmates again and again.
Bring on season two, please!
THE OFFICE AUSTRALIA (season one – 8 eps) is available in full now right now on Prime Video.
*(Besides, nobody is making you watch it so shuffle on, you trollish man-babies.)
