The Office Remake’s New Star Says Ricky Gervais Approved Of Female Lead

The Office is being remade in Australia, with a new series set to premiere this October. Ahead of the show’s debut on Prime Video, series star Felicity Ward said The Office creator Ricky Gervais himself approved her casting and the decision to make the show focus on a female lead. Ward also talked about how she did “zero” preparation for the role of Hannah Howard, because she felt the character already matched her style and personality.

“Ricky Gervais has approved a female lead; he’s very excited about a female lead–just in case anyone is angry,” Ward said at a recent event, as reported by Variety.

She went on to jokingly say she is feeling “pretty chill” ahead of the show’s debut in Australia and the UK on October 18. “English people and people that love The Office, they’re like, ‘Hey, whatever you do with it is fine,'” she said with a laugh.

Ward plays Howard, the manager of a Sydney-based box company called Flinley Craddick. She takes up the mantle of bumbling office boss from Gervais, who played David Brent on the original series, and later Steve Carrell for the American version.

“I did zero preparation, because I read the script and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, this is every annoying part of my personality.’ I’ve been preparing for this my whole life,” Ward said. “It was just all in the script. And I don’t know if it’s [showrunner] Julie De Fina… I don’t know how much she had seen of me before, but it was as if she just, like, got the tapes and then edited out the charm and the bits that people liked and and then just wrote a character, so it’s just there.”

The Office will be available in Australia and the UK on Prime Video on October 18, but it’s not clear if it will also be coming to America. The Office’s new version for Australia is just the latest international edition of the series, having previously been adapted in places like Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Czechia, India, Israel, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and Sweden. Gervais, who controls the rights to The Office, has made a fortune from the series over the years.

Meanwhile, Peacock has already given the green light for The Paper, an Office follow-up series that will feature Star Wars sequel trilogy actor Domhnall Gleeson and White Lotus’ Sabrina Impacciatore in the leading roles. That series doesn’t currently have a release date.