Is The Office Australia a reboot too far?
The latest version of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's mockumentary feels like a 'bad case of déjà vu'

"David Brent and the staff of Wernham Hogg paper merchants in Slough changed the face of British comedy when they first arrived on BBC2 in 2001," said Tim Glanfield in The Sunday Times.
Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's mockumentary series wasn't an immediate hit, but it has come to be seen "as one of the most influential sitcoms of the modern era", and it went on to spawn more than a dozen international versions, the most recent of which has just arrived from Australia on Prime Video.
Writing feels 'flat'
While some things are the same – Nick and Greta, for instance, "are very much the down under answer to Tim and Dawn" – others are new, said Jonathan Dean in the same paper. "There was no HR department in Slough", for instance. There's also – for the first time in the history of "The Office" – a female boss, played by Felicity Ward. But alas, though the "central conceit" of a post-Covid office is fresh, the writing feels "flat" and the characters over-familiar.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A nail in the coffin?
This production is "kind of 'The Office', but not really 'The Office'"; and for fans of the original it might produce "a bad case of déjà vu", said Luke Buckmaster in The Guardian. From the start, "the jokes are pretty lame", and the cast look "a bit dazed and glassy-eyed, like fish nearing their last breath".
"Accents and a few plot points aside, "The Office" Australia is so lacking in distinctive flavour, and so adherent to such a generic format", that it feels as if it could have been made anywhere, anytime. Perhaps this version will put a nail in the franchise's coffin once and for all?
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Scientists and Peter Jackson attempt to bring back an extinct bird — kind of
In the Spotlight Colossal Biosciences was the company behind the 'resurrected' dire wolves
-
'Alaska has the resources, but America needs the will'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Nvidia hits $4 trillion milestone
Speed Read The success of the chipmaker has been buoyed by demand for artificial intelligence
-
The Red Brigades: a 'fascinating insight' into the 'most feared' extremist group of 1970s Italy
The Week Recommends A 'grimly absorbing' history of the group and their attempts to overthrow the Italian state
-
Jurassic World Rebirth: enjoyable sequel hampered by plot holes
Talking Point The latest dinosaur reboot captures the essence of the original – but leans too heavily on 'CGI-heavy set pieces'
-
Summer in Seattle: Outdoor dining like nowhere else
Feature Featuring a patio with a waterfront view, a beer garden, and more
-
Film reviews: F1: The Movie, 28 Years Later, and Familiar Touch
Feature An aging race car driver gets one last chance, a kid struggles to survive in this '28 Days Later' update, and a woman with dementia adjusts to her new life
-
Diane Arbus' Constellation is the largest-ever collection of her work
Feature Park Avenue Armory, New York City, through Aug. 17
-
July fiction: Summers to remember
Feature Featuring the latest summer-themed novels from Darrow Farr, Lucas Schaefer, and more
-
Jeff in Venice: a 'triumph of tackiness'?
In the Spotlight Locals protest as Bezos uses the city as a 'private amusement park' for his wedding celebrations
-
Shami Chakrabarti picks her favourite books
The Week Recommends The politician and human rights activist shares the polemics that inspired her