Australian Team to Remake “The Office” with Female Lead

A reboot of The Office from Australia. Which is a worse version of England. WHICH IS ALREADY A WORSE VERSION OF THE US. HONESTLY, WHERE DOES IT END WITH YOU PEOPLE??!

There is one correct reaction here, folks.

According to CBR (and Froggy 98),

“Prime Video Australia is developing a new series based on the ever-popular show that originated in the United Kingdom before eventually making its way to the United States. Stand-up comic Felicity Ward will star as the boss of the remake, taking over the role created by Ricky Gervais as David Brent and then popularized by Steven [sic] Carell’s Michael Scott.”

I have a lot of questions. Number one, how dare you? But I’m going to skip the “what” and go straight to the “why.”

Guess what? We already tried doing a lady version of Michael Scott. Her name was Leslie Knope, and it didn’t work, and that’s why they had to pretty much give her character a complete overhaul. It wasn’t easy, but they made it work. (That’s what she said.)

Can we not just have something original rather than shoehorning a woman into a role that wasn’t written for one? If Ricky Gervais’s original UK version was Van Gogh’s The Hands of the Peasants, this spin-off is primed to be motel art.

Besides, it’s not like it’s The Office was LACKING in female representation. I will argue with my last breath that Pamela Beesley Halpert is the protagonist of the show. Melora Harding as Jan Levinson-Gould was an absolute masterclass in subtlety (and higher ranking than Michael, by the way, so if it’s a power issue. . . it’s not?). I just find it insulting that Amazon Prime thinks we need this.

Creator and star of the original UK version Ricky Gervais commented, “I’m very excited about Australia remaking my little show from the turn of the century. Office politics have changed a bit in 20 years, so can’t wait to see how they navigate a modern-day David Brent.”

Indeed, how the turntables. But some of The Office‘s best punchlines are sacred cows nowadays– I’m old enough to remember when they didn’t cut the scene of Nate wearing blackface or censor the word “f*ggy.” Case in point, I’m censoring it here because I CAN’T RISK OFFENDING OUR BIG TECH OVERLORDS.

But at least it won’t dwell on the absolute worst bits of the 2020s work culture, right?

The premise is about an office moving to WORKING FROM HOME. Because THAT makes for great television. Don’t we all love consuming media that reminds us of our collective depression, frustration, anger, impotence, and futility? I watched Superstore, and the Covid season was like somebody took my heart and dropped it into a bucket of boiling tears. And at the same time, somebody else was hitting my soul in the crotch with a frozen sledgehammer. And then a third guy walks in and starts punching me in the grief bone. And I’m crying, and nobody can hear me, because I’m terribly, terribly. . . terribly alone.

Is this REALLY what we want to spend our time watching?

Really, all I want is a new premise, with new characters written honestly, that doesn’t preach progressive values or dwell on the absolute nightmare of recent history. And that may not sound like much, but it’s enough for me.

(FACT: There are a dozen quotes/approximations of quotes from The Office (US) within this article, not including gifs. I’ll give you ten thousand to one odds that no one catches them all. And if ANYONE gives you ten thousand to one on ANYTHING, you take it. If John Mellencamp ever wins an Oscar, I am going to be a very rich woman.)