First, there was the UK’s David Brent, then came Michael Scott from the USA. Now, Australia will have Hannah Howard taking the reins of middle management in The Office Australia.
Produced by BBC Studios ANZ and Bunya Entertainment for Prime Video, The Office Australia will be the newest take on the format that first debuted over 20 years ago.
Mediaweek spoke to Kylie Washington, general manager and creative director at BBC Studios about giving the much loved format an Aussie spin.
“We were so happy to finally announce!” says Washington. “It’s just been something that we’ve been working away at, and really taking the time to find the right partner – and we have with Prime Video. We’re absolutely thrilled that the cat is out of the bag, and we start shooting in June.”
The Office is an iconic format, and an incredibly beloved show. When it comes to creating an Australian version, there is a fine line to walk between giving the show an Aussie flair and staying true to the source material.
“Everyone loves the show and has an opinion about it, and then all of a sudden, here you are with the Australian version in your hands,” says Washington. “You want to keep the DNA of the show that has made it so successful, it’s absolutely paying respects to that – we’re not throwing the baby out with the bath water and reinventing, that’s not what you do when you’re working with a format.
“But also, you need to bring your own Australian flavour. That’s really different depending on what the format is, so there is a lot of introspective thinking about who we are as a country. What kind of version of Australia do we want to be representing?”
With Ricky Gervais as David Brent and Steve Carrell as Michael Scott, in Australia Felicity Ward will be taking the lead role as Hannah Howard. Washington says there was one particular skill that stood out when casting for the role.
“In that cast, you need good comedic actors that have lots of improv skill – and whilst we’ve got incredible scripts, you also want to leave yourself open to improv. Having that improv skill is really key, and she has that in spades.”
Felicity Ward as Hannah Howard
The Office marks BBC Studios’ first foray into scripted content after the appointment of Warren Clarke as head of scripted in February. However, Washington says that the push into scripted has been bubbling away for much longer.
“It’s been something that has been building slowly in the background for the last three years. We’ve built the unscripted slate, and we can continue to build on unscripted, but it was always an ambition to start working in the scripted space. The BBC brand is such a strong brand, it attracts really fantastic, clever people that we want to collaborate with.
“We’ve got the world’s largest scripted format catalogue. You’ve got to have the right reasons as to why you would bring some of these shows out of the catalogue – especially when we’re an English-speaking territory, you have to have a really strong reason. That’s something that Warren and I are working on.”
Of course, BBC Studios are still full steam ahead with their unscripted content, with Washington saying that “we’re having a ball over here” when it comes to their current shows.
“It’s really exciting to see us now operating across nearly every genre,” says Washington. “We’ve got Bake Off, we’re in casting for series seven for that right now. We’ve finished shooting the finale of Dancing with the Stars – we’re the solo producer of that, it’s no longer a co-production with Warner Brothers. We’re going into the second series of The 1% Club, the quiz game show with Jim Jefferies, you’d almost call it stand up comedy. We’re hoping for a series six of Mastermind, we’ve done 425 episodes for SBS.
“In the factual space, we’ve got original factual programs, we’re making one for SBS right now, and hopefully there will be some more announcements to be made in the future. In our scripted space, we’re hopefully soon to be announcing some new titles as well.”
Despite crossing so many genres in their programming, Washington says that there’s one common thread that runs through anything that BBC Studios does.
“In the beginning, people were like ‘Kylie, what’s your strategy? Pick a lane’. I looked at the catalogue, I looked at what BBC Studios stands for, I went to London, I spoke to all my colleagues there, I spoke to all my international colleagues, and I really spent time looking at the footprint of the business and understanding the values of BBC Studios. It stands for quality across genre. I’ve really taken that baton and gone, well, that’s what I’m going to do here – we’re going to be really good quality across every genre, because that’s what BBC Studios stands for.”
–
Top Image: Kylie Washington