Posted in: Amazon Studios, TV | Tagged: ricky gervais, the office

The Office Australia: Felicity Ward on Getting "Approved" by Gervais

The Office Australia star Felicity Ward on getting "approved" by The Office star Ricky Gervais to David Brent-it up as Hannah Howard.

Not that Felicity Ward needed it since original The Office star and an executive producer of the Australian version Ricky Gervais already has his endorsement and "approval" for leading the new series from Julie De Fina (Aftertaste) and Jackie van Beek (Time Bandits, What We Do in the Shadows). The actress and comedian stars as Hannah Howard in The Office Australia, which launches internationally on Prime Video on October 18th but is not yet available in the United States. While there are several incarnations of the BBC original series, including the NBC The Office spinoff in the US from Greg Daniels with Gervais and the BBC series Stephen Merchant getting co-creator credits, the De Fina and van Beek incarnation is the first one with a female lead in the David Brent (Gervais) mold.

The Office Australia Star Felicity Ward on Ricky Gervais' Endorsement

At the Prime Video Trailblazers event (via Deadline Hollywood) celebrating women in film and TV in London, "Ricky Gervais has approved of a female lead — he's very excited about a female lead," Ward half-joked to an audience, adding: "Just in case anyone is angry." Along with the preview, audiences were treated to another previous clip of The Office Australia from BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand, and Bunya Entertainment. Appearing alongside Jessica Raine (The Devil's Hour) and director Louise Hooper, Ward admitted doing "zero preparation" and she tapped "every annoying part of my personality" with the "charm edited out" to play Hannah.

The Office Australia also stars Edith Poor, Steen Raskopoulos, Shari Sebbens, Jonny Brugh, Josh Thomson, Raj Labade, Lucy Schmidt, Susan Ling Young, Paola Mazzolo, Agus Husin, Yarron Jowsey, Kieran Egan, Jack Dutson, Marcela Salgado Mar, Cassie McInnes, Jason Perini, and Zoe Terakes. In the US, The Office had a successful nine-season run from 2005-2013 that also featured an ensemble of Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Angela Kinsey, Kate Flannery, Phyllis Smith, Creed Bratton, Oscar Nuñez, B.J. Novak, Mindy Kaling, and Craig Robinson.

Peacock is set for The Office spinoff in a similar mockumentary format that won't feature any of the NBC series' Dunder Mifflin employees, and instead focus on a midwestern newspaper and will star Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore.

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