Watch out, here comes the Aussie version of The Office…

Are you a fan of the cult TV comedy show The Office?🕺
And which version: the UK one 🇬🇧? The US one 🇺🇸? The French one 🇫🇷? The Indian one 🇮🇳 or any of the other 13 variants made?

📣 News in is that an Australian 🇦🇺 version of The Office will be hitting our screens next year!

📺 There’s been a mixed history with TV shows being remade for another market. You know that a US version of the iconic UK comedy series Fawlty Towers has been tried three times (once starring Betty White and another with Bea Arthur)… and three times it failed 🤦🏽‍♀️.

However, the US version of The Office was a major success 🎯.
So too was the US adaptation of the Colombian series Ugly Betty.
So why did these succeed where others failed? 🤔

According to Australian screenwriter and lecturer Phillipa Burne, a successful adaptation comes from a willingness “to pull a series back to its foundational concept”.

🥇 But most of all, it comes down to…

Good localisation! ✅

👉 “Localising is not just changing a few small details; it requires driving characters and stories from deep within a local culture and storytelling tradition. It requires a deep commitment to developing a show as if it was a new idea, even if it is based on an existing series. Audiences are savvy and want nuance, history, politics, issues….”

So what about the Aussie Office?
🫲 One the one hand, it’s exciting as it should showcase to the world what Aussie offices are like in a funny and familiar way, and with a woman at the helm this time.
🫱 On the other hand, we already have this covered with award-winning office-based Aussie comedies Utopia (I’m not a fan but many are) and Fisk (highly recommended!!!). Do we really need another one?

So it’ll be interesting to see what The Office Australia brings to the table.

More about what it takes to make an adaptation a success, some examples of mistakes and flops, as well as points on what could go wrong with the Aussie Office, in the article here https://theconversation.com/the-australian-remake-of-the-office-has-the-potential-to-be-great-if-the-writers-remember-how-unique-our-humour-is-207614

❓ What have you liked about The Office? And what has made you cringe?
💡 And which adapted shows you found worked and which didn’t?

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