Fans slam Australian version of ‘The Office’ after first look trailer

Fans have been given a first look at the Australian iteration of beloved comedy series The Office, but the reaction has been absolutely brutal.

This is certainly not the reaction producers of the Australian version of The Office would’ve been hoping for.

Prime Video on Wednesday released the first look at the much-anticipated local iteration of the cult franchise, which was first made famous with the UK’s 2001 series starring comedian Ricky Gervais in what is considered one of the greatest British sitcoms of all time.

But, much like any time Gervais’ fictional office manger David Brent attempted to clumsily entertain his employees, reaction has gone down like a lead balloon.

Hundreds of comments on the Aussie trailer, posted to X, are overwhelmingly negative, with users dubbing the preview “awful”, “dreadful” and “cringe”.

Fans have been given a first look at the Australian version of The Office, and the reaction hasn't been kind.

“This is the worst piece of media that has been released in the past 100+ years of content,” one savagely wrote.

“This looks like a bad fan made parody wtf lol,” another mused.

“First breakdancing, now this,” a third added, referencing local breakdancer Raygun’s viral Olympics performance.

“This is a war crime,” a fourth chimed in.

An American fan contributed, “We need to join forces with the UK and declare war on Australia. We can’t let them get away with this.”

“Jesus wept,” one simply wrote.

There were, however, a peppering of redeeming perspectives, with one user saying, “I laughed a few times. Will give it a shot.”

“Hot take, doesn’t look that bad,” another wrote.

It stars Sydney comedian Felicity Ward in the lead role.

The Office stars Sydney comedian Felicity Ward as Hannah Howard, the managing director of fictional Sydney-based packaging company, Flinley Craddick.

Ward, 43, is the first woman out of 13 remakes to lead the franchise, which chronicles an oft-cringe-worthy office environment and its colourful, mismatched assortment of employees.

To be fair, it was never going to be an easy feat appeasing diehard fans of the format.

Following the success of the UK’s two seasons, the subsequent US adaptation defied the odds to become equally as popular as the original, featuring US actor Steve Carell as Michael Scott, the manager of Dunder Mifflin paper company in Pennsylvania.

It premiered in 2005 and ran until 2013, managing to boost viewership significantly in its latter seasons before eventually achieving cult status.

Actor Ricky Gervais starred as David Brent in the British TV series 'The Office'.

And Steve Carell fronted the US version. Picture: NBC, Justin Lubin

Aside from nailing the subtle hilarity of the everyday workplace, both the US and UK versions of The Office were beloved for having heart, with respective slow-burning stories of romance: The UK’s Tim (Martin Freeman) and Dawn (Lucy Davis), and the US’ Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer). It’s not yet clear if the Aussie version will incorporate a similar theme.

Prime Video’s series focuses on Howard’s well-intentioned but wild strategies as she goes into survival mode in order to keep her “work family” together after learning that Head Office plans to shut down the branch in favour of a work-from-home policy.

Her employees are left to endure and navigate her outlandish plots as they attempt to reach their impossible targets.

It will premiere on Prime Video October 18.

Originally published as Fans slam Australian version of ‘The Office’ after first look trailer