‘The Office’ South Africa Remake Gets First Trailer

This time, we’re clocking in for a shift at an office in South Africa, where the new Afrikaans-language remake of The Office (Die Kantoor) swaps paper for polony (it’s a type of sausage) at Deluxe Processed Meats. Led by Albert Pretorius, who steps into the role of the role of the awkward, incompetent, oft-irritating-yet-oddly-endearing manager role played so expertly by Gervais and Steve Carell in the UK and US shows, respectively, the acclaimed actor has teased what’s in store this time around…

“Flip thinks of himself as the Rassie Erasmus of polony; in his mind, the documentary crew is making his ‘Chasing the Sun,’ about how he’s taking this team to the next level.”

For those unaware, Rassie Erasmus is the legendary coach for the Springbok rugby team, while Chasing the Sun is an Emmy-nominated series exploring the Springboks’ World Cup victories. If you haven’t guessed, Pretorius’ character, Flip, is miles away from either of these things, and will once again try far too hard to be liked just like David Brent and Michael Scott before him.

“He’s grappling with what it means to be a man – an Afrikaans man – but he doesn’t realise that a lot of the qualities he aspires to are archaic. Or that he actually has very few of them. That’s where the comedy lies, because he tries so bloody hard just to be liked. Isn’t that what cringe is? People trying their best by being the absolute worst.”

Alongside Albert Pretorius, the rest of the ensemble cast includes SAFTA winner Schalk Bezuidenhout (Kanarie, Hotel), Silwerskerm winner Ilse Oppelt (Oh Schuks I’m Gatvol, Fishy Fêshuns), Carl Beukes (Jozi, The Shakedown), Daniah de Villiers (Mia and the White Lion), Mehboob Bawa (Bhai’s Cafe), Lida Botha (Die Kwiksilvers), former KFM radio presenter Sipumziwe Lucwaba, and newcomer Gert du Plessis.

This is far from the first attempt at remaking the magic of The Office, with the most recent being the failed gender-swapped Australian series, which was canceled after one season. Things are thankfully looking good for this latest effort though, with a review from Fortress of Solitude saying, “holy polony, this is actually funny.”

“It’s South Africa’s Die Kantoor that feels closest to the original magic of the sitcom. There’s a spark and hilarity here that’s undeniable, as it absolutely nails the experience of a local office – warts and all. Die Kantoor needs to learn to trust in itself more, realizing that its biggest strength lies in its uniqueness not sticking to the course of what came before.”

The Office remake will debut on African broadcaster DStv on January 18, with the series then landing on Showmax on January 20.