Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
More than 20 years after British comedian Ricky Gervais gave insufferable middle-manager David Brent global fame, an Australian version of the hit show “The Office” is being made, this time with a female lead.
Australian comedian Felicity Ward will play Hannah Howard, the managing director of packaging company Flinley Craddick, the Aussie version of Brent, known as Michael Scott in the hit U.S. series, according to British broadcaster the BBC.
Since its debut in 2001, “The Office” has won multiple awards and inspired local versions in countries including Chile, Israel, India, and Poland. The Australian series is the 13th adaption and the first to cast a woman in the lead role.
According to a press release, the eight-part series follows Ward’s character as she goes into “survival mode” when the company’s head office shuts down her branch, forcing everyone to work from home.
Ward is best known for her appearances on Australian comedy programs and game shows, as well as TV mini series “Wakefield” and the film “The Inbetweeners 2.”
She has also performed at comedy festivals and tweeted Thursday that she’d been keeping her new role secret for four months.
The Australian edition is co-produced by BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand, Bunya Entertainment, and Amazon Studios.
Production begins in Sydney in June and filming is expected to take eight weeks.
In a statement, Gervais, who co-created “The Office” with Stephen Merchant said he was excited about the Australian version.
“Office politics have changed a bit in 20 years, so can’t wait to see how they navigate a modern-day David Brent,” he said.
After so many adaptations of the hit show worldwide, BBC Studios ANZ general manager and creative production director Kylie Washington said it’s now “Australia’s turn.”
“We figured the world is ready for a lovable, flawed, lady boss, ruling over her packaging empire in The Office Australia,” she said.
The new series is set to air in 240 countries from 2024.
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.
Three officers on a U.S. Marshals Task Force serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm were killed and five other officers were wounded in a shootout Monday at a North Carolina home, police said.
A Calgary elementary school principal has been charged with possession of child pornography, authorities announced Monday.
The Vancouver Island Health Authority is downplaying what staff describe as a cockroach infestation in a medical unit of Saanich Peninsula Hospital.
Toronto police say 12 people are facing a combined 102 charges in connection with an investigation into a major credit fraud scheme.
One of the winners of a historic US$1.3 billion Powerball jackpot last month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.
Britney Spears and her father Jamie Spears will avoid what could have been a long, ugly and revealing trial with a settlement of the lingering issues in the court conservatorship that controlled her life and financial decisions for nearly 14 years.
The clock is ticking ahead of the deadline to file a 2023 income tax return. A personal finance expert explains why you should get them done -- even if you owe more than you can pay.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.