‘Die Kantoor’: Award-winning actor Albert Pretorius (left) steps into the shoes of Ricky Gervais and Steve Carrel from the iconic ‘The Office’. Pictures: Supplied More than two decades have passed since Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant introduced audiences to the brilliantly bleak mockumentary universe ofThe Office. The original British version is considered one of the best comedy series of all time, while the American adaptation claimed five Emmys, including Outstanding Comedy Series, and became the most-streamed show globally in 2020.
This widespread appeal has spawned remakes for audiences worldwide, with theproudly South African version –Die Kantoor— marking the winning format’s 14th international adaptation. The first episode will preview on kykNET at 8pm this Sunday, 18 January, ahead of the Showmax double-bill premiere on Tuesday, 20 January, followed by an episode a week on both platforms. The first-look trailer released this week gives South Africans a taste of 2025 Fleur du Cap and Woordfees winner Albert Pretorius (Niggies;Nêrens, Noord-Kaap) as Flip, the manager at polony distributors Deluxe Processed Meats.
In addition to Pretorius, the cast includesSafta winner Schalk Bezuidenhout (Kanarie, Hotel), screen legend Lida Botha (Die Kwiksilvers), Carl Beukes (Jozi, The Shakedown), Silwerskerm winner Ilse Oppelt (Oh Schuks I’m Gatvol, Fishy Fêshuns), Daniah de Villiers (Mia inMia and the White Lion), Mehboob Bawa (Bhai inBhai’s Cafe), former KFM presenter Sipumziwe Lucwaba, and newcomer Gert du Plessis. Yes, it’s a scary one; this is one of the dream ones. Very few people ever get to play a role this big.
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Flip thinks of himself as theRassie Erasmusof polony. In his mind, the documentary crew is making hisChasing the Sun,about how he’s taking this team to the next level. He grew up watching Leon Schuster, so he also loves Candid Camera pranks and is trying to bring those into the documentary, too.
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 these qualities. That’s where the comedy lies, because he tries so bloody hard just to be liked. Isn’t that what cringe is?
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