How to Watch "The Office" In Australia

Did I stutter?

When news broke that The Office was going to be pulled from Netflix in America, social media went into a stage of panic we’ll classify as, oh, I don’t know, threat level midnight.

This is despite the fact that the show won’t be taken down until early 2021, to make way for the launch of NBCUniversal’s own streaming service, where The Office will eventually reside.

But where does that leave Aussie viewers? Because, in case you didn’t realise: The Office isn’t even on Netflix down under.

How do I watch The Office in Australia then?

All nine seasons of The Office—and we’re talking about the US remake here—are available to stream on local service Stan. (Yes, that includes the 'Robert California' season as well.) You can also buy all 201 episodes via Apple and Google Play stores, or get the entire series on DVD and Blu-ray if you don’t trust the internet, Schrute-style.

Will it always be available to stream on Stan?

We’ve reached out to Stan to ask how long they have The Office for, so we’ll keep you posted.

However, it’s important to note the streaming landscape in Australia is very different to that of the United States. Think of all the NBC shows—Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Good Place, Saturday Night Live, Will & Grace, Friends, Parks and Recreation—that are scattered across Stan, Netflix, SBS on Demand and Foxtel here. If NBCUniversal wanted to launch a separate service for Aussies, they’d have to cancel a wide range of lucrative arrangements with these streaming partners, and then ask viewers to pay for a new service on top of all these other rivals. Sure, that’s what they’re literally doing in America, but NBCUniversal is already a big brand name because of the NBC channel. In the Southern Hemisphere, not so much.

The closest comparison to what NBCUniversal's doing might be CBS All Access, which sold off its exclusive shows like Star Trek Discovery and The Good Fight to Netflix and SBS in Australia, before launching Ten All Access locally (as CBS owns Ten). However, Ten All Access has old seasons of The Good Fight and zero seasons of Discovery. It does however have new episodes of CBS All Access exclusive The Twilight Zone.

Understanding it all is pretty hard.

All of this is to say: At least you can stream The Office on Stan.

And if you were after the original (but not as good—we said it!) Ricky Gervais version of The Office, both seasons of that are also available to stream on Stan.

Here's hoping this convinces Office superfan Billie Eilish to move here permanently.

Header Image: NBC