The Office is a tough act to follow for any show, especially since it’s now widely regarded as one of the best sitcoms of the 21st century.
But this month, Peacock rolled the dice with The Paper, a spinoff that continues in the world of that series with an almost entirely new cast of characters.
Peacock has already doubled down on this bet by renewing The Paper for a second season. From what we’ve seen so far, it was the right call.
Now, Watch With Us is sharing the reasons why The Paper is our pick for the one comedy show in September that you have to stream now.
It Brings Back the Mockumentary Format of ‘The Office’
The Office popularized the mockumentary format for TV comedies, but only a handful of other shows pulled it off well, like Parks and Recreation and Modern Family. The Paper feels like an even more natural choice for this format because the series explains that the people behind the scenes are the same ones who filmed the documentary during the nine seasons of The Office. It essentially passes the test while embracing the style of comedy that’s worked very well in the past.
There is an explanation about how this show relates to The Office, which you’ll see early in the series. The one cast member who appears in both shows is Oscar Nunez, who is reprising his role as accountant Oscar Martinez. Oscar is amusingly unhappy at the prospect of being filmed again for another documentary, but as the link between the two shows, he gets most of The Paper‘s callbacks to The Office. When Oscar brings up certain things, you’ll know who he’s talking about if you watched the original show. Without him, this show might have felt like another pretender to the throne.
The New Characters Are Appealing
Both the American and the British incarnations of The Office put a buffoon at the center of the series as the boss. The Paper goes in a different direction with Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson). He’s not the Michael or the David of this group — he’s the Jim. Ned is the guy who genuinely believes in the power of journalism to transform lives, and he’s earnest about his desire to turn the Toledo Truth-Teller around.
Where there’s a Jim, there’s also a Pam. In this show, that role is filled by Mare Pritti (Chelsea Frei), the compositor for the Truth-Teller. The Paper starts a slow-burning romance arc between Ned and Mare while allowing him to be cognizant of the fact that it might be unethical for him to romantically pursue her as her boss. Nicole Lee (Ramona Young) and Detrick Moore (Melvin Gregg) don’t have the same roadblocks in front of their potential romance. And it’s fun watching these would-be couples play off each other and the rest of their fellow misfits.
‘The Paper’ Makes You Care About This Group of People
Esmeralda Grand (The White Lotus‘ Sabrina Impacciatore) is basically the Dwight of this series, and there are a lot of moments where she’s super annoying. Impacciatore plays Esmeralda very broadly, almost to the point of caricature, and she’s one of the few characters who actively works against the goals of her coworkers. We should hate her, and yet The Paper offers some surprising moments where Esmeralda is emotionally vulnerable and all-too human. Those scenes went a long way towards adding dimension to her character.
In a way, The Paper sneaks up on you. It’s not The Office or even Parks and Recreation in terms of characters destined for breakout status. But by the end of the 1o-episode first season, the show gets its hooks in and makes you care about this group. We’ve seen them during their highs and lows during the first season, and we’re eager to keep watching when The Paper returns for season 2 somewhere down the line.
The Paper is streaming on Peacock.
