{"id":1994848,"date":"2025-09-03T15:34:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T15:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1994848"},"modified":"2025-09-03T15:34:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T15:34:19","slug":"the-office-spinoff-the-paper-is-out-for-delivery-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-office-spinoff-the-paper-is-out-for-delivery-review\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;The Office&#8217; spinoff &#8216;The Paper&#8217; is out for delivery: review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2025%2F08%2Fthe-paper-premiere-season-1.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Hot off the presses.<\/p>\n<p>The headline news about \u201cThe Office\u201d spinoff \u201cThe Paper\u201d is that it\u2019s not bad.\u00a0It\u2019s not reinventing the wheel, but it\u2019s surprisingly entertaining and amusing.<\/p>\n<p>Premiering on Peacock on Sept. 4, \u201cThe Paper\u201d is a mockumentary in the same style as \u201cThe Office,\u201d set in the same world. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/11\/15\/how-the-office-was-almost-canceled-12-new-book-revelations\/\">The former show<\/a> (which ran on NBC from 2005 to 2013)\u00a0followed employees of Dunder Mifflin paper company in Scranton, PA. It\u2019s become a modern classic; a decade after it ended, it was still <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2021\/digital\/news\/the-office-most-streamed-tv-show-2020-nielsen-1234883822\/\">the most-streamed show of 2020,<\/a> with 57 billion minutes viewed.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Sabrina Impacciatore as Esmeralda, Oscar Nunez as Oscar, Domhnall Gleeson as Ned, Gbemisola Ikumelo as Adelola in \u201cThe Paper.\u201d  <span class=\"credit\">Aaron Epstein\/PEACOCK<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Sabrina Impacciatore as Esmeralda, Ramona Young as Nicole in \u201cThe Paper.\u201d  <span class=\"credit\">Aaron Epstein\/PEACOCK<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe Paper\u201d follows a new cast of characters, working in the office of the \u201cToledo Truth Teller\u201d newspaper in Ohio.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>As the show begins, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/06\/06\/entertainment\/the-office-spinoff-star-domhnall-gleeson-says-comparison-to-original-is-a-massive-mistake\/\">Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson)<\/a> is the idealistic new editor-in-chief, stepping in to try to whip the pathetic team and underfunded endeavor into shape.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Among others, his colleagues include the diva Esmerelda (<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/10\/28\/the-white-lotus-season-2-review-hbo-dramedy-still-murderously-sharp\/\">Sabrina Impacciatore, \u201cThe White Lotus<\/a>\u201c), former army vet Mare (Chelse Frei), cynical exec Ken (Tim Key), the optimistic Detrick (Melvin Gregg), frazzled Nicole (Ramona Young), clueless Adam (Alex Edelman) and skeptical Adelola (Gbemisola Ikumelo).<\/p>\n<p>Oscar (Oscar Nu\u00f1ez) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/08\/20\/entertainment\/office-star-brian-baumgartner-on-the-paper-spinoff-and-if-hed-join\/\">is the only crossover character<\/a> \u2014\u00a0although he\u2019s not a big presence, initially. In a confessional to the camera, he says that he wants no involvement in this new documentary, this time around \u2013 but, he gets more screen time as the season goes on.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Duane Shepard Sr. as Barry, Oscar Nunez as Oscar in \u201cThe Paper.\u201d  <span class=\"credit\">John P. Fleenor\/PEACOCK<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Generally, it\u2019s a lousy idea to do a spinoff of a beloved show. Remember flubs like the \u201cFriends\u201d spinoff \u201cJoey\u201d or the \u201cCheers\u201d follow-up \u201cThe Tortellis?\u201d\u00a0The Marvel and \u201cStar Wars\u201d properties have also diminished their charm, with everything now being an exhausting sequel of a sequel.<\/p>\n<p>The other recent big spinoff, the \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d prequel \u201cHouse of the Dragon,\u201d has done<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/08\/22\/house-of-the-dragon-draws-twice-the-same-day-viewership-as-netflixs-stranger-things\/\"> gangbusters in viewership numbers<\/a>, but its quality is <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/08\/20\/entertainment\/office-star-brian-baumgartner-on-the-paper-spinoff-and-if-hed-join\/\">below the standards of the original show<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Paper\u201d is saved by a key ingredient: it\u2019s helmed by two seasoned comedy minds, Greg Daniels, who also did \u201cThe Office,\u201d and Michael Koman (\u201cNathan For You\u201d).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Daniels has a history of beating the odds, since \u201cThe Office\u201d was itself a reboot (of the Ricky Gervais BBC show), and before it became a hit, everyone thought making an American version<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/11\/15\/how-the-office-was-almost-canceled-12-new-book-revelations\/\"> was a bad idea.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The creative team skillfully threads the needle of capturing \u201cThe Office\u2019s\u201d tone, while also making \u201cThe Paper\u201d a different animal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute, Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesly, John Krasinksi as Jim Halpert, BJ Novak as Ryan Howard, (center) Steve Carell as Michael Scott in \u201cThe Office.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Domhnall Gleeson as Ned, Tim Key as Ken in \u201cThe Paper.\u201d  <span class=\"credit\">Aaron Epstein\/PEACOCK<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>They let these characters and this setting be their own entity. (If you\u2019re the one person on Earth who lives in a cave and somehow hasn\u2019t seen \u201cThe Office,\u201d you could watch \u201cThe Paper\u201d without feeling lost).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Paper\u201d echoes its predecessor enough to feel like a fitting companion piece. This is especially reflected in the theme song, which strikes the right chord of, \u201csimilar, but different.\u201d The melody is new, but the sound evokes the iconic \u201cThe Office\u201d opening tune.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There are some mildly amusing moments in the first episode, but \u201cThe Paper\u201d picks up steam mid-season, with the types of absurd scenarios familiar to viewers of \u201cThe Office,\u201d such as a plot line about someone getting catfished (that uses a celebrity cameo in a hilarious way), or a subplot where somebody\u2019s face turns blue.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s nothing groundbreaking, since \u201cArrested Development\u201d famously did the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9GYtgFdXCGE\">\u201cI just blue myself\u201d <\/a>moment, but \u201cThe Paper\u201d finds a way to milk that plot for its own fresh humor.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Unlike \u201cThe Office,\u201d where their jobs hardly mattered, \u201cThe Paper\u201d does include more on that front. The satire of what it\u2019s like to work at a newspaper is spot-on.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Sabrina Impacciatore as Esmeralda, Domhnall Gleeson as Ned in \u201cThe Paper.\u201d  <span class=\"credit\">John P. Fleenor\/PEACOCK<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Although it\u2019s a new cast, there are shades of \u201cThe Office\u201d characters.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For instance, Ned is younger than Steve Carell\u2019s notorious bad boss Michael Scott, his mannerisms are different, his personal history is his own. But, he misses social cues in some similar ways, and he gets into a few situations where it\u2019s easy to visualize Michael in (such as a feud with a random teenager).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Esmerelda is unique, and she has a different energy than Rainn Wilson\u2019s scene-stealing \u201cThe Office\u201d weirdo, Dwight. Nevertheless, she feels like the Dwight of the show (if he was an Italian single mom) in the sense that she\u2019s a chaotic presence in the office, and she\u2019s full of self-delusion and unearned confidence.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Chelsea Frei as Mare, Ramona Young as Nicole, Melvin Gregg as Detrick, Gbemisola Ikumelo as Adelola, Alex Edelman as Adam, Eric Rahill as Travis, Oscar Nunez as Oscar in \u201cThe Paper.\u201d  <span class=\"credit\">John P. Fleenor\/PEACOCK<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Viewers looking for \u201cwill they, won\u2019t they,\u201d plot lines like \u201cThe Office\u2019s\u201d Jim Halpert (John Kraskinski) and Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer)\u00a0 have a few possibilities to monitor. That\u2019s the weakest part of the show, as the budding romances feel forced.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The million dollar question is, does \u201cThe Paper\u201d measure up to the original show?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>With just 10 episodes in its first season, it\u2019s too soon to tell \u2013 especially since \u201cThe Office\u201d also took some time to find its groove.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But even though it\u2019s not quite that level, it\u2019s a worthy successor.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hot off the presses. The headline news about \u201cThe Office\u201d spinoff \u201cThe Paper\u201d is that it\u2019s not bad.\u00a0It\u2019s not reinventing the wheel, but it\u2019s surprisingly entertaining and amusing. Premiering on Peacock on Sept. 4, \u201cThe Paper\u201d is a mockumentary in the same style as \u201cThe Office,\u201d set in the same world. The former show (which [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1994851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[25538,336611,21741,339335,24075,319616,22205,333080,21913,361306],"class_list":["post-1994848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-actors","tag-domhnall-gleeson","tag-entertainment","tag-greg-daniels","tag-nbc","tag-steve-carell","tag-television","tag-the-office","tag-tv","tag-tv-reviews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Office-spinoff-The-Paper-is-out-for-delivery-review.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1994848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1994848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1994848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1994851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1994848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1994848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1994848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}