{"id":2044022,"date":"2025-09-23T16:20:05","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T16:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2044022"},"modified":"2025-09-23T16:20:05","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T16:20:05","slug":"the-paper-season-1-finale-offers-hope-for-the-end-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-paper-season-1-finale-offers-hope-for-the-end-times\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Paper\u2019 Season 1 Finale Offers Hope for the End Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A version of this story appeared in Esquire\u2019s entertainment newsletter, t<\/em>he Cliff-Hanger<\/em>. Sign up here<\/a> to receive weekly criticism of the movie or television show of the moment shipped directly to your in-box.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Last week, something terrible happened.<\/a> Well, a lot <\/em>of terrible things happened<\/a>, but this is merely one of them: Shows about serial killers returned to TV. Ryan Murphy\u2019s <\/a>Monster: The Ed Gein Story<\/a> <\/em>premieres next week on Netflix, and Peacock is already heavily promoting its upcoming limited series Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy<\/em>. Maybe it\u2019s just me, but I have a strong aversion to these sensationalized true-crime stories. I\u2019ve truly never once pressed play thinking, I\u2019m so glad I took the time to reconsider this horrible murderer in a new light. <\/em>Remember when The Office\u2019s<\/em> simple, will-they-won\u2019t-they workplace romance was all we needed to feel fulfilled by TV? If only I could watch Jim propose to Pam at a gas station with new eyes!<\/p>\n

Sadly, it’s not so simple nowadays. As veteran entertainment journalist Anthony Breznican pointed out<\/a> the morning after the 2025 Emmy Awards last weekend, America can\u2019t get enough of shows about \u201cmonsters of varying degrees and depths of depravity.\u201d Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story<\/em>\u2014there\u2019s Murphy again\u2014was nominated for eleven Emmys. Then, Adolescence<\/em>\u2019s dark story<\/a> about a thirteen-year-old who murders one of his classmates swept the limited series category with six major wins. Viewers seem to crave a little blood before bed\u2014a scary thought, I know. Hell, I just want to end the night feeling a little better after whatever chaos kicked me down throughout the day. That\u2019s why I had a better time watching another awards show: The Ohio Journalism Awards.<\/p>\n

The fictional ceremony from The Paper <\/em>took place in the season finale of Peacock\u2019s The Office <\/em>spin-off<\/a>, which follows The<\/em> Toledo Truth-Teller <\/em>crew as they seek to restore the newspaper\u2019s journalistic integrity. If you missed it, NBC announced that the network will air the series on linear cable channels this November. (Though be warned, I\u2019m about to discuss the finale here).<\/p>\n

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The Truth-Teller <\/em>ends the finale by bringing home the ceremony\u2019s most prestigious award for Outstanding Print Coverage. Mare Pritti (Chelsea Frei) wins an award for her investigative story that uncovers the city\u2019s sewage problem earlier in the season. Plus, Oscar Nu\u00f1ez\u2014who reprises his Office <\/em>role as Oscar Martinez\u2014wins for a new puzzle he designs in the paper\u2019s games section. These are simple awards for a local paper, and yet it means the world to them.<\/p>\n

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Peacock<\/span><\/figcaption>

I\u2019d like to prematurely submit Sabrina Impacciatore\u2019s Esmeralda Grand to win every award next fall.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

Their victory also shares a lot in common with The Studio<\/em>\u2019s celebratory season 1 finale<\/a>, which marked another small win in the face of a corrupt entertainment industry. So did The Pitt<\/em>\u2019s win at the Emmy Awards, when actor Noah Wyle thanked the real-life healthcare professionals who tirelessly work to save our lives day in and day out.<\/a><\/p>\n

If I have any hopes for next year\u2019s Emmys, it\u2019s that we see a bit more from the heartwarming Pitts <\/em>and Paper<\/em>s of the world and a lot less from the Monsters<\/em>. In fact, I\u2019d like to prematurely submit Sabrina Impacciatore\u2019s Esmeralda Grand to win every award.<\/p>\n

The former White Lotus <\/em>star plays the Truth-Teller<\/em>\u2019s interim managing editor and the most Michael Scott-like antagonist in The Paper<\/em>\u2019s office. In one of her funniest moments, episode 5\u2019s \u201cScam Alert,\u201d she spends the half-hour episode childishly refusing to admit that she\u2019s been catfished. And when The Truth-Teller <\/em>wins big at the Ohio Journalism Awards, she runs on stage to accept the award as if it were an Oscar\u2014twirling in her bright red gown because she thought Ned (Domhnall Gleeson) said \u201cspinning\u201d instead of \u201cwinning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope there are going to be more situations where the script inspires me to go crazy,\u201d Impacciatore told Esquire after The Paper <\/em>was renewed for season 2.<\/a> \u201cI would like to do more animal [impressions] because I\u2019m a child inside. I would love to see Esmeralda in love more and more\u2014but always in love with the wrong people. I like to imagine what she could do next, where her mind could bring her.\u201d<\/p>\n

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