The Paper Is A Spinoff Of The Office. Unfortunately, It's Not As Funny.

Domhnall Gleeson as Ned in The Paper.After 20 years, we’re heading back to The Office. Well, sort of. Depends on who you ask about the latest iteration of the mockumentary hit.The Paper is a sitcom set in the same universe as The Office from Greg Daniels (co-creator of the American version of The Office) and Michael Koman (co-creator of Nathan For You), although it takes place at a different kind of paper company than Dunder Mifflin: a local news outlet.It’s a slight departure from what many remember from The Office, but it brings back the same documentary crew that immortalied the wacky Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch run by ever-so-eccentric boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell). This time, the crew follows a historic Midwestern paper, The Toledo Truth Teller, and a publisher who has the difficult task of trying to breathe new life into it. However, optimistic editor-in-chief Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson) comes in with hopes of restoring the paper to its former glory days.It’s an interesting premise at a time when the journalism industry is under attack and in desperate need of more investment – one that was inspired by reporting Daniels stumbled across on “ghost newspapers”, or local publications that have become shells of their former selves.“I remember reading or listening to a radio story about it, and just about how the regional newspaper would be bought by a conglomerate, and they would get rid of the reporters and just use wire service,” Daniels tells HuffPost of the show’s premise. “It looks like a newspaper is serving the community, but it really isn’t, because there aren’t any reporters.”For the casual viewer, the US series (which has already been renewed for another season) is more inside baseball about the journalism industry than pure entertainment. Still, the show’s creators were intrigued by the challenge of finding the humour in journalism’s decline.“I think that there’s a comedy engine in the idea of not having the money to hire real reporters,” says Daniels. “Ned comes in. He desperately wants to do original content that serves the community, but there are all these forces in the building that won’t let him, so he gets creative.”“That felt like a fun story of underdogs who maybe are overmatched with their skill level, but their hearts are in the right place,” he continues.Koman adds: “To me, it was this little grain at the beginning that I could picture somebody like Ned looking at a newspaper that’s in this shape, and having this very strong feeling, like, ‘I could make this better, and I believe that this could happen,’ and I was very excited by that.”While The Paper isn’t necessarily trying to fill in the big shoes of its predecessor, it certainly calls back to the Emmy-winning hit.Below, Erin E. Evans and I discuss the major ways The Paper references The Office, whether it qualifies as a spinoff, what the cast brings to the table and if the show itself met our expectations...Sabrina Impacciatore as Esmeralda in the pilot of "The Paper."The Best Parts Of The Paper That Connect It To The OfficeI immediately had high hopes for the series when none other than Bob Vance (Bobby Ray Shafer) of Vance Refrigeration popped up to set the stage for the show. He has a very funny intro, and it immediately reminded me of what I loved about The Office: the fun, quippy writing and performances that are so memorable. Then, we see Oscar, who reprises his role from the original series. I just loved that he was so not into seeing that documentary crew return to the Toledo Truth Teller. Oscar’s performances in the first two episodes really made me think that I was gonna love the series. – ErinI have to say I’m glad The Paper kicks off by immediately tying it back to the origin of The Office – and with a Bob Vance cameo, no less. I’m also happy the show took a minute to explain why the documentary crew decided to return all these years later, because it sort of explains why we’re getting this iteration of the Office universe over a decade after the show ended.When it comes to spinoffs and reboots, the biggest complaint is always how unnecessary they feel. There’s also the pressure of being just as good as the original show, or at least not a complete disappointment (like a certain other US series that comes to mind). For Daniels, he said his biggest concern through the development process of The Paper was “not to do anything that would in any way ding the original show”.He added: “I liked the tone of that show, and I loved the format that was brought by the English [version], and it seemed like it wouldn’t be harmful to anybody to do a new show.” — NjeraDuane Shepard Sr. as Barry and Oscar Nuñez as Oscar in The Paper.Should We Call It A Spinoff Or Nah?While I’m definitely going to call it a spinoff, I don’t think people should expect it to feel exactly like The Office. I mean, the only obvious connections are that Greg Daniels (who adapted The Office for American audiences) is the creator and executive producer, and that Oscar is reprising his role. And we’re at a paper company, once again! I’d warn audiences to go into it with an open mind and not think that they are getting The Office Part 2. — ErinSpinoff is the word that’s been tossed around with this new series, although I keep seeing otherwise, but that’s basically what it is. The best way to describe it is as an offshoot set in the same world as The Office.The same documentary crew returns 20 years later to follow a new paper company staff, this time a dying historic newspaper in Toledo, Ohio. How we wind up there gets explained in the premiere episode, but we quickly learn this is a whole new ballgame and a whole new set of players continuing the mockumentary tradition for old and new generations. I will say The Paper definitely caters to audiences who are very familiar with The Office and appreciate that same type of humour. But with different personalities in the mix, the show’s creators found a way to not make it a carbon copy of its predecessor. — NjeraRamona Young as Nicole in The Paper.The Paper Cast And Where You’ve Seen Them BeforeThe cast is full of actors and performers who you might recognise – and even if you can’t immediately figure out where, they’ve definitely appeared in a range of TV shows and films over the last few years. The Paper stars Domhnall Gleeson, Sabrina Impacciatore, Chelsea Frei, Oscar Nuñez, Ramona Young, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman and Tim Key. Domhnall, the Toledo Truth Teller’s new editor-in-chief, Ned, is best known for his roles in the Harry Potter and Star Wars film franchises, Ex-Machina and The Revenant.Sabrina wowed audiences in her comedic role in season two of The White Lotus and stars as Esmeralda, the quirky managing editor. Oscar reprises his role from The Office as Oscar, an accountant at Dunder Mifflin who transferred to the Truth Teller and who has a penchant for creating newspaper games.Chelsea stars as Mare, who’s a reporter as well as the paper’s compositor. She starred in The Moodys, The Cleaning Lady and Sideswiped. Melvin portrays Detrick, who works in ad sales but becomes a volunteer reporter for the paper; he’s best known for his role on American Vandal and Snowfall.Ramona stars as Nicole, who works in circulation; she previously starred in Never Have I Ever, which was created by The Office star and writer Mindy Kaling. Gbemisola stars as Adelola and is an accountant and reporter at the paper. She was hilarious in the short-lived TV series A League of Their Own.Alex is a comedian and actor, and he won an Emmy for his stand-up comedy special Just For Us. He also stars as a reporter and accountant. Tim portrays business strategist Ken, and he has appeared on Mickey 17 and The Ballad Of Wallis Island.Sabrina gives a really fun performance in this series, and I always got excited to see what kind of crazy she was bringing into the newsroom. Gbemisola is underused in the series, but brings a sceptical brand of humour to the ensemble.There are also some recurring characters that I really wish had more screen time, like comedian Nate Jackson, who portrays the janitor Nate. He’s gone viral several times on TikTok for his stand-up comedy routines that are everything but ordinary. — ErinSabrina Impacciatore’s Esmeralda is probably my favourite character on the entire show simply because she gives Michael Scott’s delusions a run for their money. She ups the crazy in every episode, but especially the finale.Domhnall Gleeson’s quirky nature is also pretty funny on the show, and the same goes for Melvin Gregg, who’s nice to see get back to his comedic roots after his dramatic (and exceptional) turn in Snowfall, my favourite role of his ever.I loved seeing Never Have I Ever alum Ramona Young back on my screen, but I feel like she, at times, fell in that same bucket as Gbemisola Ikumelo of being underused. The latter was especially disappointing because she’s a writer on the show, too.Out of the handful of deadpan moments and dry humour jokes we get from her character Adelola, I thought we could’ve used way more. Nate Jackson was also an underrated character who I hope makes more appearances when the show returns. However, overall, I liked this ensemble cast, especially the return of Oscar! Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to see it expand in the future because that newsroom could use some more personalities. — NjeraRamona Young as Nicole, Chelsea Frei as Mare and Melvin Gregg as Detrick in "The Paper."Here’s What WorksIn these current times of declining media and the rapid spread of misinformation, it’s refreshing to see any show make journalism and all the pitfalls of this industry a core storyline. When The Paper was first announced, I had no idea what kind of paper company would be its focus, but I love that Daniels chose a newspaper with such a rich history in original, local reporting. It’s a shame how undervalued that aspect of journalism is today, but having The Paper put it in people’s faces again – and use comedy to point out the very real concerns that exist IRL, like clickbait articles, slashed budgets, small newsrooms, etc. – is why I can appreciate what this show is trying to do, even if it’s not perfect. What I also love about the show is this wacky ensemble of characters and personalities. The Office fans know that’s a big part of what made the show such a hit. And even though this cast is a bit smaller, they each bring their own brand of humour to the table. — NjeraIn the first two episodes, it was wild to see how spot-on the characterisation of the news media was on this show. The eccentric high-level editor who basically writes nonsense for the online paper – and every story has annoying ads stopping you from scrolling down to finish reading it?There were several other small moments or lines in the series that totally let me know that the writers understood the dire state of the media industry. As a journalist, I felt totally seen.Here’s What Doesn’tI hate to make comparisons here, but for a show from one of the Office creators with also pretty much the same format, I was expecting bigger laughs throughout the season. Only a handful of episodes stuck with me, like episode two, The Five W’s, where the newly recruited Toledo Truth Teller “journalists” scramble to find original stories, with disastrous results. Or even the finale, The Ohio Journalism Awards, which felt something comically akin to the Golden Globes episode of The Studio.But overall, a lot of the jokes in the show fell flat for me. I found myself waiting for punchlines that never came, and disappointed with the ones that did. I know there are new writers involved in The Paper that didn’t come from The Office, so changes are expected. However, I had higher hopes for The Paper, and still do when it returns next season. — NjeraI agree. I chuckled a little bit watching the show, but not nearly enough. Also, by the time I got to the middle of the series – I binged most of the episodes – I felt a little bit bored by it.One reason journalism stories don’t make for super interesting fictional tales is because so much of what we do is just us sitting at our computers doing research or hopping on the phone to do an interview – and then we write. I think that’s part of what’s disjointed about the series. Making the news – and the people who write it – funny isn’t such an easy proposition at the moment.As a matter of fact, one of the funniest – yet too real – lines in the whole series is when the publisher, in a flashback, says: “Is it expensive? You can bet what you’re sitting on it is. We only keep democracy alive is all.” Now that the show has been renewed for season two, I hope it really finds its footing.The Paper is streaming on Now in the UK.MORE TV NEWS:The Cutest Show On Netflix You've Probably Never Even Seen Is Back For More New EpisodesCritics Have This Same Issue With The Second Half Of Wednesday Season 2Zoë Kravitz Insults Sex And The City Spin-Off To Austin Butler – Not Realising He Was In It

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