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Written by Emily Ynaya
Spoilers for Season 1 ahead.
Following in the footsteps of The Office, 12 years after its finale, seemed like a high bar for the new Peacock series, The Paper. The series, which gives the audience a quick glimpse of a dying newspaper called Toledo Truth Teller, quickly distinguishes itself from The Office with its combination of hope and humor.
In the world of The Paper, The Toledo Truth Teller was once a booming and prominent name. The kind of paper that broke stories that gave Toledo a sense of identity and home. Now it’s trickled down to employees with no reporter experience, who are hungry for clicks and any sort of news. The show masks heartbreak with comedic relief, asking a vital question: can traditional journalism be revived against a growing world of social media and clickbait headlines?
New Editor-in-Chief Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson, Star Wars: The Force Awakens), is an optimistic workaholic determined to re-establish pride and truth in journalism again. We find him clashing heads with his Managing Editor, Esmeralda Grand (Sabrina Impacciatore, The White Lotus), a resistant and fiery character. Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nuñez) returns as a familiar face, adding to the team of overworked and underpaid employees.
Ned parallels Michael Scott in his optimistic values, but his leadership makes him a more lovable character. Esmeralda is unreliable and schemes against Ned in any way she can, adding onto the stress of supporting a dying newsroom. Mare (Chelsea Frei, The Life List), is a gentle yet obsessive journalist with hope in writing about the most trivial things – like train schedules – as a way to contribute in any way she can.
Domhnall Gleeson leads the cast to a show where the humor is worth rooting for. His dry delivery sells satire while also leaving the audience to feel for his hope and investment in journalism. Sabrina Impacciatore brings fire and liveliness to Esmeralda, with no filter to her lines and escalates comedy to drama. Oscar Nuñez offers a sense of familiarity where he brings back his understated humor. Chelse Frei as Mare is notable as well, as an awkward yet sincere character. This cast works well together where the atmosphere of the newsroom feels authentic, with its chaotic and earnest energy.
The Paper doesn’t try to be The Office. Stylistically, Greg Daniels and Michael Koman, who produced The Office, carry over the mockumentary and handheld framing tradition in this spinoff and frame it as the same camera crew from The Office filming the staff of The Truther Teller. The humor of The Paper, like The Office, is dry, but it’s more engaging. This series gives the characters emotional depth, discussing the growing pains that come with traditional journalism – clickbait, budget cuts, and unreliable sources.
Comedy and vulnerability come together in The Paper. Calling onto real anxieties that follow with a dying industry, the jokes land easily. This merge of satire and sincerity creates a lens for exploring how humor can feel hopeful when your line of work is dwindling.
A great example comes in Episode 5, where Esmeralda gets catfished by a competing journalist. Instead of a one-liner, the writers give intensity to a misunderstood character. She comes off intimidating, but is humiliated once she finds out she was sending hundreds of dollars to a competitor, in front of the entire office. The aftermath was sharp, where we see the female colleagues take her out to dance in hopes to uplift her. This response humanizes a misunderstood character.
The Paper took a few episodes to take off in the sense of setting its tone. It moves fast, where it is understood that Ned and Esmeralda are pitted against each other. Everything else feels rushed and at times the plot seems lost. The characters were almost too predictable. There’s an imbalance to the satirical atmosphere of the show, where sometimes its full blown humor or dramatic and sincere narration. By the end of Season 1, it feels that the writers tried to resolve every arc in this show in one go. There’s a lack of long-term drama, and the character growth dwindles by the end of this season – which audiences who are fans of The Office, might’ve been searching for.
The Paper: Season 1 may not be flawless or run as smooth as one would expect. But the differences and similarities between this spinoff and The Office create a compelling and quick bingeable show. It brings a sense of comfort with the similar film style, but a fresh and unique surprise to a brand new environment. Chaos and comfort rarely mix, but that’s exactly what brings The Paper together. If you’re ready for a quick and promising story, let this be your next pick.
