Oh my God! Okay, it’s happening. Everybody stay calm! In a world where most new sitcoms these days feel like old sitcoms, it was only a matter of time before The Office got mined for parts. The Office itself was already an Americanized version of a successful U.K. sitcom of the same name, so why not just add to the universe, right? That’s what Peacock’s thinking. The new version is very much not a reboot of that old show and, in fact, sounds entirely different from the U.S. and the U.K. versions of The Office in just about every way, from the growing cast to the setting to the stakes to if anyone’s coming back from the original series. So what do we know about this mostly entirely new sitcom?
What’s the spin-off called?
It’s called The Paper, which is pretty fun considering the OG office was a paper company. It’s called distribution, people!
How is this connected to The Office?
The tenuous connection to the original beloved sitcom is that the show is shot by the “documentary crew” that followed the Scranton Dunder Mifflin. It’s also created by original The Office (U.S.) creator Greg Daniels with Nathan for You’s Michael Koman. Daniels clarified to The Wrap that he does not consider this new take to be a reboot. Instead, he likened it to the way that The Mandalorian fits into the Star Wars universe. “Something like the notion of this documentary crew doing a documentary about a different subject. That, I think, could be intriguing and creative,” he said. “But I don’t even know what you would call that.” Sounds like a spinoff to us!
What’s The Paper about?
Rather than documenting the everyday life of office workers (which would be hard anyway because these days so many people are hybrid), the new show will focus on publishers and volunteer reporters attempting to revive a “dying historic Midwestern newspaper” called The Truth Teller in Toledo, Ohio. Well … there’s still paper involved!
Who’s in it?
Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Tim Key, and Eric Rahill are the latest to join. Rahill, Ikumelo, and Edelman will also be writers on the series. Previously, the Palisadian-Post, a California newspaper, broke the news that Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, and Ramona Young had joined the cast by reporting that the trio shadowed its staffers to prep for their roles. The upcoming story about a dying midwestern newspaper will also partly be brought to life with some international hires; we already know that Italian actress Sabrina Impacciatore (The White Lotus) will play the managing editor and Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson (Run) will play a new employee. Perhaps we can look forward to at least a couple cute cameos from former cast members? Jenna Fischer told People she hasn’t been approached yet, and John Krasinski told ET he’s down to return if Daniels asked him to. We say bring back Creed.
Are any original The Office cast members coming back?
Oh, you didn’t know. Tsk, tsk. Oscar Nunez, who plays Oscar Martinez a.k.a. the Coalition for Reason, is returning for the follow-up series, as reported by the InSneider. When we last saw Oscar in the finale, he was running for Senator of Pennsylvania. Variety reports that Oscar isn’t going to be a main character of the series, but now we have more clarification on what happened to him after The Office. He works in accounting at The Truth Teller, according to the New York Times. Maybe we’ll find out more about his senatorial run.
Where’s the trailer?
Extra, extra! We have the first trailer for The Paper! Domhnall Gleeson comes in as the new editor for the Truth Teller, hoping to revitalize a dying newspaper that relies on clickbait articles filled with ads. At least we know how Oscar’s doing now.
How can I watch?
The Paper is set to premiere its first four episodes on September 4 on Peacock. Hold out hope that the new spinoff will be like the old one in one major way — 24-episode seasons.
This post has been updated.
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