Full Season Discussion: The Paper

It was going to be tough for any spin-off of The Office to live up to the legacy of its source material, even considering the decline in quality the show experienced in its final two seasons. The Paper definitely is close to keeping pace, but there are a bunch of weird things across the ten episodes that hold it back from being as good as The Office, or Parks and Rec, or Abbott Elementary, or any number of other mockumentaries.

The Paper picks up 20 years after the debut of The Office with the documentary crew trying to return to Dunder Mifflin to see what everyone has been up to since the show ended in 2012. Unfortunately, a large conglomerate has bought Dunder Mifflin and relocated operations out of Scranton to their home office in Toledo, Ohio, so the crew goes there to follow the Toledo Truth Teller, a local newspaper owned by the same parent company.

Throughout the ten-episode first season, there is a distinct feeling that this show was designed to be a full 22 episodes and then was distilled down to the most important moments. There are clear, important moments like the progression of the relationships between Ned (Domhnall Gleeson) and Mare (Chelsea Frei) and Detrick (Melvin Gregg) and Nicole (Ramona Young), Ned getting hired, the story about the toilet paper gloves, and the awards ceremony at the end, but the development between them falls a little flat.

This leads to scenarios where character development is inconsistent. When you have less real estate to tell a story, the oscillations in competency we see from Ned and his team from episode to episode are jarring. Most of his team may not know what they're doing, but Ned himself (and to a lesser extent Mare) will have these bursts of brilliance or have no idea what they are doing, depending on the episode's story demands. Maybe this is also a side-effect of the fact that Peacock decided to release the whole show at once as a binge rather than weekly. Had the show come out weekly, these issues would have been a little less noticeable because the episodes are spaced out.

Still, the show is a comedy, and it is funny. There are plenty of cringe-inducing moments reminiscent of the original show, and the cast has great chemistry. While it may not seem entirely earned, the award show in the finale is a solid way to end the season. The Paper also leans into the documentary aspect more than The Office did with some interesting use of B-roll footage and on-screen titles which would have worked better with consistency.

There also is a level of optimism to the show that makes The Paper feel more like a spiritual successor to Parks and Rec than it does a sequel to The Office. Ned feels more like Leslie Knope than he does Michael Scott and even the supporting cast is on-board with what's going on because they actively see and believe what they're doing as important. The Office is about this small group of people doing the most boring work possible and either accepting their role at Dunder Mifflin and making that their life or moving on and finding a job they're passionate about, almost like they're stuck in purgatory. The improvement of the Toledo Truth Teller is similar to the improvement of Pawnee.

With The Paper already scoring a second season renewal, it's likely the show will fall into the pattern set by The Mandalorian's second season, namely that there will be a bunch of guest stars and fan service in its quest to score another renewal, but despite a few rough patches, the first season is worth watching on its own merits. If you do decide to give it a chance, watch it weekly like you would any other network sitcom, which will probably improve your overall enjoyment.

All ten episodes of The Paper are now available to stream on Peacock.

★★★★