Twenty years ago, a documentary film crew turned their cameras on the employees of Scranton’s Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in “The Office.” Now, they’ve reteamed once again for Greg Daniels’ latest mockumentary comedy, Peacock‘s “The Paper.” Though “The Office” — the American remake of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s BBC series — was a novelty at the time, television viewers have grown well-accustomed to this style of comedy in sitcoms like “Parks and Recreation,” “Abbott Elementary,” and “St. Denis Medical.” With “The Paper,” Daniels, co-creator Michael Koman and several other “The Office” alumni are putting the spotlight on a very different kind of paper company: the decaying Toledo Truth Teller in Ohio. The series takes a moment to work out its kinks, but by the season finale, it has all the makings of being as witty and iconic as its predecessor.
As “The Paper” opens, audiences learn that Dunder Mifflin was purchased by Enervate, a Toledo-based company, just before the pandemic. Upon hearing the news, the crew heads to Ohio to the Truth Teller Tower. Enervate owns the newspaper, which has just a handful of employees. However, the business remains profitable because it is primarily a seller of toilet tissue. Yet, the Toledo Truth Teller’s newly hired editor-in-chief, Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson), a former top salesman under Eneverate’s Softie toilet tissue brand, is ready to revive the paper.
Eager to get started in his new role, Ned quickly realizes the Truth Teller is in far worse shape than he anticipated. Sequestered in the same room as the Softie’s sales team, the newspaper’s staffers aren’t exactly up for any breaking news. There’s Mare Pritti (Chelsea Frei), the only staffer with any editorial experience. Unfortunately, she has been reduced to pulling fluff stories off the AP wire and playing Tetris to fit them into the clunky, ad-filled paper. Nicole Lee (Ramona Young) is responsible for circulation, yet her role actually involves stealing subscribers’ information to boost the paper’s minuscule revenue. Barry (Duane Shepard Sr.) is more of a relic than an actual employee. Finally, there is the illustrious Esmerelda Grand (Sabrina Impacciatore, who was nominated for an Emmy for her role in Season 2 of “The White Lotus”), the interim managing editor who focuses on distributing clickbait all across the paper’s online platform. She has the wardrobe and the dramatics of a Mafia wife, and is clearly threatened by Ned’s arrival, but refuses to be usurped by him.
The rest of Ned’s newsroom consists of Enervate employees who are hoping to volunteer and see their bylines in print. Detrick Moore (Melvin Gregg) is the people-pleasing salesman who isn’t great at his job, and the accountants, Adelola Olofin (Gbemisola Ikumelo), Adam Cooper (Alex Edelman), and Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nuñez, reprising his role from “The Office”), are all eager to switch things up at work. Juggling sparse resources, an extremely green team and — with Esmeralda and Enervate’s head of strategy, Ken Davis (Tim Key), sabotaging him at every turn — Ned attempts to resurrect the Truth Teller to its former glory.
Making a worthy follow-up to “The Office” was always going to be a near-impossible task, and it certainly takes some time for this series to warm up. Reminiscent of Season 1 of “Parks and Rec,” the first half of “The Paper” feels a bit clunky. Initially, the humor doesn’t quite land, and the actors, though talented, don’t quite seem at home in their characters. The start of the 10-episode first season feels as if viewers are watching several improv performers in a chaotic rehearsal. Things begin to gel halfway through the season, especially as more aspects of the characters’ personalities and personal lives are revealed.
Episode 5, “Scam Alert!,” begins to turn the tide. In the episode, Ned is tipped off by the Toledo Police Department about a catfisher preying on women on an online dating site. As the reporters begin their investigation, they realize someone in the newsroom is connected to the scam. This particular episode showcases what “The Paper” could be, and paves the way for the remaining episodes, which are as hilarious as they are memorable.
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“The Paper” doesn’t immediately knock it out of the park, and as with “The Office” and “Parks and Rec,” it has some initial growing pains. Still, if it stays the course and gains a faithful audience, “The Paper” has the potential to make a lasting impact while spotlighting a beloved and necessary industry that is long past its glory but certainly worth fighting for.
From Variety US