Dave Nemetz Reviews The Paper: Peacock's The Office Spinoff Has A Familiar Charm, But Could Use A Few Edits
People love The Office. They re-watch The Office. They fall asleep to The Office. Through countless binges and marathons, the NBC sitcom has built up a fan devotion that borders on religious. (I know; I was an early convert.) That's a lot to live up to, and Peacock's new spinoff The Paper — debuting this Thursday; I've seen all 10 episodes — doesn't quite get there. It does a decent job of mimicking The Office's signature mix of awkward cringe comedy and sincere heart, and weaves in some sly laughs along the way. But it gets dragged down by a couple of pieces that don't fit... along with the general sense that it's an inferior copy of something we liked a lot better.
Here, the same documentary crew that followed Michael Scott and Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch for nine seasons is following a failing newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, with an apathetic staff and a reliance on clickbait headlines like "You Won't Believe How Much Ben Affleck Tipped His Limo Driver." But that all changes when new editor-in-chief Ned (Domhnall Gleeson) takes over, an old-school newsman who writes his stories on a vintage typewriter. ("Print is permanent," he declares. "It's like true love.") His staff doesn't have much writing experience, beyond tweets and group texts, but he molds them into a motley crew of would-be journalists, hoping to turn the dusty old newspaper into something of value — and maybe something that makes money, even. (He can dream, can't he?)
Co-creators Greg Daniels (who was also a showrunner on The Office) and Michael Koman (Nathan for You) take a hard look at the steady decline of local newspapers — and find plenty of material for comedy there. The Paper is both romantic about old-fashioned journalism and clear-eyed about how impossible it is to do these days, as Ned and his staff work hard to create something that's destined for tomorrow's recycling bin. (Relatable!) The Paper borrows liberally from The Office's format and tone, giving us the familiar talking heads and reaction shots we know so well. (Even the peppy instrumental theme song feels like a slight variation on the Office theme.) They bring back Oscar Nuñez as accountant Oscar, too, although his role is mostly to sit in the background and remind us of Dunder Mifflin.
But some cast members stick out like sore thumbs. Sabrina Impacciatore, aka the hotel manager on Season 2 of The White Lotus, plays ousted editor Esmerelda, and she's entirely too broad for a subtle, single-cam mockumentary like this. She sucks up all the comedic oxygen in the room every time she enters a scene. (Her presence also raises questions like: What is a woman like this doing in Toledo, Ohio?) Tim Key is an odd fit, too, as sniveling yes-man Ken, and several other characters are only given thinly drawn personalities. (Alex Edelman's Adam is dumb in a very generic way, and he has a bunch of kids, and... that's about it.)
Gleeson is endearingly earnest, though, as Ned; he's actually closer to Parks and Recreation's unstoppably upbeat Leslie Knope than anyone on The Office. And if anyone is filling the Jim Halpert role here — that is, too smart to be stuck in a job like this — it's Chelsea Frei, who's instantly appealing as aspiring reporter Mare. The Paper does have a hint of Parks and Rec-esque satire to it: The newspaper is owned by a toilet paper company, and is constantly reminded it sits far below toilet paper on the corporate totem pole. But the echoes of The Office become too hard to ignore at a certain point... especially with a flirty, slow-burn romance that can't help but remind us of Jim and Pam.
Despite all those sticking points, though, I did laugh quite a bit watching The Paper, and it does start to find its footing by the time the finale rolls around. And hey, don't forget that The Office took a season to find its footing, too, and so did Parks and Rec. So maybe The Paper just needs time to do some revisions and discover its own voice. And now that we know it just scored an early Season 2 renewal, it'll get that chance.
THE TVLINE BOTTOM LINE: The Paper does deliver laughs, but some characters don't fit at all, and it can't quite escape The Office's shadow.