Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (July 21, 2026)
Based on a UK series, The Office became arguably the most loved US sitcom of the 21st century. With 2025’s The Paper, the US version of The Office spawned a formal spinoff show.
The premise here stems from the use of the documentary crew that followed around the characters in The Office. For The Paper, they move to Ohio to examine the employees of a small publication.
Aired on the Peacock streaming service, this two-Blu-ray set includes all 10 of Season One’s episodes. The plot synopses come from the series’ official site.
Pilot: “A documentary crew discovers a historic Midwestern newspaper and how publisher Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson) tries to revive it.”
While Paper represents the first proper spinoff from the US Office, 2009’s Parks and Recreation provided a spiritual successor. As originally intended, Parks planned to formally connect to Office but the producers decided to separate it from the mothership.
At least so far, Paper only reprises one character from Office, as Oscar (Oscar Nuñez) shows up here. I suspect we’ll see more returning roles down the road in Season Two, but otherwise Paper seems to keep things separate.
Which feels like a good decision, though comparisons between the two remain inevitable. Off the bat, Paper seems like it wants a more serious vibe, as a fair amount of the “Pilot” reminds us of the decline of the newspaper business and the need for good journalism.
This means fewer laughs than we might expect, though some amusement does arise. “Pilot” exists mainly to set up the characters and scenarios, which it does efficiently.
The Five W’s: “Ned starts slowly with his volunteer crew until Esmeralda (Sabrina Impacciatore) forces them to scramble for stories.”
That makes Esmeralda sound inspiring, but left unsaid is the fact that she actually tries to sabotage Ned by canceling the newspaper’s wire subscriptions. S1 clearly sets up Esmeralda as Ned’s antagonist, a theme that bears laughs but will probably get tiresome if it goes on forever.
Or maybe not. The Jim/Dwight dynamic never grew old, so perhaps Ned vs. Esmeralda will delight indefinitely.
In any case, “W’s” expands S1 pretty well. Much of it concentrates on a continued attempt to familiarize viewers with the characters, but we find more laughs than with “Pilot”, so that means it shows promise.
Buddy and the Dude: “Ned tags along on Mare’s (Chelsea Frei) consumer sting story after Esmeralda gets in his head.”
From the start, Paper implies that Ned and Mare will become an item. Only time will tell if the series avoids that predictable thread, but “Dude” confronts it.
Esmeralda toys with Ned in regard to the topic and I appreciate the acknowledgement of this likely plot development. Other potential workplace romance adds some character complications in a pretty good episode.
TTT and the Blogger: “Ned and Esmeralda go against a high school blog. Mare and Oscar cover a teacher's (Michael Hitchcock) last production.”
One benefit here comes from Higgins’ guest spot, as he brings laughs from his overbearing drama instructor. Alas, he doesn’t get a lot to do.
Still, other aspects of “Blogger” work as well, and the involvement of the blogger (Aidan Laprete) also offers commentary on the status of journalism circa the current era. I could live without the dreary romantic overtones we see but the rest of the show works fine, especially since it hints at a thaw between Ned and Esmeralda.
Scam Alert!: “Ned chases a story about a scammer operating through a dating app and learns Esmeralda was a victim.”
With “Scam”, we get a continued path to knock bullying Esmeralda down a few pegs. The online dating theme offers amusing moments and allows this to become a positive episode.
Churnalism: “Ned takes over Esmeralda's advertorials and assigns the staff to test products themselves.”
The manner in which Ned and the others explore the materials brings easy comedy fodder, and “Churnalism” does pretty well in that regard. Add some actual development of the Esmeralda and Mare roles and we find a solid show.
I Love You: “With Marv (Allan Havey) camped out in the newsroom, the staff’s unresolved attitudes toward authority bubble up.”
When Ned starts to view publisher Marv as the affectionate dad he never had, we find amusement. The return of Wicked Esmeralda and her partnership with conniving Ken (Tim Key) sputters, however, so the episode becomes a mixed bag.
Church and State: “Mare uncovers a story that pits the Truth Teller against its owner. Ned is embarrassed by his past.”
The first part of that synopsis gives Paper a little more of a dramatic vibe than normal, though we still find laughs. The two sides combine into an effective program.
Matching Ponchos: “Ned and Mare take a long road trip to interview a possible cult leader. Ken goes on an apology tour.”
The Paper seems determined to imply eventual romance between Ned and Mare, and “Ponchos” pushes this along – a little, at least. I’d prefer the series avoid this theme entirely but I guess it’s inevitable.
“Ponchos” sends Esmeralda down a silly path and Ken’s portion doesn’t really work either. Some good moments emerge but the overall episode seems spotty.
The Ohio Journalism Awards: “Ned stifles his desire to win at the Ohio Journalism Awards. Nicole (Ramona Young) uncovers Detrick's (Melvin Gregg) monogamy.”
As the season finale, one would expect some Big Character Moments. These result and give the episode a contrive vibe.
Not that “Awards” flops, as it finishes S1 on a reasonably positive note. Still, it feels like it tries a bit too hard to deliver those Big Character Moments so it becomes a spotty way to wind up S1.
