The documentary crew that followed the employees at Dunder Mifflin paper company on “The Office” must sure love paper. In its new spinoff, the cameras are back up and filming the day-to-day at another paper company — a newspaper called the Toledo Truth Teller.
The newspaper at the heart of “The Paper,” now streaming on Peacock, is not a comprehensive recap of national and world events but a local one, struggling and largely forgotten by its community. Its digital version is mostly photos and pop-up ads. This reflects the reality for many communities experiencing the decline of local news sources.
In the premiere, Truth Teller managing editor Esmeralda Grand (Sabrina Impacciatore) explains it like this: “The print version really only exists for people to have something to frame when they are mentioned.”
The camera then focuses on an article called “Seen Around Town” with the subhead: “If your name is on this list, our reporter saw YOU around Toledo!” Multiple columns of just names follow.
A new boss with a different vibe
The first episode also introduces us to the Toledo Truth Teller’s new editor-in-chief, Ned Sampson, played by Domhnall Gleeson. Cocreator Greg Daniels describes him as “a very idealistic person without a ton of experience coming in and trying to restore the glory of the newspaper, but not being allowed to hire new reporters.”
“It’s a different type of boss,” he added. “It’s a person who is legitimately inspiring to people, perhaps leading them off a cliff, who knows. But, the ability to lead is something Michael Scott didn’t have really very much of.”
A familiar face from corporate
Corporate always loomed in “The Office,” and a through-line to “The Paper” is that Evernate, the company that ended up buying Dunder Mifflin, produces a variety of paper products, including the Truth Teller. Its headquarters are in the building that once housed the paper during its glory days, where now only a few employees remain. Ned ends up tapping Enervate employees to help with the paper.
This is where the mockumentary crew finds a familiar face: Oscar Martinez, played by Oscar Nuñez, who used to work at Dunder Mifflin. At some point he left Dunder Mifflin and Scranton, Pennsylvania, to move to Ohio and work as an accountant at Enervate.
Daniels said he wanted to bring back Oscar because he was the only “Office” character who didn’t have a big arc.
“One of only characters that didn’t have a lot of character change was Oscar. He was pretty much a dignified presence through the whole show. And so it felt like, that guy still has some possibilities to go through stories without undoing the ending of the other show that I felt so protective about.”
Martinez is not happy to see the cameras in his current workplace.
“He’s like, ’I can’t believe this is happening,'” said Nuñez.
A nod to Knope
As Ned attempts to revitalize the Truth Teller, we see he’s less of a Michael Scott and more of a Leslie Knope from one of Daniels’ other shows, “Parks and Recreation.”
Knope, played by Amy Poehler, loved public service work in Pawnee, Indiana, and Sampson wants to deliver local news to the people of Toledo.
It’s “one of the things that I like about him the most,” said Gleeson, who met with real journalists in Ohio to get a feel for their perspective.
“They cared. That was the one thing they all had in common. They cared about the truth. They think the truth is worth paying for and fighting for.”
A different vibe than ‘The Office’
While the employees of Dunder Mifflin largely were just punching a clock, the Truth Teller staff enjoys their work.
“Tonally, a bunch of people ragtag or not pulling together to try to better the town in a pragmatic way is different than a bunch of people just going to their jobs getting through the day, 9 to 5. It’s a different vibe,” said Nuñez.
A conscious effort to not copy ‘the look’
The cast of “The Paper” is not looking to emulate the cast on “The Office,” especially with Jim Halpert-style reaction shots. Instead the mockumentary crew catches moments with a character sometimes forgetting — and then realizing — they’re being filmed.
“With our show, people don’t just look at the camera when they’re like, ‘Can you believe it?’ Explained Alex Edelman, a writer and actor on ‘The Paper.” “Thinking of the camera as kind of the straight man was a really fun, funny exercise.”
Chelsea Frei, who plays a reporter named Mare, adds: “It’s never just like you’re trying to get the look. You always should be doing it for a reason and for a purpose. My hope with the show is that it’s always intentional, those looks, and they’re not just to do it.”
