It has been over 12 years since The Office concluded its ninth and final season, but the show has remained as popular and beloved as ever thanks to its dominance on streaming. Rather than continuing the stories of Jim, Pam or Dwight, however, the creators of the show have returned with a spinoff called The Paper.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the new series, including when it comes out, how to watch it, who is in it and how it ties back to the original show.
When does The Paper come out?
All 10 episodes of The Paper premiere on Thursday, September 4, presumably some time early in the morning (exact timing is TBA). The series will be available exclusively on the Peacock streaming service, rather than airing on NBC like The Office did between 2005 and 2013.
A Peacock Premium subscription costs $10.99 a month, while a Peacock Premium Plus subscription costs $16.99 a month. The latter allows for ad-free streaming and offline downloads. The Paper will not be available to Peacock Select subscribers, who pay $7.99 a month for NBC and Bravo content but do not get access to Peacock Originals.
As recently as a few weeks ago, The Paper was scheduled to kick off season 1 with a four-episode premiere on September 4. Two episodes would be released for the following few Thursdays before the finale came out on September 25. But on August 21, the higher-ups at the studio changed course and opted for the binge-release model instead.
What is The Paper about?
Ned Sampson, played by Domhnall Gleeson, takes over as the new editor-in-chief of the Toledo Truth Teller. The newspaper is struggling, and it is up to Sampson and his rag-tag crew of reporters to keep it afloat in a world that is seemingly moving past print media. Chelsea Frei, Sabrina Impacciatore, Melvin Gregg, Ramona Young, Alex Edelman, Gbemisola Ikumelo and Tim Key round out the rest of the main cast. Tracy Letts, Molly Ephraim, Nancy Lenehan and Allan Harvey are part of the recurring cast.
Here is the official synopsis of the show:
“Documentary crew searches for new subject, finding a dying Midwestern newspaper and its publisher’s efforts to revive it using volunteer reporters.”
Here is a list of the episodes and their titles:
- Episode 1: “Pilot”
- Episode 2: “The Five W’s”
- Episode 3: “Buddy and the Dude”
- Episode 4: “TTT vs the Blogger”
- Episode 5: “Scam Alert!”
- Episode 6: “Churnalism”
- Episode 7: “I Love You”
- Episode 8: “Church and State”
- Episode 9: “Matching Ponchos”
- Episode 10: “The Ohio Journalism Awards”
How is The Paper related to The Office?
In the universe of the show, the same documentary crew that followed the Scranton Branch of Dunder Mifflin has settled on the Toldeo Truth Teller as their next subject. Oscar Martinez, played by Oscar Nunez, is the only character from the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin who is confirmed to be crossing over into the new series so far. Creed Bratton, Paul Lieberstein and Kate Flannery — who played Creed, Toby and Meredith on The Office — attended the premiere of The Paper at the Harmony Gold Theater in Los Angeles on August 27, so they might make cameos of their own in The Paper.
As for the making of the series itself, The Paper was co-created by Greg Daniels, who also created The Office, as well as Parks and Recreation. Michael Koman served as the other co-creator following his work on Nathan For You, Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Daniels and Koman executive produced The Paper alongside Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who co-created the British version of The Office that inspired the American remake.
Here is the official trailer for The Paper:
