Some things come back without making much noise. No dramatic trailer, no loud campaign. Just a low-key announcement, and suddenly it’s there. The Paper arrived like that. A spinoff that didn’t ask for attention, but still got it. It picks up the same mockumentary style that defined The Office, but shifts the setting to a small-town newsroom in Toledo, Ohio. The name says it all—a new kind of paper, but the same idea of watching people trying to work through chaos.
This isn’t a reboot or a reinvention. The Paper doesn’t force nostalgia or try to outdo what came before. It simply continues the tone, the awkwardness, the silence that says much more than words. In place of a paper company, there’s now a struggling local newspaper. Same lens, different dysfunction.
How The Paper is breaking the usual release formula
One of the first things that stood out was how the episodes will be released. Not all at once, but not weekly either. Peacock is going for a mixed format. It starts fast, then settles into a rhythm. Here’s how it breaks down:
- September 4, 2025: Episodes 1 to 4 released
- September 11, 2025: Episodes 5 and 6 released
- September 18, 2025: Episodes 7 and 8 released
- September 25, 2025: Episodes 9 and 10 released (season finale)
The season ends in just under a month. It’s quick, but spaced out enough to keep people checking back.
No episode synopses yet, just general outlines
So far, there are no official episode-by-episode synopses available. The streaming platform and production team haven’t released detailed descriptions, only general information about the setting, cast, and premise. What’s known is that The Paper will follow the staff of The Truth Teller, a local newspaper fighting to stay alive while a documentary crew captures everything, for better or worse.
The structure will likely mirror the kind of slow-burning humor and small-scale conflicts that defined The Office, but beyond that, most details remain under wraps.
A cast that blends in rather than shines
Oscar Nuñez returns as Oscar, and he doesn’t try to make it a moment. He simply appears, fitting back into the frame like he never left. In The Paper, the rest of the cast includes Domhnall Gleeson, Sabrina Impacciatore, Chelsea Frei, Ramona Young, Gbemisola Ikumelo, and others. Each with their own kind of chaos. Some look lost, some act confident, and most just float in and out of scenes like they were caught in the middle of a conversation. There’s no rush to make anyone the star.
The production team knows exactly what it's doing
Greg Daniels is back, co-creating The Paper alongside Michael Koman. The result feels deliberate. There’s the same quiet tension, the same pauses that used to fill long conference rooms in Scranton. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant also return as executive producers. Even if the characters are new, the language is the same. The pacing, the awkward pacing, the slightly-too-long glances into the camera. That rhythm hasn’t changed.
A newsroom that mirrors the absurdity of now
The Truth Teller may be fictional, but the problems feel familiar. Fewer resources, smaller staff, digital pressure, declining trust. Stories don’t land. Editors argue over wording. And at the center of it all, people are trying to keep things afloat while pretending it’s all under control. The Paper finds its humor exactly there, in the space between effort and failure. Not a parody, not a documentary, just something stuck in between.
A short run that might leave a lasting impression
Ten episodes in four weeks. That’s all. The Paper isn’t designed to drag out or to overwhelm. Just a single arc, compact and oddly efficient. The release strategy matches the tone. A slow reveal. A buildup without hype. Let the characters mess things up, let the viewers catch on at their own pace.
It doesn’t ask for attention. But it might end up getting it anyway.
Final thoughts
The Paper isn’t trying to bring The Office back. It doesn’t have to. What it does is offer a side-door entrance into that same world. A familiar energy, just reframed. The lighting is different. The coffee is worse. The printer never works. But something about it clicks. And that might be enough.
When September rolls around, the newsroom will be waiting. Not ready. Not perfect. But real enough to feel true.