By Sarah Osman

This is a light, diverting show, well-suited as background fodder, but unlikely to garner the same following as The Office or Parks and Recreation.

Domhnall Gleeson in a scene from The Paper. Photo: Peacock

The Paper, created by executive producer Greg Daniels, has too many resemblances with its famous predecessor, The Office. There’s a zany cast of characters working at relatively dead-end jobs. They live in a dull town (Toledo, Ohio). And they’re being followed around by a documentary crew. Given its flickers of optimism, The Paper also recalls Daniels’s other beloved comedy, Parks and Recreation. And it is these similarities that are the problem: there is nothing technically wrong with the series, and it has its comedic moments, but The Paper adds nothing new or interesting to the sitcom formula. It is a light, diverting show, well-suited as background fodder, but unlikely to garner the same following as The Office or Parks and Recreation.

The Paper is connected to The Office in a circuitous way, as explained by Bob Vance of Vance Refrigeration, via the fictional Dunder Mifflin, which used to sell paper. Dunder Mifflin went under and was bought by Enervate, a company that sells toilet paper and also owns the once award-winning newspaper, The Toledo Truth Teller. Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson) has recently been hired as the paper’s new editor-in-chief. He’s got his work cut out for him — The Toledo Truth Teller’s big stories are snatched from the Associated Press or concern how much Ben Affleck tipped his limo driver. The documentary crew that followed the employees of Dunder Mifflin is now on the trail of the staff of The Toledo Truth Teller. The journalists are mostly made up of employees from Enervate, who, when they’re not making or selling toilet paper, write for the newspaper. Only one of these employees has any experience as a journalist: Mare (Chelsea Frei), who is also Ned’s love interest.

The series follows many of the same beats used in The Office and Parks and Recreation: Ned and Mare are the stand-ins for Jim and Pam in this universe, with a bit of Leslie Knope’s enthusiasm thrown in. Esmeralda (Sabrina Impacciatore, The White Lotus), the managing editor of the paper’s online version, is gunning for Ned’s job, serving as a much hotter version of Dwight. Barry (Duane Shepard Sr.) is the Creed, dealing with memory loss. Oscar (Oscar Nunez) is back, albeit in a slightly larger role.

What is unclear about The Paper is why it is taking the form of a mockumentary. When The Office first premiered, the format was revolutionary. But now there have been several imitations, and few have matched the brilliance of The Office (Abbott Elementary comes close).

The Paper probably wouldn’t have worked as a multicamera sitcom, but the mockumentary premise — and obvious connections to The Office — are to its detriment. Fair or not, The Paper will be compared to the mega-hit show. Why create a series that is so easy to dismiss as derivative?

To be fair, both The Office and Parks and Recreation floundered in their first seasons; it wasn’t until the second season that they found their footing. The Paper will get that chance: it has already been renewed. At the same time, those shows had 22-episode runs (albeit not in the beginning), a creative luxury for trial-and-error that The Paper will most likely not receive. At this point, certain plotlines feel rushed or dropped, including a few romantic entanglements and The Toledo Truth Teller’s sudden popularity. This is a series that would really benefit from having time to stretch out and grow. But, much like beleaguered traditional newspapers, traditional season orders are going the way of the dodo. And it is ironic that a show about a struggling industry is filled with dated references, most of which will hopefully be updated in season two.

The Paper has potential as amusement. I burst out laughing when the staff tried to review different products, only for Ned to try all of them and end up looking like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Impacciatore has an infectious energy that, as the series goes on, is growing more manic: what was a lame villain is becoming a sublimely silly comedic ditherer. And many of the side characters are intriguing, like the coworker who’s really obsessed with fishing. But, for The Paper to truly succeed, it needs to step away from what came before and give the same old news a refreshing new look.

Sarah Mina Osman is based in Los Angeles. In addition to The Arts Fuse, her writing can be found in The Huffington Post, Success Magazine, Matador Network, HelloGiggles, Business Insider, and WatchMojo. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and is working on her first novel. She has a deep appreciation for sloths and tacos. You can keep up with her on Instagram @SarahMinaOsman and at Bluesky @sarahminaosman.bsky.social.