After running for nine seasons, The Office touched the hearts of millions of viewers, so much so that NBC created a spinoff show titled The Paper, 12 years after the series wrapped. The Paper aired its first episode on September 4, 2025, detailing the journey of a local newspaper in Toledo, Ohio. 

The Paper released a 10-episode first season, following the same mockumentary style as The Office. The spinoff is reminiscent of its predecessor, with similar character archetypes and cringe-worthy plotlines. 

The show has garnered mixed reviews; I thought it was pretty endearing and fairly comedic. I laughed out loud a few times when watching it, but as a member of my high school newspaper, most of what I enjoyed from the show were the plotlines about journalism. 

The Newspaper Experience

The Toledo Truth Teller is the name of the newspaper that the show features, and in episode one, the audience learns that the paper is struggling to stay afloat. The show touches on real issues, like nobody wanting to read a printed newspaper anymore — or even look at a local news website for a meaningful length of time. Each episode also displays processes like collecting interviews and filling space on a print page.

The show begins on the protagonist Ned Sampson’s first day at work. He is hired as the new Editor-in-Chief of the paper, attempting to revitalize it. From the first episode, Ned has the goal of keeping the news locally focused, especially after they accidentally cut their access to the AP Wire Service. 

I found the struggle to come up with article ideas extremely relatable, because sometimes at a high school, it feels like there are really not that many interesting stories to cover. However, at the end of the first episode, when Ned holds their first printed copy in his hands, his pride in their work mirrors how my school newspaper staff feels when we complete our print editions. 

Additionally, many of the characters are new to newswriting, as most of them join The Toledo Truth Teller as volunteers. It took me back to the beginning of my time on the newspaper, dealing with all the learning curves.

Each episode also features antics common to both sitcoms and newsrooms. One episode has some of the characters try out a period cramp simulator, which my school newspaper staff also did recently. Bits like that really made me appreciate the show from a journalist’s perspective. 

The Characters

When watching a spinoff of The Office, it’s hard not to compare the two shows. However, the characters in The Paper are mostly distinct from the characters in The Office, aside from a couple similarities. 

Most obviously, Oscar Nunez from The Office joins The Paper to reprise his role as Oscar Martinez. It’s nice to see a familiar face on the show, and although sometimes it feels like his character is a bit of a crutch, The Paper doesn’t lean too much on Oscar, keeping him as a side character. 

Another character from The Paper, Ken, seems to me like a version of Dwight Schrute. He is always trying to please his boss, sabotaging anyone who stands in the way of his own goals. 

Other than those two connections, most of the characters are unique. The boss, Ned Sampson, is a bit of a doofus, but there is not really a Michael Scott archetype in terms of unfiltered comments. The romantic relationships in The Paper are also not quite comparable to those in The Office, because they move at a significantly quicker pace than that of Jim and Pam’s.

The Romantic Plotlines

The main romantic plotline is between Ned and Mare — the only other staff member actually trained in journalism — and I expected the relationship to progress more slowly, but we had a kiss between the two characters by the season one finale. 

They have good chemistry, but there is also a brief arc where Ned is tricked into believing that Mare was asexual, causing conflict between the two. That whole storyline felt awkward to me, but I suppose it mimicked The Office’s risky, often discomforting humor. 

There is another minor romantic storyline between the characters Nicole and Detrick. The joke is that Detrick seriously pines for Nicole, while Nicole strings him along. Some moments between them were funny; others were more hurtful. That was most of the show though — some jokes landed on their feet, while some stumbled. 

I wish they had moved a bit slower with the romances, because I was hoping for a more drawn-out sitcom, which you don’t see much of these days. However, TV has become briefer over the years — fewer episodes in a season, fewer seasons in a series — for better or for worse. Hopefully, NBC doesn’t spend years in between season one and two like most shows do.

Overall, I enjoyed watching the show, purely because it was about a newspaper company. Had I not been on my school paper, I probably would not have stuck with it, but I will be tuning in for season two.