Greg Daniels must really have missed cubicles: “The Office” creator is back with a documentary-style sitcom spinoff series, titled “The Paper,” that reunites him with a slew of “Office” alums. Daniels and “Nathan For You” co-creator Michael Koman are the co-creators, co-showrunner, writers, and executive producers of the highly-anticipated Peacock series.
Much like “The Office,” “The Paper” revolves around an ensemble cast including Domhnall Gleeson, Sabrina Impacciatore, Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Ramona Young, Tim Key, and “The Office” alum Oscar Nuñez. Original (AKA British) “The Office” stars and co-creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant executive produce “The Paper” along with Howard Klein, Ben Silverman, and Banijay Americas (formerly Reveille).
Related Stories
“The Office” was originally created for BBC by Gervais and Merchant, where it ran from 2001 to 2003 before Daniels adapted it for American television in 2005. The U.S. version ran for nine seasons and earned 42 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including five wins.
“The Paper” follows the same fictional documentary crew that “immortalized Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch in the Emmy Award-winning series ‘The Office’ as they find a new subject when they discover a historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it,” the synopsis reads. Tracy Letts, Eric Rahill, Molly Ephraim, Mo Welch, Allan Havey, Duane Shepard Sr., Nate Jackson, and Nancy Lenehan guest star.
Daniels directs the pilot episode, with Ken Kwapis, Yana Gorskaya, Paul Lieberstein, Tazbah Chavez, Jason Woliner, Jennifer Celotta, Matt Sohn, Dave Rogers, and Jeff Blitz helming the rest of the 10-episode season. “The Paper” is a Universal Television series from the division of Universal Studio Group.
Daniels, meanwhile, has seemed to keep the door open to a possible “The Office” reboot. The director said in 2021 that a revival is “not impossible, for sure,” but he would have to be part of it. “I would want to be involved, and I’ve got two other shows I’m working on right now,” Daniels told Collider. (Daniels served as the showrunner for the first four seasons of “The Office” before departing to co-create NBCUniversal’s similarly-beloved “Parks and Recreation.” Daniels resumed showrunner duties for the ninth and final season of “The Office,” which concluded in 2013.)
“The Paper” premieres on Peacock with four episodes September 4, followed by two new episodes every Thursday through September 25. Check out the trailer below.
