After almost exactly a year since its debut, “The Paper” returned to Peacock for its second season on September 9. The spinoff of “The Office” follows the Toledo Truth Teller, a struggling news publication in Ohio, through the lens of the original series’ fictional documentary crew.
Upon its release, fans of “The Office” were skeptical of whether the show’s comedy would be original, or if it would be a cheap copy of the series it was based on. While the response was mixed, fans were faithful enough to encourage a second season — and now, it’s finally here.
Where Season One Left Us
The first season ended on a hopeful note for the Truth Teller. After struggling to produce a single quality article the entire season, the publication won “Outstanding Print Coverage” at the Ohio Journalism Awards. Reporter Mare Pritti, one of the paper’s very few competent journalists, won “Best Investigative Reporting” for her piece on how their parent company, Softees, clogged Toledo’s sewer system with “flushable” wipes.
The Mockumentary Crew Returns, and They’re More Creative Than Ever
While I am a firm believer that “The Office” will never be comedically surpassed by any modern sitcom, one area that I might argue “The Paper” does better than the original series is the mockumentary-style filming.
In “The Paper,” the fictional documentary crew doubles down on the obsessive, stalker-like tendencies portrayed in “The Office.” They take their secretive filming to the next level this season to film Ned and Mare’s getaway weekend, taking over cameras in delivery robots to spy on them. The crew gets creative with found footage, including security camera footage, Zoom call screen recordings, dashcams, drone shots and more.
The interaction between the cast and the crew makes the characters feel real and the show feel reminiscent of “The Office,” but is still unique enough so that it doesn’t feel like a cheap copy of what worked in the past. The scene of Ned throwing the delivery robot/spy into the river, for example, blends the humor of the stalker-ish documentary crew with modern cultural references that could not exist in “The Office.”
The Truth Teller’s Version of Jim and Pam: Ned and Mare
All sitcoms need at least one heart-throbbing slow burn that makes watchers yearn for another season. In “The Office,” it was Jim and Pam. In “The Paper,” it’s Ned and Mare.
Season one closed off with a passionate kiss between Ned and Mare, leaving its audience on a cliffhanger of their relationship for over a year. In the first episode of the second season, Ned ignores Mare all day to try to throw their coworkers off the scent of their relationship — but he forgets to communicate this with Mare, leaving her to wonder if their kiss meant anything to him.
I was yelling at Ned through my TV the entire episode until he finally redeems himself by explaining his behavior to Mare. From there, their chemistry feels perfect the entire season.
Viewers watch Ned and Mare record their podcast, “Dueling Pencils,” where their commentary feels like watching a couple in their honeymoon phase. But, their relationship is put to the test when Mare leaves to work at the Cincinnati Chronicle, a four hour bus ride away from Toledo.
Problems quickly arise from a lack of communication between the two, finally resulting in an unnecessary breakup. Even after Mare decides to move back to Toledo, they make it clear that it is only for journalistic purposes, and they are not getting back together.
For a sitcom relationship story to feel truly rewarding, they need a longer story arc than two seasons, which is likely why the writers jammed a breakup plot in the middle — but it just felt like a cheap and obvious way to drag their story out.
Notable Characters
Oscar
Oscar is the only character who was in both “The Office” and “The Paper,” making his role in the spinoff series act as a bridge between the two shows. His character is a seamless way the show can reference “The Office” characters, which is done through Oscar’s phone calls (to Stanley about his puzzle publication, and to Kevin about the tornado warning). Although short, these scenes offer a warm sense of nostalgia to “The Office” fans.
Over the years, Oscar seems to have loosened up in his workplaces. In “The Office,” he is typically the competent, level-headed one that disapproves of workplace shenanigans. In “The Paper,” we watch Oscar start to participate in sillier activities, like Ned’s Glass Club diagram made from miscellaneous office supplies and ranch dressing. It’s sweet to see him having fun and engaging with his work, as well as having a greater role in the show overall.
Esmeralda
Last season, Esmeralda was annoying and insufferable, but her character was still so funny that I found myself rooting for her regardless. This season, her bad personality traits were exaggerated to the point that I could only see her as a terrible mother and person overall. The scene where she goes to her son’s school and pretends to be a student didn’t sit right with me, especially when she tackles her own child to the ground in front of his classmates.
During an active tornado, she goes to a psychic to ask if she is a narcissist, and the psychic reminds her of her son that she had completely forgotten about until then. Depending on where her character goes next season, she is close to being past a point of redemption that any character development arc can fix.
Conclusion
I want to end my review by shouting out the absolute comedic highlight of this season. After Travis and Adelola drive too close to the tornado trying to get footage, they are left with no choice but to pile on top of each other in a ditch on the side of the road and wait for the winds to pass — resulting in an uncomfortable scene of the tornado repeatedly blowing Travis into Adelola while he’s crouched over her, forcing him to accidentally grind on her for an excruciating amount of time. What makes it even better is that there seems to be romance budding between the two after their awkward encounter, which is just another reason to be excited for another season.
Shows like “The Paper” are proof that modern sitcoms can seamlessly blend Gen Z humor and cultural references into an adult workplace. While the show has not officially been renewed for a third season yet, hopefully Peacock will choose to continue telling the Truth Tellers’ stories.
Edited by Andriana Yatsyshyn and Sammie Yen.