Television history is filled with some genuinely great sitcoms, but even during these select giggle-fests, there’s often a point where the jokes don’t land as well as they used to, or indeed at all. In the case of “The Office,” any reasonable fan will admit right away that the nine-season series suffered a noticeable dip in quality, and it began the day Michael Scott (Steve Carell) left a day early. If you had to rank the seasons of “The Office,” there’s a noticeable chunk in the top half of the list that succeeds thanks to Carrell’s cringy regional manager, who’s desperate to be everyone’s friend.
Thankfully, when it comes to the show’s charming new spin-off, “The Paper,” it’s clearly not trying to compete with Dunder Mifflin at its best, but instead giving the latter half of “The Office” timeline a run for its money. “The Paper” might already have some characters (like Tim Key’s Ken Davies) who echo the familiar comedic vibe of some of your favorite supporting stars of the Scranton-based paper company, but there’s no sign of a Michael Scott duplicate, simply because there can’t be. Instead, if we’re really going to put the show side by side, regardless of how fresh “The Paper” might be, it’s clear that the new boss of The Truth Teller and a staff member who’s on the verge of bailing have a chance to become a new version of the “will they, won’t they” office romance that we’re eager to follow.
Ned and Mare are The Paper’s Jim and Pam
When Michael Scott parted ways with Dunder Mifflin, Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Pam Beasley (Jenna Fischer) had to pick up the slack, and did a commendable job of it. Managerial duties might’ve been passed among a handful of characters, but Jim and Pam consistently remained the beating heart of the show, lifting other characters while still working through various phases of the relationship that audiences saw manifesting the second they shared the screen together. We don’t want to call it too soon, but the vibes coming from Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson) and Mare Pritti (Chelsea Frei) are very much the same and precisely the right direction this show needs to go.
Just like the American version of “The Office” changed its gameplan from the one initially set out by Ricky Gervais’ UK-based show (even if it took the first season to do so), “The Paper” is changing things up by, firstly, not having their manager be a comedic punching bag, but instead making him one of the few real characters with the best intentions. Ned is arriving to shake things up and get The Truth Teller back to its former glory, and already has an ally and fan in the form of Mare. With this kind of dynamic, it’s hard to see anything but the same kind of chemistry and romantic path we watched unfold between the creators of the Office Olympics. Let’s just hope that Ned and Mare’s story sells as well as Pam and Jim’s did — and has as much of a chance to thrive as well.
The first season of “The Paper” is streaming on Peacock now, and it’s already been renewed for a second season.
