‘The Paper’ review: A nice return to Greg Daniels’ workplace mockumentarties
4/5 newspaper headlines
If you’re coming into The Paper and thinking that this is just The Office on repeat, you’ll be disappointed but that’s because it is its own show and that’s a good thing! Let The Paper exist on its own and you’ll have a great time.
Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson) is a salesman turned editor of the Toledo Truth Teller. He states that he always wanted to write for the paper and now that he’s in charge, he’s going to bring back the Toledo Truth Teller to its former glory. But he quickly realizes that it is harder said than done. Especially with Esmeralda Grand (Sabrina Impacciatore) pushing her digital website.
Much like the mockumentaries of decades past, The Paper has the character who, seemingly, is too smart for that job in Mare (Chelsea Frei). Then you have those who don’t really know what they’re doing and so on and so forth but what makes The Paper so great is that it doesn’t try to be The Office 2.0. And as a fan of Parks and Recreation, I find that to be the best way to approach this body of work that Greg Daniels has been creating.
Daniels co-created the series with Michael Koman. And while it does have ties to Dunder-Mifflin and the Scranton Branch we’ve come to know and love, mainly with Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nuñez) being a part of the cast, the show is a stand-alone piece. And frankly, that’s the best thing they could have done because I think going back to the world of Michael Scott (Steve Carell) wouldn’t help the show or fans of the series.
A nice new mockumentary to enjoy
When Parks and Recreation ended in 2015, we were left without the genre that Daniels and Mike Schur helped popularize in the United States. Quinta Brunson brought the genre back in a big way with Abbott Elementary but I thrived in a “Comedy Thursdays” world when we had multiple mockumentaries airing at the same time. Luckily, now I have The Paper and Abbott Elementary to enjoy.
The idea for The Paper is that the same documentary crew who filmed The Office is now filming what is happening with the Truth Teller. So Oscar has his reservations about being a part of the show but, for the most part, everyone is happy to talk to the camera crew. We have fun friendships between characters like Nicole (Ramona Young) and the very sweet Detrick (Melvin Gregg) and there are some similar beats to the shows before it.
But for the most part, The Paper is its own thing and that is what makes the show good. We don’t need to have the same old version of The Office again. That show exists and is streaming on Peacock. The Paper brings fans of the genre something new to enjoy and that’s worth celebrating and yes, all I want is for Ned to succeed, but that, to me, is a good sign for the show.
The Paper is streaming on Peacock on September 4.
(featured image: Troy Harvey/PEACOCK)
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
