Peacock’s The Paper isn’t a continuation of the story we saw in The Office. But in a way… it is. We’re no longer in Scranton, Pennsylvania. We’re in Toledo, Ohio. That’s 471 miles apart or about 7 hours of driving time. We’re also no longer focusing on a paper company. This time around we’re following around a Midwestern newspaper and its publisher’s efforts to revive it using volunteer reporters.
If you’re a fan of The Office you’ll immediately clock a familiar face in The Paper official trailer. At the 1:32 mark Oscar Martinez, played by Oscar Nuñez, appears shocked to see the documentary crew at the Toledo Truth Teller. He says, “Not again. I’m not agreeing to any of this.” as he gets up from his chair and storms off.
But when it comes to The Paper, Nuñez’s Oscar not the only person from The Office returning for this spin-off. Greg Daniels is the creator of the American version of The Office. Now he’s returning as the creator, writer, and executive producer of The Paper alongside Michael Koman.
Then there’s Paul Lieberstein. For those not in the know… he’s Toby Flenderson. Not only did he play Toby, the bane of Michael Scott’s entire time at Dunder Mifflin, Lieberstein was an writer, director, and showrunner on The Office. Which, discovering this now as a long-time fan of the show makes all of the Toby and Michael interactions even funnier. Now Lieberstein’s returning to direct for the spin-off.
And those aren’t the only people returning. Here’s a quick rundown of the notable crew members making a comeback and what their new roles are:
- Jennifer Celotta will return to direct
- Howard Klein will return to executive producer
- Ben Silverman will return to executive producer
- Kelly Cantley-Kashima will return as First Assistant Director
- Ken Kwapis will return to direct
The Hollywood Reporter also reported that Matt Sohn, Dave Rogers, and Jeffrey Blitz are set to return but there’s no confirmation on their IMDb.
Is Ricky Gervais involved in The Paper?
Before we learned about Michael Scott, there was Ricky Gervais’ David Brent in the UK version of The Office. He went on to write one episode of the Indian version of the show about the misadventures of boss Jagdeep Chaddha and his staff at the paper company Wilkins Chawla, in Delhi.
Gervais was also an executive producer and writer on the US version of the show. And at one point his David Brent ended up crossing paths with Michael Scott in The Office Season 7 Episode 13 “The Seminar.”
Now Gervais is back as an executive producer on The Paper.
Is The Office documentary crew returning for The Paper?
Yes! When Oscar gets up and rushing away in the trailer for The Paper, it’s because he recognizes the documentary crew who followed him around for years at Dunder Mifflin. No word yet if any of the IRL camera operators are back from The Office. But in the canon of The Paper it’s the same documentary crew.
On a recent episode of Office Ladies, hosts Jenna Fischer (who played Pam on The Office) and Angela Kinsey (who played Angela in The Office) confirmed the documentary crew is back is the same that followed them in Scranton.
On Friday (August 15) they sat down to interview Chelsea Frei. She is set to play the character Mare on The Paper. And while interviewing Frei, Fischer said, “So on the show, it’s the same documentary crew that followed the folks at Dunder Mifflin, and now they’re following you […]”
Watch the trailer for The Paper below:
The Paper premieres September 4th on Peacock. Four episodes will drop that first night. And then two new episodes will stream Thursdays until September 25.
