Review of the new mockumentary in the same world as The Office

Where David Brent was awful and Michael Scott was adrift, Ned Sampson – the boss in the latest iteration of the workplace mockumentary – is naive, idealistic and enthusiastic.

In The Paper, the spin-off from the US Office, the gradual softening of tone since Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant rewrote TV comedy rules nearly a quarter of a century ago seems complete. This is a warm and affectionate comedy, full of heart driven by the nostalgia for a golden age of local journalism when well-staffed city newspapers were relentless in their drive for truth.

Now, the Toledo Truth Teller employs just one real, if clueless, reporter. Sharing an office with its more successful sister company, a toilet paper brand, it pumps out generic clickbait with headlines like ‘You won’t believe how much Ben Affleck tipped his limo driver,’ while oblivious to the real story of a burning building on its doorstep.

Domhnall Gleeson’s Ned Sampson – just one letter away from the most upbeat character in Springfield, which is surely no coincidence – is the new editor-in-chief determined to change all this. He grew up wanting to be Clark Kent not Superman, and is determined to restore the newspaper to its former glories, despite his lack of experience and a more troublesome lack of money.

The ensemble cast appear a promising selection of characters – not too far removed from the folk who worked at Dunder Mifflin – even if they don’t immediately alchemise into comedy gold. But then it took The US Office a season to find its rhythm, and this is America, where they give their sitcoms time to discover their beat.

Tim Key’s Ken – the corporate head of strategy – is the Brent/Scott equivalent, in his element as the awkward joker, making pally comments to the camera crew, compellingly cringey while being thoroughly human and identifiable.

Compositor Mare Pritti is the Jim/Tim character, a smart cookie in a job well beneath her, putting wire-service copy into boxes on the page layout. Chelsea Frei is another watchable and empathetic actor who proves a heart to the show alongside Gleeson. 

Less interesting is Sabrina Impacciator’s Esmeralda Grand, the narcissistic managing editor whose nose has been put out of joint by Ned’s arrival. A fiery Italian, ever-conscious about looking fabulous and enjoying her big-fish-in-a-small pond status, she’s a rather one-dimensional foil for her new boss’s underplayed passion.

Elsewhere Oscar Nunez reprises his character of accountant Oscar Martinez from The Office, keen not to be on camera yet again, with Black Ops’ Gbemisola Ikumelo and stand-up Alex Edelman as the rest of his team. Then there’s world-weary Nicole (Ramona Young), working in circulation and  Detrick (Melvin Gregg) alongside the ‘real’ journalist Barry (Duane R Shepard Sr) – an dozy old-timer who wouldn’t know a news story if it woke him from his nap.

To turn the paper around, Ned tries to make reporters out of a ragtag collection of volunteers from the staff, giving the show a clear series-long engine its predecessor never really had, not that it suffered one iota from that.

The Paper starts by emphasising its links to the old Office. The film crew  turn up to Dunder Mifflin’s old Scranton HQ (1725 Slough Avenue, a nod to Wernham Hogg’s setting, which die-hard fans probably already knew) to learn that the company has been absorbed by the Enevrate firm in Ohio which owns the Truth Teller.

But The Paper’s longevity – and a second series has already been assured – will not come from how closely it follows the path of its predecessor, but how readily it finds its own, just as The US Office became a hit when it deviated from the original.

• The Paper is on Peacock in the US today and Sky and Now tomorrow, with the first two episodes airing on Sky Max at 9pm.

Review date: 4 Sep 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett