A spinoff of “The Office” set in the same universe with the same documentary crew who documented Dunder Mifflin, the series follows Ned Sampson as he starts his new job as the editor-in-chief of the Toledo Truth Teller.
Ned has an outgoing personality that tends to dominate the newsroom. His main goal is to make the Toledo Truth Teller great as it once was back in the day.
One of the people returning to “The Office” world is Oscar Nunez reprising his role as Oscar Martinez. He is still an accountant but for the company that took over Dunder Mifflin, Enervate.
Other characters are mentioned, like Phyllis Vance and Stanley Hudson, but we don’t really hear much about any other characters; I wish we did, though, because I want to know what the other characters are up to.
The Toledo Truth Teller’s managing editor and TTT Online is Esmeralda Grand. Her exaggerated personality takes up the entire room. She’s also a single mom, with the creators including this as a core part of her character and personality.
Another important character is Mare Pritti, a former US Army veteran. She’s also the only employee with real journalism experience. She’s ambitious and deeply cares about the Toledo Truth teller. Also, the show hints at a possible romance that may unravel between her and the editor-in-chief.
I really liked the series; it gave me the same feeling I got when I first watched “The Office.” The season is 10 episodes long, which is not enough for me because I wanted to see more. I enjoyed watching the characters go through the process of writing an article, and that it is not all smooth all the time.
Near the end of the pilot, Mare shows Ned a surprise: a basement with the printing press where the Toledo Truth Teller used to produce their printed newspapers. Ned was left in awe of the machine.
I really liked the scene because it highlighted Ned’s real appreciation and passion for newspapers. He’s not like Jim Halpert who was at Dunder Mifflin just for the check—he cares deeply about his job.
One thing that really bugged me about “The Paper” was that we didn’t really get to see what the other characters are like outside the Toldeo
Truth Teller. I wanted to see more of Nicole and Derrick’s romantic relationship or more of Adam’s family life with his wife.
When they have their very first staff meeting with Ned as the editor in-chief, I found it hilarious when all the staff’s personalities were crashing together while Ned tried to take control of the room before sending everyone out to get some local news reports for the issue.
Adam’s confusion in the second episode is totally relatable when you’re starting out in a newspaper type of
environment. I feel that most of the characters are relatable in their own ways, especially for real-life journalists.
“The Paper” was renewed for a second season. I’m very excited to see what the news team has in store for us!