The Paper is not really The Office and it’s a good idea (critical)

Dunder Mifflin is bought by an Ohio company. Oscar finds himself propelled into a new open space. Without Michael Scott … But with lots of new endearing faces. The spin-off of the great cult series displays beautiful promises.

Some notes of a (new) generic to the sound of a pop-rock accordion plunges us 20 years back.

From its opening, The Paper aims to vibrate the nostalgic fiber of the fans of The Office.

And from the first sequence, we are brought back to Scranton, in Pennsylvania.

What has become of Dunder Mifflin?

Twenty Years Later, The Documentary Team Returned to the Scranton Business Park …

What has happened since we left Dwight to the office? No a priori miracle. There is no one left. Or rather, still resists Bob Vance (Robert R. Shafer), still owner of Vance Refrigeration, who explains that Dunder Mifflin ended up disappearing. And not only the scranch branch. The company has flowed. One and Done Laser (a cabinet that offers eye surgery) has taken possession of the old offices. In 2019, Dunder Mifflin was bought by Enervate, a Toledo company (in Ohio) specializing in paper products: toilet paper, paper for sanitary facilities … and also paper that prints the local newspaper! This is how documentaries find themselves filming the rebirth attempt at the toledo Truth Teller, the daily life of the city, while Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson) takes the editorial direction …

At the time of the acquisition, the employees of Dunder Mifflin had the opportunity to follow in Toledo. Phyllis – Always close to Stanley – said no. But one said yes: Oscar.

What is Oscar Martinez doing?

At 61, he is still an accountant for the company. Annoyed to see the cameras come back, he is still moaning … But, as usual, he ends up doing what is right. He is the only survivor in The Office and only occupies a secondary role here. Because, surprisingly, the first role of The Paper is … the newspaper itself. As if, in The Office, the main subject had really been paper.

Journalism today, as a central subject

Selling paper trains was just a pretext to talk about ordinary lives. Here, the spin-off has a more intellectual ambition. Greg Daniels looks at the end of an era: that of traditional journalism. He gives a surprisingly just portrait of the press difficulties today, questioning the place of information in a world saturated with blogs and social networks, the role of fact-checking and the very value of information as a product.

Significantly less funny

Is it all serious? It is. The Paper is much less funny than The Office. But paradoxically less anchored in reality. Enervate and TOLEDO TRUTH TELLER employees are less like real people. We all had a Jim, a Phyllis or a Ryan around us. But The Paper’s characters have something more artificial, less embodied.

We always want to go to the office

That said, the series manages to install fun dynamics. And especially Daniels has lost none of his talent to describe the atmosphere of an open space. Despite its tone differences, The Paper most often manages to summon this warm atmosphere of Scrany, this singular little charm that made the magic of The Office.

Also because the spin-off stands out the good old recipe from office romance like Jim & Pam. Here, it is Ned (Domhnall Gleeson) and Mare (Chelsea Frei). After the romance between the salesperson and the receptionist, here is the flirt between the editor -in -chief and his reporter. The couple’s complicity runs at full speed and brings the attachment that can be felt for the Truth Teller. Sabrina Impacciatore is responsible for making the Michael Scott on service. She is the somewhat crazy, eccentric manager, who says anything, dares everything, especially when it is embarrassing. The Italian actress of The White Lotus gives himself to heart in the skin of the extravagant Esmeralda Grand, but she provokes more discomfort than laughter. But after all, was that not already the case of Steve Carell in the very first (very strange) season of The Office?

Where to see The Paper?

Season 1 of The Paper has 10 episodes and has just been put entirely on the Peacock platform in the United States. For the time being, there is not yet a diffuser in France.