A first look at the upcoming The Office spinoff, The Paper, is finally here.
“Several years ago, a documentary crew filmed the story of Dunder Mifflin [and] now they’ve found a new subject,” a title card on a Thursday, August 7, trailer reads.
The Office, based on the popular British series of the same name, aired for nine seasons from 2005 to 2012 and chronicled the lives of employees at a paper factory via fictitious documentary. The Paper, told in a similar way, examines the staff at a dying newspaper in the Midwest titled the Toledo Truth Teller.
“My name is Ned Samson. I am your new editor-in-chief,” Domhnall Gleeson says in the footage, later joking that the paper “sucks” and he plans to help “make it better.”
Everything ‘The Office’ Stars Have Said About the Upcoming Spinoff
He adds, “I hope it’s not too disruptive to have me come in and, sort of, shake everything up.”
Italian actress Sabrina Impacciatore, who plays Esmeralda, then tells Ned “not to be so self-defecating” in a heavy accent. Ned looked straight into the camera with a perplexed look, as Esmeralda seemingly meant to say “self-deprecating.”
Elsewhere in the trailer, Ned introduces himself to the full team at a staff meeting and shares his plan to grow the company.
“Seven highly motivated, tenacious Buckeyes are out there hunting for news,” Ned adds in a confessional, while the camera cuts to the employees’ hijinks out of the office. “You’d be a fool to bet against that.”
In addition to Gleeson, 42, and Impacciatore, 57, The Paper also stars Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Ramona Young and Tim Key. Fans of The Office will also recognize Oscar Nuñez, who reprises his role as Oscar Martinez.
“Not again,” Nuñez, 66, quips in the footage, standing up from his desk and pointing his finger directly at the camera. “I’m not agreeing to any of this. I will make this unusable. F***. Use that.”
The Paper was created by Greg Daniels, who previously was the showrunner for The Office, and Michael Koman. Ricky Gervais, who starred on the U.K. version of series, serves as a producer. Daniels, 62, also directed the pilot episode before passing the baton to Ken Kwapis (who directed The Office’s pilot episode), Yana Gorskaya, Paul Lieberstein (who served as a writer and portrayed Tobey on The Office), Tazbah Chavez, Jason Woliner, Jennifer Celotta, Matt Sohn, Dave Rogers and Jeff Blitz.
While few details have been revealed about The Paper ahead of the trailer’s debut, star Gleeson relied on a few sitcom vets for filming advice.
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“I had worked with Steve Carell very closely before and loved that experience,” Gleeson exclusively told Us Weekly in May, referring to his The Patient costar. “Even though we’re very different actors, I felt like our working methods were very similar. I felt very close to him on that, and I’d asked Steve.”
Carell, 62, notably played Michael Scott on The Office opposite Ellie Kemper, Jenna Fisher, Mindy Kaling, Melora Hardin, John Krasinski and more. Krasinski, who portrayed Jim Halpert, also costarred with Gleeson in 2025’s Fountain of Youth.
“I asked John [for advice too] because it was right at the time when I was making the decision. And it’s a big thing, you know?” Gleeson told Us. “John was just the same as Steve. It was basically, like, ‘You have to do it. It’s a chance to work with Greg Daniels, who’s one of the comedic masterminds of the last few decades.’”
He added, “They just said, ‘If he’s the one doing it, you need to work with him and because you’ll enjoy it. It’ll be fun.’ Both said, basically, exactly the same thing and were incredibly helpful and supportive with it.”
The Paper premieres on Peacock Thursday, September 4.
