Fans of The Office are in for good news as they watch The Paper: multiple characters from Dunder Mifflin make their way onscreen.
In the pilot episode of The Paper — which was released on Thursday, September 4, viewers quickly learn that Dunder Mifflin was purchased by a company that sells products made out of paper. The information is told to the documentary crew by none other than Bob Vance, husband of Phyllis Vance (Phyllis Smith).
With the change, only one employee chose to relocate to Toledo, Ohio — beloved accountant Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nuñez).
“Oscar finds himself there. It’s a new city for him. I like to think he got paid more,” Nuñez, 66, exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of the show’s premiere. “All of a sudden, this documentary team shows up.”
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Indeed, the main “connective tissue” — as cocreator Greg Daniels described in an exclusive interview with Us — is that the same documentary crew from The Office is now following the staff of struggling newspaper The Toledo Truth Teller.
As Oscar embraces his new role as puzzle maker for the newspaper, the crew captures him making a phone call to a friendly face from the past.
“Did you get my text?” Oscar says into the phone during episode 2 while picking up a newspaper from an outdoor stand. “I made it! It’s in today’s paper. Well, is it too easy? Is it too hard? What do you think? Ha, maybe too easy for you, Stanley.”
While Stanley Hudson (Leslie David Baker) doesn’t make any onscreen appearances, Oscar again references former employee Michael Scott (Steve Carell). “A great man once said, ‘You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.’ Also, an idiot I used to know,” Oscar said in the season finale, referencing Michael’s iconic line.
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Despite the nods to The Office, Daniels and cocreator Michael Koman were content with there being no more alums in The Paper. Daniels noted that fan favorites Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) left The Office residing in Austin, Texas — meaning they don’t have any reason to be in the Midwest.
“I’m not exactly sure why [the documentary crew] would feel the need to call them up and transport them to Toledo or something,” Daniels said, while Koman added, “I certainly would say for this season, really, our focus was on these new characters and their stories. The future is the future.”
But if there were to be more OGs included in the new show, cast members Ramona Young and Melvin Gregg might have an idea of who they would like to see in season 2. (The Paper was officially renewed for another season one day before the show’s premiere.)
“I think bringing anybody back, the fans would love it. It’s hard to say … I think I want to go with Paul Lieberstein again as Toby, just because he comes from HR. He’s a funny character, and I feel like there’s a lot of HR things that need HR attention in regard to this show in this workplace. I think that will be funny,” Gregg, 36, exclusively told Us, while Young, 27, added, “I’ll say Meredith. That’ll be a fun one.”
The Paper season 1 is streaming now on Peacock.
