From The Office to The Paper

In new mockumentary comedy series The Paper, the documentary team that brought us the workplace chaos at paper company Dunder Mifflin in The Office are bedding down at a new workplace: the Truth Teller Tower building. Here we find the offices of the Toledo Truth Teller, a historic Midwestern newspaper that’s struggling to stay afloat in our “print is dead” era. But how did they get from Scranton, Pennsylvania, all the way to Ohio? Surely a plucky documentary crew could find a dying newspaper anywhere? Well, there’s a connection. 

Watch The Paper Season 1 on Showmax now. New episodes each Wednesday.

At the start of The Paper, the crew arrive at Scranton Business Park hoping to film a retrospective about Dunder Mifflin. But when they stop by Vance Refrigeration to say hi to Bob Vance (Robert Ray Shafer) of Vance Refrigeration, who’s still married to former Dunder Mifflin sales rep Phyllis Vance (Phyllis Smith), Bob reveals that One and Done laser hair removal has taken over the office space that previously housed Dunder Mifflin. The company reportedly relocated to Toledo after they were bought out by the paper conglomerate, Enervate, headed by CEO Marv Putnam (Allan Havey, who played Dwight’s neighbouring farmer mortal enemy, Henry Bruegger, in The Office).

It turns out Enervate sells a number of paper-based products, including Softees brand toilet paper, allegedly flushable Man Mitt wet-wipe gloves, toilet seat protectors, janitors’ super-absorbent mopping-up paper and, as Enervate executive and corporate strategist Ken Davies (Tim Key) reveals, their lowest-quality and least profitable product: the Toledo Truth Teller. It’s the finest “journalism” ever to line the bottom of a bird cage, and about three seconds away from being as useful in the modern world as a telephone directory.

The Nedditor-in-Chief

 Domhnall Gleeson as Ned, Duane R. Shepard as Barry -- (Photo by: Aaron Epstein/PEACOCK)

The Office’s documentary crew has arrived just in time to meet the Toledo Truth Teller’s new editor-in-chief, Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleason), as this former Softees Toilet Paper salesman steps into his first day on the job. And cue the conflict, because his arrival unseats the current managing editor, Esmeralda Grand (Sabrina Impacciatore), who’s also been in charge of the paper’s online presence, TTT Online. 

While that seems like the kind of lateral move that made Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) such a nightmare boss for his TV production staff to work with as the Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming for General Electric in comedy series 30 Rock, it turns out Ned is harbouring long-lost dreams of journalistic integrity from his days working on a college newspaper. 

Sure he’s a weird little ginger hobnob who’s desperate to impress “Daddy” Marv Putnam. But when his desire for Marv’s approval conflicts with the possibility of a real newspaper scoop, we’ll see which way Ned leaps. Watch out, though, because the conflict could activate Ned's sleeper-agent former identity as toilet paper’s slickest ever salesman – as one colleague quips in horror, "You looked like if Draco Malfoy had a cocaine problem.”

And the Oscar goes to…

(From left): Duane Shepard Sr. as Barry and Oscar Nunez as Oscar -- (Photo by: John P. Fleenor/PEACOCK)

There’s one more connection from The Office to uncover, because during the move from Scranton to Toledo, level-headed Dunder Mifflin accountant Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nuñez), the series’ only sane man, jumped ship (and abandoned his political ambitions) to become an accountant for the Toledo Truth Teller. He is now their Head Accountant.

Enervate might be the perfect everything-paper business for Oscar. Remember when he revealed his origami skills during the finale of The Office? He commented, “You take something ordinary, like a piece of paper. It's not much, but if you see it in the right way…" as he folded a paper crane and mused about how the documentary crew’s nine-year vision had also transformed Dunder Mifflin from a bleh business to a worldwide obsession. 

Oscar has moved on, though, and he is steamed and pressed to see his old frenemies, the documentary crew, at his new office. They’re ready to use their tried-and-true technique of sitting back and letting the drama unfold around them while working on those telling straight-to-camera interview segments. And Oscar knows that they’re set to take us on a wild ride into the truth about newspapers, the public good vs what sells, and the perils of the do-everything-for-nothing business model that’s replacing the advertiser-funded model as it crumbles to dust.

See you in the funny papers, Oscar!

Come back to The Office

The Paper is a return-to-work order for The Office US co-writer-creators Greg Daniels and Michael Koman (real-life husband of The Office’s Erin Hannon – Ellie Kemper), along with executive producers Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who created the original UK version of The Office.

Binge The Office Season 1-9 on Showmax now. And watch this space for more news about the South African version of The Office, coming to Showmax and kykNET in 2026, with Rapid Blue producing. 

Page Three fun facts

1. During 2024, Domhnall Gleason job shadowed and interviewed Riley Runnels, editor of the Toledo City Paper, after the show’s producers sent her a request via email. He also chatted to The Office stars John Krasinski and Steve Carell, who both (separately) advised him to leap at any chance to work with Greg Daniels.

2. The Paper’s wardrobe team contacted Michael DeSanto, executive director of location scouting organisation FilmToledo, to pick his brain about fashion trends in Toledo. While he admitted to not being a fashion guy, he was able to slip them some information about local traditions including Jeep ducking (driving around with rubber duckies in and on your Jeep), Christmas Weed (locals decorate straggly street weeds around Christmas as if they were Christmas trees) and the constant complaining about potholes, which would be a perfect slow news day front page for the newspaper. 

3. Local Toledo businesses including JŪPMODE, Barry Bagels, Balance Pan-Asian Grille, and Black Kite Coffee mailed The Paper’s producers all sorts of knicknacks to add area-typical clutter to their set, including a bobblehead of Barry Bagels founder Barry Greenblatt.

Watch The Paper Season 1 on Showmax now. New episodes each Wednesday.