Extra! Extra! ‘The Paper’ returns for season 2

The main cast of “The Paper”. Courtesy of NBCUniversal.

In a time of sequels, prequels, adaptations and rereleases, “The Paper” may subvert expectations of what a spin-off show has to look like. 

Oscar Nuñez and Alex Edelman from the show spoke with several college students across the country to discuss all things “The Paper.” 

Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Koman, the show takes place in Toledo, Ohio, where a documentary crew follows the lives of news reporters in a similar mockumentary style as “The Office.” While “The Paper” features similar elements to “The Office,” the show is not a direct spin-off.

“Our link to ‘The Office’ is more of a spiritual one than anything else. We use a lot of the same camera people so the rules around camera logic (are similar),” Edelman said. “There’s a lot more verisimilitude in terms of whether or not a documentary crew could actually be getting what you’re seeing on screen. So that I think is what sets ‘The Office’ apart, in some ways, and so that is a thing that we have too.” 

Nuñez, who reprised his role as Oscar Martinez from “The Office” 20 years later, further elaborated that, while the two shows share some writers and other crew members from “The Office,” the show's creators took on the task of making “The Paper” its own show. 

“It’s a completely different show they’re writing for, completely different people. (There’s a) small-town feel, of course, but with ‘The Paper,’ with a journalistic bent and all that and new characters. I’m the only thing that comes over from ‘The Office.’ I walked in as a fully formed character. So there I am and they maybe had a little bit of a challenge trying to fit me in there and trying to be independent from ‘The Office’ themselves, being very aware of that,” Nuñez said.  

Supporting Edelman’s argument, Nuñez added how the connection to “The Office” is not meant to be over-the-top to viewers. 

“Greg Daniels comes over from ‘The Office.’ We had that spiritual feeling, but it is a standalone show. The people in ‘The Office’ were selling paper. These people are journalists and (there are) different dynamics with the different personalities,” Nuñez said.

Although “The Paper” has overlap in the production and comedic style of “The Office,” Edelman, who serves as a writer and cast member playing Adam Cooper, believes the show may be closer in feel to other shows than “The Office.”

“I think our show actually has a lot more in common with ‘Parks and Recreation,’ if we’re going to  look at the Greg Daniels cinematic universe. In the sense that it’s about a group of ragtags and ragamuffins who are trying to build something for themselves and trying to do it for their community, which is a little more ‘Parks and Rec’ even then ‘The Office,’” he said. “But no one ever goes, ‘Oh, we did that on “The Office” or ‘We didn’t do that on “The Office”’ because it feels like a very independent show, but occasionally they give a nod, especially Oscar, to the lovely parent.”

For fans of “The Office,” Nuñez said that he does not consciously balance the old and the new with his character Oscar, instead going with the flow of the different environments on-screen.

“You just kind of perform and be true to what’s happening in the moment, and trust your writing and the people around you. And trust the fans. I think they get their fix,” Nuñez said. 

Centered around a local newspaper, “The Paper” highlights throughout the episodes the decline in local journalism across the country. Both Nuñez and Edelman said they have always seen the importance of local journalism, but the show was able to open up their views. 

“I think this gave me more of an appreciation of civic local journalism, local journalism that’s sort of focused on community scandals, community corruption and stuff like that,” Edelman said.

Edelman is no stranger to journalism. When he was 13 years old, Edelman wrote for the Boston Red Sox kids newsletter and later won the Boston Globe’s Will McDonough sports writing award. Now that he’s acting in a show all about journalism, Edelman and the whole crew get a lot of reception from current journalists.

 “I’ve always been a local journalism fan, and I think a lot of us have been, but we hear from reporters now, which is really special. We hear from people working in print media or who have worked in print media and that’s really sweet,” Edelman said.

The majority of the characters in “The Paper” have no prior journalism experience when they begin working at the fictional Toledo Truthteller newspaper. Under the leadership of Editor-in-Chief Ned Sampson, played by Domhnall Gleeson, they become inspired to find the best stories around town.

“It’s actually really beautiful that the position of print journalism in the world has nothing to do with the characters’ desire to make good print journalism. I think it has to do entirely with their desire to build something menschy and valuable for their community and for themselves,” Edelman said. 

Across the unique and diverse cast of “The Paper,” the actors and writers worked to create characters with entertaining dynamics similar to “The Office” or even “Parks and Recreation.” This can be challenging for characters that are so different from each other, but they work to ensure that the entertainment is the audience’s main takeaway. 

“There’s a common language,” Nuñez said. “And that common language is comedy.”