Roush Review: This ‘Paper’ Is Worth a Subscription

The Paper

Matt's Rating:

I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry when, on his first day on the job as the new editor-in-chief of the near-death Toledo (Ohio) Truth Teller, idealistic Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson) is asked which paper he works for: “News or toilet?” I laughed out loud, but I was kind of crying on the inside.

Let me explain: I started my own career at local newspapers during more robust times, including as a college intern and freelancer at a different Ohio newspaper that, like the Truth Teller, once occupied its own building in a thriving downtown. (That location is now a hotel, and the staff has moved on to considerably less iconic digs.)

The titular publication is but a shadow of its former self when we enter the world of The Paper, a wry new comedy from The Office‘s Greg Daniels which shares that classic’s now-familiar mock-documentary format and even the same fictional camera crew. In footage from a fictional black-and-white 1971 documentary, Newspaper, we see the paper at the bustling height of its importance and influence, with Tracy Letts as its gruff editor. Now owned by a paper conglomerate named Enervate (how appropriate), the skeleton-staffed Truth Teller shares a floor with a toilet paper company, and guess which is more profitable?

With the stakes considerably higher than they were back in Scranton for Dunder Mifflin, The Paper hits close to home and is especially timely and relevant at a moment when a regional newspaper as established as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution announces that it will discontinue the print version at the end of the year. But like The Office, this deft workplace comedy also strikes a universal chord with an endearingly amusing ensemble of silly would-bes and never-wases.

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Gleeson is earnestness personified as Ned, who hails from a privileged background and whose claim to fame within Enervate is as a former top toilet-paper salesman. Picking the Truth Teller as his next mountain to conquer, he’s invariably well-meaning but with an undercurrent of romanticized self-importance, which makes him a target of exasperated and mocking affection by his one kindred spirit in the depleted newsroom: Mare Pritti (a sly Chelsea Frei, who immediately masters the Office style of baleful reaction shots). A former military reporter for Stars and Stripes, she is wasted as a “compositor” who whiles away her work hours cutting and pasting wire copy into what’s left of a news hole. Itching to be taken seriously, she jumps at the chance to once again tell actual stories that matter.

It won’t be easy. The only official reporter on staff (Duane Shepard Sr.) burned out long ago, and the rest of Ned’s recruits are a motley crew of clueless rookies from the business side who agree to volunteer. We’re only just beginning to know and care about them and their tangled relationships before the 10-episode first season is over. And Peacock made the inexplicable decision to dump all of the episodes at once instead of spreading them out in batches, initially planning to start with four then two a week, which would have allowed time to ease into this new environment and savor the standout episodes as they arrive. (One of the best involves a local scandal that Mare uncovers, which creates division between the editorial staff and their owners.)

More workplace conflict is provided by Ned’s hilarious adversaries, which include the corporate-strategy weasel Ken (Tim Key), who likens the paper to a “sick mouse,” and especially the vainglorious Esmeralda Grand (The White Lotus‘ outrageous Sabrina Impacciatore), who oversees clickbait on the website and resents Ned’s efforts to commit and inspire actual journalism.

There is one carry-over from The Office: Oscar Nuñez, returning as accountant Oscar Martinez, who’s initially not at all thrilled to be on camera again. (“Don’t you guys have enough after nine years?” he gripes. And he has a point.)

Still, most Office fans will likely be overjoyed to punch in their time clocks.

The Paper, Series Premiere (10 episodes), Thursday, September 4, Peacock