‘It All Feels Surreal’: Cast of ‘The Paper’ Dish on ‘The Office’ Spinoff
New characters, same documentary crew: what to know about 'The Office' spin-off
More than 12 years after the end of the Emmy award-winning series The Office, show creator Greg Daniels (along with co-creator Michael Koman) is back with a new mockumentary. The Paper, a spin-off and follow-up to the original series, focuses on a different subject followed by the same fictional documentary crew that captured nine seasons’ worth of gold at Dunder Mifflin. This time, audiences are introduced to the staff at a historic newspaper in northwestern Ohio called The Toledo Truth Teller.
Ahead of the series premiere this September, Woman’s World sat down with four of the show’s cast members to discuss favorite memories from filming, their love of The Office and what fans can expect from the spin-off.
How the cast was inspired by ‘The Office’
The Office, which ran for nine seasons on NBC, has remained just as popular as ever thanks to streaming. It reportedly attracted more than 10 million views in 2020 alone, and was also the most-streamed TV series on Netflix that year.
With such a large fanbase, it comes as no surprise that several cast members of The Paper are supporters of the original series themselves. Chelsea Frei (Mare) admits that she was a huge fan from day one and couldn’t believe there was a chance she could be joining a spin-off within The Office universe. “It all felt very surreal,” she shares. “I truly can’t even believe we’re here doing this.”
Ramona Young, who plays Nicole, had her own connection to the original series. “The Office is definitely hilarious and comforting, and I was lucky enough to have worked with Mindy Kaling before for Never Have I Ever,” she says. “I knew how iconic and influential the show was, so I was looking forward to this a lot.”
One cast member who was not a superfan before going out for The Paper? Sabrina Impacciatore. The Italian actress, who plays Esmerelda, confesses she hadn’t seen a single episode before she got called for the audition.
“I watched the first episodes on the plane, and I got completely mind blown,” shares Impacciatore. “I thought it’s a very weird show, but I mean, it’s brilliant. And then I became addicted after the audition.”
How ‘The Paper’ Workplace Culture Compares to ‘The Office’
During the original series, Dunder Mifflin Scranton had a very distinctive culture that appeared to change drastically depending on the manager of the branch at the time. The workplace environment also saw plenty of transformations during the Dunder Mifflin Sabre era under the leadership of both Jo Bennett and Robert California.
With The Paper focusing on an entirely new industry in the Midwest, fans may be wondering what company culture they can expect from the fictional Toledo Truth Teller.
“I would say at the beginning, kind of mundane with a spice and toxicity from Esmeralda– in the best way possible,” teases Frei. “And then I think when Ned (Domhnall Gleeson) comes in, it gets a little more optimism from him.”
Behind-the-Scenes stories from filming ‘The Paper’
One of the beloved elements of The Office was the relationships between the characters and how they all interacted when in a room together. Expect to see an equally intriguing group dynamic in The Paper, particularly when everyone gathers in a conference room.
Frei shares these were some of her favorite scenes to shoot, which likely comes down to the energy all of the actors bring to the world of the ToledoTruth Teller.
“I think that Greg and Michael chose the right people to be in this cast, because they’re all very nice human beings…and we really listen to each other, and we play like we were little kids,” Impacciatore adds. “So we believe in that moment, in that bubble of surreal reality, that it’s real. And so we react to each other; we don’t need to act.”
For Melvin Gregg (Detrick), one of his most memorable moments from shooting actually took place behind the scenes. The actor shares that the series was filmed on the Universal Studios lot, and he and Young couldn’t be more thrilled. The pair was known to sneak away on a golf cart to explore iconic movie memorabilia.
“They have a Jaws attraction, there’s like a set where it looks like an airplane crash, and it’s just like craziness everywhere,” Gregg says. “Houses that exploded, and we can go see the cars from Jurassic Park. The back of the lot was amazing. So when they gave us an opportunity to hop in a car and go explore the rest of the set, that was always great.”
What fans can expect from ‘The Office’ spin-off
Though The Paper focuses on local journalism, the cast says the newspaper is simply a backdrop of the show. There will be plenty of focus on how the characters connect to each other (much like the original show), which will hopefully keep the audience captivated.
“I think the interpersonal relationships in the office are so interesting,” says Frei.
While it can take some time to get to know a new set of characters, the hope is that people will find themselves just as invested in the stories of the Toledo Truth Teller staffers as they were with the Dunder Mifflin employees.
“I really want the fans to kind of befriend the characters as they watch the show and find things that they relate to, love about and also feel inspired by rooting for the underdogs,” expresses Young.
Gregg shares a similar sentiment, adding that he would like to see the audience highly engaged with what plays out on screen.
“I think this show has a lot of heart, and hopefully that resonates with the audience, so they do fall in love with the character and they create the stakes around the character because they care about what happens,” says Gregg.
Catch The Paper on Peacock starting September 4, 2025. All 10 episodes will be available for streaming on the release date. Watch the trailer for the series below:
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