How <em>The Paper</em> Connects Back to <em>The Office</em>

Where is Michael Scott? That’s likely the first question on every fan’s mind as they tune in to the premiere of The Office spin-off, The Paper, which launched all ten episodes on Peacock this week. But in lieu of a full cast reunion bringing back Steve Carrell, John Krasinski, and Jenna Fischer to Scranton’s Dunder Mifflin, viewers are first greeted by a surprise guest: Bob Vance of Vance Refrigeration.

When The Paper begins, it's been twelve years since the documentary crew left Scranton following The Office finale. Even though they’ve moved on to a new subject in Ohio—the failing Toledo Truth-Teller newspaper—fans learn from Phyllis’s husband Bob (Robert R. Shafer), that Dunder Mifflin is no longer across the hall from his refrigerator business. The paper company was sold in 2019 to a company named Enervate. “I remember them asking if Phyllis wanted to move to Toledo,” says Vance. “Leave Scranton for Toledo? Make me laugh.”

As it turns out, Enervate is a company that sells paper-printed products, such as office supplies, toilet paper, and local newspapers. “And that is in order, of quality,” jokes Enervate’s sales director Ken Davies (Tim Key). Enervate just so happens to be the same conglomerate that owns the Truth-Teller. So, in a way, the Truth-Teller is printed on Dunder Mifflin paper.

The documentary crew arrives on the same day that the paper is set to welcome their new editor in chief, Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson). Much like Parks and Recreation’s Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), Sampson is a bright-eyed optimist who idolizes journalism and believes that he can bring the paper back to its original glory. The challenge? There’s no one left at the Truth-Teller with any real background in journalism.

Oscar returns as both head accountant of the Truth-Teller and part-time reporter.

"The thought behind [this] is that the same [documentary] crew is excited to tell a new story, and that works for us, because we're like that crew," The Office co-creator Greg Daniels told NBC. "It makes sense that we're not repeating characters and story elements, because the crew would be like, "Eh, we did that in the other documentary!"

However, The Paper does include one returning cast member: Oscar Nuñez. While the rest of the Scranton branch may have chosen to pursue other opportunities after Enervate purchased Dunder Mifflin, it seems that accountant Oscar Martinez (Nuñez) moved to Toledo to accept the head accounting job at The Truth-Teller. And even though he isn’t happy to see the documentary crew once again, the show notes that a stipulation in his original release contract provided no official end date.

“If you look at the finale of The Office, the characters have a lot of wrap up and they were mostly going in different directions, leaving Dunder Mifflin; Oscar was kind of the same as he was in the beginning when he was still there, so it made sense,” Daniels told The Hollywood Reporter in August. Daniels’s co-creator, Michael Koman, added that Oscar also “makes the show funnier.” Nuñez’s character was “a little more open-ended,” he continued. “So, it made sense to bring him back because it felt like there was more story there.”

The Paper cast has a goal—return the Truth-Teller to its former glory.

Will even more Office characters return? Never say never. Ellie Kemper (who played Erin on The Office), was reportedly very jealous when she heard Nuñez was returning. “I was like ‘Why does he get to share in a joyous second iteration?’” she stated at the red-carpet premiere for The Paper in Los Angeles. Kemper was also accompanied by several former Office cast members including Creed Bratton (Creed), Paul Lieberstein (Toby), and Kate Flannery (Meredith). But as Nuñez joked to THR about being the only cast member to return: “No one’s starving. I think they’re happy for me.”

Still, Peacock’s early season 2 renewal leaves the door open for plenty of returning guests. I can understand why Daniels and Koman would want to leave The Office cast alone and respect the end of their stories in the original NBC sitcom, but the fans certainly wouldn’t complain if The Paper had a few more connections to the Scranton crew.

If Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) appeared in the second season and demanded to be the Truth-Teller’s new agricultural reporter, I would say that that’s a fantastic idea. You’re telling me that Enervate couldn’t use a human resources punching bag in Toby? And what about B.J. Novak? If anyone would stumble into a toilet paper salesman role and then quickly rise to the top, it’s Ryan. Hopefully, we haven’t seen the last of The Office’s connections to The Paper. As Michael Scott once said, “You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.”