Don’t stop the presses: “The Paper” is on a roll. A day before the series’ Sept. 4 premiere on Peacock, “The Paper” has already been given an early Season 2 renewal by the streamer. The news comes as “The Paper,” which is set in “The Office” universe, has earned strong early buzz — leading to this major vote of confidence inside NBCUniversal.
“The Paper” renewal was set to be announced on Wednesday morning by stars Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore as they appeared on NBC’s “Today” show.
The early pickup comes as series co-creator Greg Daniels is already at work on plans for a Season 2. The greenlight now gives him and fellow exec producer/showrunner Michael Koman enough time to make sure that “The Paper” returns for its sophomore season around this same time next year.
“We definitely have ideas,” Daniels recently told Variety. “We’ve been talking about stories for a possible Season 2, and it’ll be interesting to see what the audience thinks. We’ve gotten really good feedback from people inside the company and journalists and friends, but you never know what the broader world of ‘Office’ fans are going to think of it.”
Added Pearlena Igbokwe, the chairman of TV studios, NBC Entertainment & Peacock Scripted at NBCU, of Daniels:: “Having seen all the episodes, I think he’s done an incredible job. These are characters you just grow to love and appreciate what he’s doing in the show. I think they do an incredible job of landing the season. So I am very hopeful and optimistic that the audience will feel the same.”
“The Paper” stars Domhnall Gleeson as Ned Sampson, a successful salesman in the toilet paper division of paper-centric conglom Enervate. Ned, who hasn’t worked in journalism since college, is given a new task: Help save the company’s small market newspaper in Toledo, where he’s just been named editor-in-chief. The problem? The Toledo Truth-Teller employs one or two legit reporters, tops.
Ned is indealistic and has big plans to make it work — but has his work cut out for him. That challenge is why it’s all being filmed by a documentary crew. That same crew that previously spent years shooting Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch, as seen in “The Office.”
Besides Gleeson and Impacciatore, “The Paper” also stars Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Ramona Young, Tim Key and Oscar Nuñez — reprising his role as Oscar from “The Office.” (Oscar and the doc crew are two of the on-screen connections between “The Office” and “The Paper,” making that show a spin-off.)
The first season of “The Paper” will also feature a handful of guest stars including Eric Rahill, Tracy Letts, Molly Ephraim, Mo Welch, Allan Havey, Duane Shepard Sr., Nate Jackson and Nancy Lenehan.
Daniels serves as co-creator, co-showrunner, executive producer, writer and director (for episode 101) of “The Paper” under his Deedle-Dee Productions banner. Koman (“Nathan for You”) is co-creator, co-showrunner, exec producer and writer. Other EPs include Howard Klein, Ben Silverman, Banijay Americas and original “The Office” U.K. creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.
“The Paper” comes from Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group. Season 1 directors included Greg Daniels (101), Ken Kwapis (102), Yana Gorskaya (103), Paul Lieberstein (104), Tazbah Chavez (105), Jason Woliner (106), Jennifer Celotta (107), Matt Sohn (108), Dave Rogers (109) and Jeff Blitz (110).
Peacock will premiere all 10 episodes of “The Paper” in a binge release on Thursday, Sept. 4. The streamer made the last-minute decision to drop all episodes at once after seeing the positive feedback for the show, and also realizing that “The Office” has become one of the most-binged series of all time — and that’s become the way most people have now watched the series.
For Peacock comedies, “The Paper” joins “Ted” as the two laffers that have received renewals. Peacock’s “Poker Face” and “Twisted Metal,” both of which recently completed their second season, are still awaiting word of their fates. New comedies on deck include “The Miniature Wife,” “The ‘Burbs” and “Dig.”
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