I confess that I was never a huge fan of THE OFFICE, certainly not the critically acclaimed Ricky Gervais version that my FX colleagues were gleefully sharing DVDs of for their own “research” nor the Steve Carell-fronted NBC version that quietly debuted in the spring of 2005 on what used to be their Thursday night “must-see” showcase. I wasn’t a huge fan of the “mockumentary” style with the overreactive and usually beat-or-two behind camerawork attempting to catch up with the source of the joke, and I personally like my jokes more cerebral and rapid-fire as opposed to the more casual “wtf” approach that the show pioneered. And when the initial ratings were released, it turned out a plurality of the outsized audience in the 9 PM hour tended to agree with me. GREY’S ANATOMY and ABC’s TGIT were beginning to crest, and at least in my residence it was priority viewing.
But this was also the dawn of Nielsen’s “three-stream” era where the impact of DVRs was capable of being deep-dived, providing multiple metrics that now also reflected viewing that occurred at any point in the evening (live-plus-same-day) and viewing that occurred at any point during the week following a program’s initial broadcast (live-plus-seven-day). The underlying reason for the latter was a week was essentially the fact that most flights for those advertisers willing to pay higher CPMs, such as car dealers and movie studios, would last roughly a week. And an awful lot of them began in prime time on Thursday nights.
So we noticed that when those live-plus-seven day numbers were finally released approximately three weeks after the fact (don’t ask, it’s Nielsen) the gap between THE OFFICE and GREY’s had closed considerably. And the demographies of those who were time-shifting THE OFFICE were noticeably younger, somewhat more male and decidedly more upscale than the rank and file that watched in the moment. In other words, your ideal profile for streaming platforms. And it inspired NBCUniversal to develop a cottage industry of similarly buzzworthy stablemates, including the similarly styled PARKS AND RECREATION, that turned their line0p into “should-see TV”. And when THE OFFICE debuted on Netflix in 2021 to outstanding numbers that rivaled the likes of FRIENDS that confirmed how well this genre plays in binge mode, the fine folks at NBCUniversal got seller’s remorse and eventually clawed it back to their fledgling Peacock service that was ultimately last man in the pool among legacy broadcasters. Whatever good fortune they had capitalized on by taking advantage of Paramount’s shortsighted sale of YELLOWSTONE to them had been effectively offset by their own sales division’s similar money grab.
It’s with that backdrop and sense of urgency that brings that creative team’s latest work to screens as of this morning, a seminal event that THE WRAP’s Jose Alejandro Bastidas devoted a lengthy and insightful piece to yesterday. Among his well thought-out points:
Peacock is betting big on the Sept. 4 release of “The Paper,” an ambitious spinoff of “The Office” it hopes can become as big a streaming hit as its predecessor — one that could give the platform a clearer path forward for its scripted programming.
Since launching in 2020, Peacock has relied heavily on NBC and Bravo programming and invested in sports to differentiate itself in the streaming market. It’s also gained visibility with unscripted hits like “The Traitors” — last year’s Emmy winner for best reality competition series and a frontrunner again this year — and “Love Island USA,” which reached the top of the Nielsen streaming charts with Season 7 this summer.
Scripted comedies would add another critical piece to the Peacock lineup as the streamer looks to stay competitive with its entertainment offering. If “The Paper” hits, it could give Peacock the green light to lean into building out this corner of the streaming world — a tailor-made ode to the company’s former “Must See TV” days at NBC with comedies like “Will & Grace,” “Friends” and “The Office.”
But the stakes are high, with Peacock the only streamer still in the red as the industry has shifted its focus on profitability over subscriber growth. And even in that metric, it’s far behind. With just 41 million subscribers as of the second quarter, it sits well behind fellow mid-tier player Paramount+’s 79 million subscribers, let alone Netflix, which last reported more than 300 million subscribers at the end of last year.
Peacock’s scripted originals, meanwhile, have so far struggled to break out, with few exceptions like its “Ted” prequel series, spy drama “The Day of the Jackal” and the Natasha Lyonne murder comedy “Poker Face.” With “The Paper,” the NBCUniversal streamer is finally tapping into the beloved IP of “The Office” for a new series that brings its signature mockumentary style to the world of local newspapers, set within the same universe as Dunder Mifflin.
So it’s all the more important that THE PAPER reaches both critical mass and acclaim simultaneously. And it’s clear that Universal City is pulling out all the stops to assure that happens. It just happens to be launching the same night that they will stream the NFL season opener between the world champion Philadelphia Eagles and the unavoidable train wreck and ratings juggernaut that are the Dallas Cowboys. And all messaging surrounding that promotion is that it’s a hit–points that Bastidas also drove home:
(I)n a sign of early confidence, Peacock renewed “The Paper” for a second season on Wednesday ahead of the show’s debut…That early Season 2 renewal gives the team behind “The Paper” time for the show to find its footing, something that was crucial to the success of “The Office” — the series debuted to mixed reviews in Season 1 before garnering Emmy love with Season 2 and, by the end of its run, growing into one of the most beloved series in American television history.
The streamer’s bet on “The Paper” gets bolder with the decision to change its release schedule into a binge drop only two weeks before the premiere. Executives from Peacock, studio Universal TV and producers credited the change of plans to an “overwhelmingly positive response” from press and early audiences, saying they wanted to give subscribers all 10 episodes to watch at once.
“It felt like between the enthusiasm [for the new show] and the way people have been consuming the show for the past decade, it made the most sense to make it available and give people the opportunity to either consume it all at once and multiple times — as we think they will — or watch it on their own schedule,” Lisa Katz, NBCU’s scripted content president, told TheWrap.
Indeed, the majority of significant reviews released this week seem to be favorable. Witness the praise that THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’s Daniel Feinberg heaped on it yesterday:
The Paper, created by Greg Daniels and Michael Koman, settles into its voice swiftly. Echoing, if not reproducing, the elements that made The Office such a venerable success, The Paper is quick to capitalize on the strengths of its impressive ensemble and to mine the versatility of its fresh workplace, delivering a 10-episode initial run that is frequently funny, occasionally pointed and, more than anything, consistent.
And INDIE WIRE’s Proma Khosla weighed in with further evidence that more than just execution and pedigree are working to its advantage:
Every TV fan knows the power of the workplace comedy. Sure, there’s “The Office” and two decades of its single camera successors – but it’s also the backdrop of everything from earlier hits like “Murphy Brown” and “The West Wing” and classic examples of the genre like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” To be a working American is to unwind by watching other working Americans.
It is in that rich tradition that “The Office” creator Greg Daniels teams up with co-creator Michael Koman for “The Paper,” which quickly sheds the pressure of a spinoff while introducing a new office full of people to love. Set in Ohio, the show follows a struggling local newspaper and its many employees. With no budget to hire real journalists, the “Toledo Truth Teller” sets out to become a local paper of repute, all while followed by the same documentary crew that captured “The Office.”
There’s new editor-in-chief Ned (Domhnall Gleeson), online editor Esmeralda (Sabrina Impacciatore), writers (or those aspiring to be) Mare (Chelsea Frei), Nicole (Ramona Young), and Detrick (Melvin Gregg). Tracy Letts is a brilliant choice for a recurring executive who supports the “Truth Teller” while running a toilet paper empire (you read that right).
Even ROTTEN TOMATOES’ Christopher Campbell chimed in with some buoyant news with his compendium of those weighing in, all of which adds up to an encouraging 85 per cent RT score as of this writing.
How much of all of that is merely wishful thinking will soon be born out. As Peacock has previously demonstrated, when the data is positive they are more than willing to share at least some of it, as Bastidas recounted:
While Peacock has a pipeline of comedies, the streamer will place sports front and center to anchor its subscriber base… that reach is exactly what Peacock is counting on to support its upcoming scripted programming. That symbiotic relationship worked for “Ted,” which premiered in January 2024 just two days before the streamer had the exclusive broadcast of the AFC Wild Card matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins.
The game set a record for the most-streamed event in U.S. history with an average of 23 million viewers across the app, NFL+ and local NBC stations, and boosted “Ted” to deliver the best viewership for a scripted original on the platform in its first seven days (though Peacock did not share a number for its audience).
It’s that last parenthetical aside that should be keeping executives and, more importantly, the shareholders they answer into up later at night. Getting nominated for Emmys at a level that the shows from which it derives it DNA won’t be enough for THE PAPER to be deemed a hit. Not in this era, certainly. And it needs to be noted that there are still detractors and skeptics out there besides moi, including this ascerbic beatdown which THE SEATTLE TIMES’ Chase Hutchinson contributed:
In the opening credits of “The Paper,” the painfully strained and almost impressively unfunny spinoff to the hit sitcom series “The Office,” we see a sodden newspaper being peeled off into a recycling bin. The gag is that its best use is as bird cage lining and, now that it is covered in waste, it must be disposed of. It’s a fitting metaphor for the toothlessly saccharine show itself, which feels recycled from better sitcoms. Only instead of being recycled once more, this show will likely go straight in the trash.
You probably could have expected such snark from the town that housed GREY’S ANATOMY. You know, that show that somehow is still producing new episodes that drop on Thursday nights, one week at a time.
I plan on giving THE PAPER a fair shot eventually; what I’ve been able to digest so far has been almost as underwhelming as my first experience with THE OFFICE ultimately was. But if you’re a mockumentary devotee, your mileage may vary. So do check it out. A lot is apparently riding on it, including the very fate of “should-see” TV.
Until next time…