The spin-off of The Office is amazing and you can watch it here

Okay, let's be honest: as The Officea fan (US) I was a bit skeptical about the spin-off The Paper. The original series, featuring Steve Carell, John Krasinski, and Rainn Wilson, is one for the books. It's a cult classic that has lasted for twenty years. So when I heard that a new version of the series was coming, I suddenly got butterflies. Well... I'm ‘that kind of person’. Would it be just as good? Would it be too ‘modern’? Well, folks, don't worry, I can say as a fan: this series is a-ma-zing. And the best part? It's coming to the screen next month.

Just a recap: what was The Office about?

For those who have been living under a rock for twenty years: let me explain. The Office (US) is about – the name says it all – a company. In this case, Dunder Mifflin, a paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The daily life in the office is filmed by a documentary crew that not only follows the office but also captures the characters outside of work hours. Each episode, the employees talk to the camera to comment on the situation. It is filmed in a mockumentary style; so you think you're watching a documentary, but it's scripted and often humorous. The hilarious scenes and especially the comedic timing of Jim, Dwight, and Michael make the series irresistible.

I could talk your ear off for hours about why this series was so great, but I'll let it speak for itself:

This is of course a bit out of context, but it gives an idea of what the series was like.

And now... What is the new spin-off The Paper about?

The Office is known for jokes that might not always work in our current era. Fans were afraid that The Paper it would be too woke and just... yes, worse than the original.

In the series, the crew that filmed Dunder Mifflin years ago now stumbles upon a new company: The Toledo Truth-Teller. A historically significant but slowly dying newspaper. The small paper in the Midwest is in need of a fresh breeze. We follow the staff, which consists of:

• Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson), the new young editor-in-chief who wants to breathe new life into the paper as a watchdog of democracy. He wants to do real journalistic work.
• Esmeralda Grant (Sabrina Impacciatore), the somewhat quirky managing editor who prefers to focus the paper on clickbait articles.
• Mare Pritti (Chelsea Frei), who, as a former soldier, now works as a media designer for the paper.
• Detrick Moore (Melvin Gregg), the sales and marketing director.
• An old acquaintance, Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez), who worked at Dunder Mifflin as an accountant. He is the head of the accounting department. He has since become immune to the camera crew.
• Adelola Olofin (Gbemisola Ikumelo), an accountant on Oscar's team.
• Adam Cooper (Alex Edelman), the second accountant on Oscar's team.

In the first episode, we discover that Dunder Mifflin has gone bankrupt. In 2019, they were sold to Enervate, a company that produces paper for offices and (strangely enough) also toilet paper. And guess what? They also own the newspaper. Oscar has been appointed to get the finances back on track and finds it annoying that filming is happening at his workplace again. But he gets used to it in a second, of course.

The series follows how the team tries to create journalistic stories, which of course always goes wrong.

Why is The Paper spin-off good?

Let's be honest: spin-offs are often a flop. Just look at that of Suits: without Mike and Harvey, the magic is gone. So I was afraid that The Paper wouldn't hold up without Michael's crazy antics, the prank war between Jim and Dwight, and just the dynamics between all the colleagues. (Yes, even Phyllis.) But that's not the case at all. We see the same awkwardness and cringe factor that we're used to.

What they do well in this reboot is that each person is truly themselves. That sounds a bit airy-fairy, but think of it this way: in many reboots, old roles are recreated: there has to be a new Harvey who is just as cool and a womanizer. You can see that it's a replacement, and that gets boring. Of course, we want recognizable elements or a familiar face, but we mainly want original stories in the same atmosphere. And that is The Paper done very well.

It's delightful to see how a modern variant of The Office deals with themes like AI, clickbait, and gender roles – but still in the same humorous tone as before. The camera zooms, the looks into the lens, the mockumentary style: everything is spot on. It feels exactly like The Office, and yet it's something very different.

Where can you watch The Paper?

This series is of course also coming to the Netherlands. You can just watch it on SkyShowtime. The first three episodes will be available from Friday, November 14, on the streaming service. After that, you'll get a new one weekly. Isn't that nice? Then you can wait in front of the screen for your favorite series just like before. Speaking of nostalgia.

What other series can you watch if you've seen The Paper (and The Office)?

Do you crave series that grab you so much that you only want to watch those? You don't always feel like a big fantasy story, or a soap with eighty storylines. Sometimes you just want a simple series with good chemistry and dynamics between the characters and a strong dose of humor. Did I read you right? Great. Then these series are for you:

• Abbott Elementary (Disney+)
• Parks and Recreation (Prime Video)
• The British Office (VTM GO)
• Ted Lasso (Apple TV)
• Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Netflix)
• Modern Family (Disney+, or often on Comedy Central)
• Superstore (Disney+)