Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Paper and was conducted before the Season 2 renewal news.

Summary

In an interview with Collider, Greg Daniels and Michael Koman reveal Oscar’s return was intentional as the bridge between The Paper and The Office.

Daniels and Koman also open up about Josh Holloway’s surprise cameo in the catfish arc as the perfect face for Esmeralda’s romantic twist.

The biggest difference, though, comes in tone. The return of familiar creative hands like Paul Lieberstein helps ground the mockumentary style.

After 10 episodes of newsroom chaos and hijinks, The Paper closes its first season with the kind of sharp twists and character pivots that made groundbreaking series, The Office, such a cultural force. From Oscar’s (Oscar Nuñez) return as the sole Dunder Mifflin alum whose story never really felt finished to a bizarre catfish arc that finds the entire Toledo Truth Teller staff involved, The Paper manages to nod to its predecessor without ever living in its shadow. That balance is the heart of showrunners Greg Daniels and Michael Koman’s vision as they tell Collider that the pitch was always about the documentary crew “finding a new subject” after Dunder Mifflin closes down in Scranton. “It seemed like that would be the best way to do a spinoff, very lightly connected and really sort of an excuse for a new show, but a bit of fun,” Daniels says. It’s why series lead Domhnall Gleeson was chosen as Ned Sampson, a character built on sincerity, quirks, and unexpected comedy chops — “some of the best acting I’ve seen anyone do,” Koman notes. For a show that is now basking in the glow of a certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, there’s no shortage of surprises to unpack — from casting swings that paid off to a handful of Easter eggs that gave fans a jolt of excitement. With the finale’s scheming, newsroom betrayals, and a chaotic kiss still fresh between Ned and his reporter, Mare Pritti (Chelsea Frei), Daniels and Koman talk about building The Paper’s identity, how they balanced Easter eggs with fresh storytelling, and where the mockumentary lens might wander next.
How Did ‘Lost’s Josh Holloway Land on ‘The Paper’?

Daniels and Koman reveal how Josh Holloway became The Paper’s perfect catfish cameo.

Image via NBC Universal, Peacock

COLLIDER: I have to know, was it always Josh Holloway for that cameo for the catfish twist? GREG DANIELS: We’ve gotten a lot of questions about that. He obviously really scored with that, and it was sort of the perfect face for Esmeralda to fall in love with. MICHAEL KOMAN: You’re discussing something like that, and you’re rolling through possibilities, and, for some reason, things don’t seem right because the one thing is not too believable, the other thing doesn’t give you the right kind of footage. And then he comes up, and it’s just right. So, when that happens, you just are so nervous about asking them and hearing “no,” so I’m still relieved that he was willing to do it.
Why Is Oscar From ‘The Office’ in ‘The Paper’?

Daniels explains why Oscar was the only Office alum whose story “never really felt finished.”

Image via Peacock, NBC Universal

One of the things I was reading in the production notes was that you guys had said, “Oscar’s story never really felt finished.” I’m so curious about that. What really excited you about picking up that character thread again for his character as opposed to somebody like Stanley or even Kevin, who I would have imagined in another life somewhere? DANIELS: Well, Kevin is a bartender now, and he kind of found a better life for himself there. It’s more appropriate for him. So, it was harder to figure out how he would end up at a different paper company in Toledo. Stanley lives in the Everglades; he’s kind of retired. The end of The Office sent the characters in different directions, and kind of sent them out of Dunder Mifflin. Oscar was still inside Dunder Mifflin, and also, there wasn’t so much closure for him. He was sort of a dignified person, and he didn’t go bananas and then find himself or anything. He was who he is, so it didn’t feel like we would be contradicting anything that we ended with in The Office, and it felt like there was still curiosity to follow what he was going to do. There’s definitely a lot more to him, and then we’re starting to see these different layers, especially in the interactions. I think that’s the most important part of growth, where we get to see him be a different person from these people.
‘The Paper’ Embraces ‘The Office’ Easter Eggs While Building Its Own Identity

Daniels and Koman share why The Paper carries Office DNA but tells “a story that wasn’t repeating itself.”

Image via NBCUniversal/Peacock

Having watched the whole season, I did love seeing a few of those Easter eggs pop up, which makes it so fun, but this is its own show, and I love that it’s its own show. How did you decide how much of the DNA to carry over and leave behind to make The Paper really stand on its own? DANIELS: Well, the pitch was that the documentary crew is finding a new subject, and that the part that you would connect is the tone and the format elements and just the spirit behind the scenes, and that the actual subject matter would be all new and the characters would be new. KOMAN: And I feel like for the documentary crew to feel like they had found a subject that was worth a story that was worth telling, they would have to feel like they weren’t repeating themselves. DANIELS: And that seemed like that would be the best way to do a spinoff, very lightly connected and really sort of an excuse for a new show, but a bit of fun and Oscar [Núñez].
‘The Paper’ Found Its Own Michael Scott With Domhnall Gleeson

“That was the big tipping point for us.”

Domhnall Gleeson stands in front of wall signage that reads “Toledo Truth Teller” in The Paper. 
Image via Peacock

I will say, I love Domhnall [Gleeson] as Ned. I think he’s such a fun character, and there are so many different colors to him that we can see throughout the season. What was it about him that just stuck out to you guys that “He has to be our Ned Sampson?” DANIELS: Well, that’s how it was. We didn’t have auditions. We had our lead character and all of the qualities that he needed to have. Because we would imagine, “Well, what about that episode? What does he need in this episode? What about that episode? Well, he needs to be sincere, but he has to be quirky. He’s got to kind of have a lot of weird insistence on certain things and stick-to-itness, but he has to be kind of appealing, and people have to want to follow him.” There are all these things, and we summed up who could possibly do it. KOMAN: Domhnall, to me, it’s like he’s done some of the best acting I’ve seen anyone do. There are films he’s done, there’s an episode of Black Mirror that he did that I think is a really superb piece of acting. And then we were looking through his body of work, and when he was young, he did sketch comedy, and really funny sketch comedy. DANIELS: That was the big tipping point for us. As we found some footage of him at the age of 19 just being balls out, go-for-broke funny, we were like, “That’s inside of that guy, who’s often killing people in movies!” [Laughs] He’s also got this love of comedy. KOMAN: And it’s nice because he has this kind of natural integrity that’s really in him, and this kind of nobility, but he also can be totally goofy and awkward. It’s like a very nice combination of qualities. DANIELS: And he’d work with a bunch of the original Office cast, who all gave him wonderful reviews as a person.
‘The Paper’ Brings Back ‘Office’ Favorites to Balance Writing and Tone

Daniels and Koman on reuniting with Paul Lieberstein, Ken Kwapis, and Office vets to set The Paper’s tone.

Paul Lieberstein as Toby Flenderson on The Office
Image via NBC

Speaking of Office cast and crew, we do have Paul Lieberstein and Ken Kwapis grounding the tone of the series. How did that return help ground this new world? Because it isn’t The Office, it’s The Paper, and it’s so distinctly different. DANIELS: I love The Office crew, and there’s a ton of them working on the show. One of the joys of doing another show in Los Angeles that’s a mockumentary was being able to reconstitute this wonderful crew. In addition, Dave Rogers, who directed Episode 9 and is the lead editor for the whole thing, was the editor of The Office all the way through and a huge collaborator for me. Jeff Blitz, who won our Emmy for directing the Super Bowl episode, directed the last one. Jen Celotta, who was a writer from The Office, directed an episode. Matt Stone, who was our DP for most of The Office, came back to direct an episode. So, so much of it, for me, was showing the new cast and writers the greatest hits of the crew that I love so much. KOMAN: I think it was really helpful because when you do that, you don’t really have to talk about the tone too much. People show up, and their instinct is right. That’s exactly what you’re looking for. So, it was so nice to have so many people who just did it by second nature.
What Can We Expect From ‘The Paper’ Season 2?

Daniels teases The Paper’s Season 2 while praising Impacciatore as “an insane force of nature for comedy.”

I loved how the finale was so fun, and there’s so much chaos. Esmeralda and Ken are kind of scheming against Ned, and then we had Ned and Mare’s kiss. Knowing that people are going to want more of the show, and I’m already willing this into existence, so if it happens, so we get to Season 2, where do we find everyone heading into Season 2 that you would like to pick up after that finale that you know fans can look forward to? DANIELS: Well, how do you feel about a possible Season 2? Are you excited and alive with possibilities in your head? I am! I have a lot of ideas. DANIELS: That’s what we want. We’re not going to tell you what happens because we want that. We want that wandering to extend until we can get back on the air. I totally understand that. Something that was a fun observation for me was that I always felt The Office was about men fumbling through power, but The Paper sees Esmeralda and Mare pushing the story in bold new directions. Do you feel the series is adding something new to that legacy with a sharper, more female-driven point of view? DANIELS: I think Sabrina Impacciatore is an insane force of nature for comedy. I’m so excited to write for her. When we found her, when she auditioned, she kind of blew us out of our chairs. We were texting each other — it was a Zoom audition — and we couldn’t believe it. She brings so much physicality. She’s really a comic genius. The only thing that we’d really seen… Actually, Michael had seen one of her films in Italy… KOMAN: I didn’t understand it. I found everything I could that was streaming, and I watched her, and it just reinforced everything I loved about her. DANIELS: It’s kind of like she’s the female Italian Will Ferrell or something like that. We’d only seen one little snippet of her on The White Lotus, and just did not realize the amount of juice that she has as a performer. KOMAN: But to what you’re saying, it’s really cool when a performer like that asserts themselves in a way that kind of resonates into the story. It’s like her presence is something that is powerful, and so I’m glad that it felt that way to you. The Paper is now streaming all 10 episodes on Peacock.