Peacock’s mockumentary and sequel series to “The Office,” “The Paper,” premiered its second season Wednesday on the Peacock streaming platform.
Season Two’s first episode, “The Best of U,“ picks up a few days after the previous season’s end. After the staff of the Toledo Truth Teller won big at the Ohio Journalism Awards, they return to their office to relish in their victory. Unfortunately, their success is overshadowed by the death of one of the toilet paper salesmen they share the office with. At the request of the owner of both the Truth Teller and the toilet paper company, the staff of the Truth Teller set out to write an uplifting profile about the man who died.
In a style similar to the heyday of “The Office,” the first episode of the new season is filled with jokes built on second-hand embarrassment and unfortunate misunderstandings. Almost every bit in the episode is set up in ways that put the cast in situations where their only options are to power through the awkwardness of the moment or accept the unfortunate nature of the situation and move on the best they can.
Speaking of the cast, all the members of the main roster of “The Paper’s” first season return in full swing. Editor-in-Chief Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson) is still as naive and optimistic as last season, journalist Mare Pritti (Chelsea Frei) is still as reserved and self-conscious as before and Managing Editor Esmeralda Grand (Sabrina Impaciatore) is still trying to sabotage Ned in any way she can.
Grand’s attempts at sabotaging the Truth Teller were one of the weaker aspects of the first season, and unfortunately that continues in the second season. The writers do a better job making her antics this episode feel less contrived, and more like she is taking advantage of an unfortunate situation. This simple improvement helps a good bit in making her story a bit less irritating to sit through, even if they still cause some minor annoyance in the audience.
Sampson, as well, was one of the characters that improved between seasons. Thanks to the victories of the Truth Teller, Sampson’s demeanor is much more assured and easy. He still struggles at times in the episode trying to make sure his boss (Allan Havey) thinks highly of him, but he has enough self-confidence now that he doesn’t have to go through dozens of hoops anymore to ask for the things he needs.
One of the biggest issues “The Paper” faced in its first season was its almost constant need to remind the audience that it is the sequel to “The Office.” From bringing back Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nuñez) to numerous callbacks throughout the season, “The Paper” could not go an episode without making some reference to its predecessor. However, this new season is much more reserved in its nostalgia bait.
This new season feels much more confident in its ability to stand as its own show. While not entirely detached from the legacy of “The Office,” this new season makes it clear it doesn’t need to cater to its audience with references to its ancestor. It knows many people watching this new season are watching it because they liked season one. Now that it has a returning audience, it doesn’t need to make callbacks to another series for their audience to be invested.
The first episode of the new season of “The Paper” still struggles with some of the same issues it faced in the first season. Beyond just Grand’s constant attempts to make Sampson’s life worse, some of the jokes attempted in this episode simply don’t land in the way they were meant to. The focus on misunderstandings to form the comedy and conflicts did leave some concern of that style continuing throughout the entire season, as constant failures to communicate can become tiring to watch after some time.
Despite this, the first episode generates plenty of laughs and genuine enjoyment in its 24-minute runtime. Season Two’s premiere gives its audience the hope that “The Paper” will improve on many of the struggles it faced in its first season and finally be ready to become a show entirely its own.
Review: 3.5/5
