Peacock attempted to recapture the magic of The Office in The Paper, a spin-off series set at a local newspaper. The mockumentary follows the travails of the Toledo Truth Teller, a once-thriving paper that now shares an office and staff with a toilet paper company. Both are owned by the same paper-products firm. An idealistic new editor in chief, Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson), has arrived to turn the newspaper from a clickbait mill into a proper journalistic outlet.
Current and former reporters will bitterly enjoy The Paper's depiction of a struggling newsroom. I had a strong moment of déjà vu during a scene where Sampson tours the empty floors of the old news building. (On my first day at a regional newspaper, the guy who gave me a tour said there'd been a round of layoffs the day before and he'd just taken a buyout.)
