Andy was right when he said he wished “there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.” Case in point: The Officefranchise has officially left the good old days of weekly episode premieres. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, and Peacock isn’t taking a shot on releasing The Paper every week. Maybe Michael got a new job, because this feels like a decision straight from the desk of the world’s best boss. The Office was one of the most successful network sitcoms of all time. One might think that fans quoting fresh Dwight-isms or “that’s what she said” jokes every week played a major role in that mania, but such is the nature of the streaming era. Like Kevin’s famous chili, any one-liners we get from this new batch of coworkers will be dumped all at once.
Peacock was already planning to speed through the season—albeit more slowly—with a four-episode premiere followed by weekly, two-episode drops. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the streamer cited “positive responses from people who have previewed the series” as the reason for this new decision. If the show actually is as good as these anonymous viewers say, it would probably have still been as good on September 25, when the season one finale was supposed to air. It would have had a lot more time to draw in new fans too—just look at recent buzzy examples like The Pittor The Summer I Turned Pretty. Alas, the entire first season of the new fake doc will now premiere September 4.
The Paper follows a struggling Ohio newspaper staffed by its own gang of kooky characters (and one very familiar face, Oscar, who really doesn’t want to be there). The documentary crew’s new focus is Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson), an optimistic editor-in-chief trying wrangle his ragtag crew of employees, played by Sabrina Impacciatore, Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Ramona Young, Tim Key, and of course, Oscar Nuñez.
Check out the series’ trailer below and make sure you mark your desk calendars for September 4. There’s going to be a lot to discuss around the water cooler on Monday.
