I Love Seeing NBC Promote The Paper In Primetime, But I’m Still Bummed About How Peacock Is Releasing The Office Spinoff

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In simpler terms, “The Office” world is making a comeback on television for the first time since 2013, but not in its original format featuring characters like Michael Scott, Jim Halpert, and Dwight Schrute. Instead, a new spinoff titled “The Paper” will debut in September 2025 as part of NBC’s history-making sitcom legacy. This spinoff will be exclusively available on Peacock as an original streaming series, with its first season consisting of ten episodes.

The new series centers around the documentary team from Dunder Mifflin in “The Office” moving to Toledo, Ohio to film the owner of a long-standing Midwestern newspaper. Their goal is to revive this struggling publication, with Domhnall Gleeson portraying the editor-in-chief who seems to be the guiding force at the “Toledo Truth Teller.

Because “The Paper” is a streaming series and I haven’t frequently seen adverts for Peacock subscriptions during my long-time NBC viewing, I didn’t anticipate seeing promotions in primetime on the network. It’s good to be proven wrong, but it recalls the shift in the release schedule that I fear could potentially harm its success.

NBC Is Promoting The Paper

As the TV autumn season approaches, NBC’s competitive shows typically generate a lot of excitement, and this week was no exception with the Season 17 finale of American Ninja Warrior, the live quarterfinals of America’s Got Talent hosted by Terry Crews, and Songs & Stories with Kelly Clarkson. I’ve been watching them all, and it appears that NBC is showing previews for The Paper during commercial breaks. It seems like everything within the NBCUniversal universe!

Given that the original streaming premiere is set for September 4th, it might be an opportune moment to generate some additional excitement outside of prime-time hours. If you’re not a live NBC viewer, let me explain that the brief ads are actually short clips from the full trailer, which use humor without relying too heavily on the character Oscar from The Office.

On Tuesday night as I was delighting in Kelly Clarkson’s duet with Gloria Estefan, I didn’t keep track of how many times the promos came on. However, I saw them frequently enough to memorize the joke about a journalist from Toledo who supposedly gained his writing experience by tweeting, causing confusion among colleagues when he used “self-deprecating” instead of “self-defecating.

While I haven’t found the humor in The Paper to be my personal favorite thus far, it seems any publicity is beneficial when faced with an abundance of television content. However, I can’t help but lament the shift in its release model as I fear the momentum might not sustain for long.

Peacock Changed The Release Model

Upon the unveiling of the release details for “The Paper” in early August, it was disclosed that the first four episodes would premiere on September 4, followed by two fresh installments each week until the series finale on September 25. This weekly release format was a welcome change to me, as I’ve grown weary of shows airing their episodes all at once, and it also brought another point of comparison with “The Office.

Approximately two weeks before the debut, Variety shared an update that the original weekly release plan had been adjusted to a “binge-watching” model instead. Starting on September 4, all ten episodes from Season 1 will be accessible on Peacock. The reasons behind this shift to a full-season release were not disclosed, but it’s hard not to feel a little disappointed by the change.

Not all subscribers may watch episodes immediately upon release, resulting in less conversation compared to if there were only a few episodes released per week. Furthermore, even though The Paper might be funny, releasing all episodes at once during the fall TV season could cause it to get lost among other shows on television.

To put it clearly, it’s unlikely that The Paper will air any more episodes in a serialized format like how The Office did, but series such as Abbott Elementary and St. Denis Medical are clear evidence that mockumentaries can continue to thrive with weekly episode releases. I just hope The Paper receives the same opportunity.

While there might be some adjustments, don’t worry that the end is nigh for “The Paper” because the streaming schedule has been altered. You can mark your calendar for its debut on Thursday, September 4, exclusively on Peacock. Alongside Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Nuñez from “The Office,” this series also features Sabrina Impacciatore, Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Ramona Young, and Tim Key.

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2025-08-27 09:38