Finding Its Own Identity As It Becomes More Confident

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TV SERIES REVIEWS
The Paper: Season 2
TV-14 –

Genre: Comedy
Year Released: 2026
Runtime: 5h 0m (10 episodes)
Directors: Matt Sohn, Greg Daniels, Dave Rogers, Jen Celotta, Tazbah Chavez, Yana Gorskaya, Jason Woliner, Claire Scanlon, Paul Lieberstein, Jeffrey Blitz
Writers: Greg Daniels, Michael Koman, Patrick Kang, Michael Levin, Megan Neuringer, Paul Lieberstein, Amanda Rosenberg, Ben Philippe, Mo Welch, Alex Edelman, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Eric Rahill, Alain Bala, Tom McDonald, Julianna Hernandez
Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Sabrina Impacciatore, Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Tim Key, Ramona Young, Eric Rahill, Duane Shepard Sr., Alex Edelman, Oscar Nuñez
Where to Watch: season 2 streaming on Peacock now

RAVING REVIEW: THE PAPER doesn't need to become THE OFFICE to be successful, and in season 2 it finally seems to understand that well enough to stop reminding us so often that the connection exists, and the result is a more confident workplace comedy built around people becoming great at the jobs they originally stumbled into.

That evolution matters more than any individual joke in the series. The first season had to establish the Toledo Truth Teller, introduce the entire ensemble, explain why most of them were suddenly working as reporters, and justify why another documentary crew would want to watch it all. Season 2 gets to skip that groundwork and jump right into the stories and the daily chaos of running a print newspaper in 2026.

The difference is noticeable. Ned Sampson, played by Domhnall Gleeson, approaches journalism with an almost romantic level of optimism. The staff around him doesn’t feel like a collection of people pretending to run a newspaper. They're learning what makes a story matter, how badly reporting can go wrong, and how much responsibility comes with publishing something that affects actual people. That’s really where THE PAPER and THE OFFICE go in different directions. Sure, there are all the different character types, the internal jokes, and the right amount of dysfunction, but overall, they know what they’re doing matters.

Season 2 gives the newspaper a larger reporting arc instead of treating every episode like a completely separate workplace disaster. Ned begins searching for a story that could justify the paper's renewed confidence after its success at the Ohio Journalism Awards. That pursuit gradually forces the staff to consider what they're willing to risk for journalism.

Gleeson portrays Ned with an appealing mix of idealism and awkwardness. He believes in what journalism can accomplish, sometimes to a degree that makes everyone around him uncomfortable, and Gleeson never turns that into a simple Michael Scott impersonation. Ned can be ridiculous, but not because he needs his employees to love him (well, maybe one of them). Ned wants people to believe in the work, which becomes both his most admirable quality and the source of some of his worst decisions. His optimism can motivate a newsroom, but it can also convince him that good intentions automatically make a questionable plan worthwhile.

Chelsea Frei remains an important counterweight as Mare. She's one of the characters most capable of recognizing both the value in Ned's ambitions and the problems created by them. Their chemistry gives the season that emotional thread it needs outside the journalism, although the show occasionally leans on that relationship more heavily than it needs to. It takes the Pam and Jim relationship to mid-series levels in the second season alone. The romantic material is one of my larger reservations with Season 2. Workplace comedies naturally turn coworkers into romantic possibilities, and THE OFFICE certainly didn't avoid that, but THE PAPER sometimes feels too eager to establish it too early.

The ensemble is strong enough that the show doesn't need romance as an excuse to give everyone something to latch onto. Melvin Gregg's Detrick benefits from being allowed to care about the actual work. What could have remained a fairly one-dimensional character starts to feel more impactful once the writers let his growing investment in the newspaper reveal more about him. Gbemisola Ikumelo and Eric Rahill also continue finding comedy in characters who initially seemed easier to define by one trait. Alex Edelman takes Adam's complete lack of self-awareness and makes it funny without turning him into someone who couldn't possibly function in an office. Ramona Young gives Nicole an understated quality that plays well against the louder personalities. I want to see more from her, though; I hope she becomes a bigger part of the core in the future.

Then there's Oscar Nuñez, who remains that bridge to THE OFFICE because Oscar Martinez is literally the same person. Season 2 gets better whenever it remembers that the funniest part of Oscar isn't just constant nostalgia. He's effective because he's already survived one functioning dumpster fire with a documentary crew following him and his coworkers around for years, and he reacts to this new group with the perspective of someone who recognizes every warning sign.

Sabrina Impacciatore commits to everything THE PAPER gives Esmeralda Grand to work with, but Esmeralda remains the character I struggle with most. I know plenty of viewers respond to her oversized personality. Yet too often she feels like a joke the writers keep pushing harder because the over-the-top antics are supposed to be funny. Instead of making me wonder what she'll do next, some of those scenes leave me waiting for the joke to settle down.

She's so much better in my opinion when the writing pulls her down to earth, closer to an actual person. Esmeralda's combination of genuine compassion and overwhelming narcissism can be funny because she isn't necessarily selfish or completely oblivious. There are moments when she genuinely cares about someone else, only to somehow redirect the situation toward herself. That contradiction gives Impacciatore something more interesting to play than simply being the loudest or most unpredictable person in the room.

Season 2 still has a habit of taking her beyond that. Once a subplot begins with Esmeralda already acting out and then keeps escalating, the character starts feeling artificial rather than eccentric. Impacciatore throws herself into all of it, but commitment can only do so much when the writing seems determined to make every appearance bigger and stranger than the last.

Greg Daniels and Michael Koman clearly understand the format, and THE PAPER generally remembers that a documentary crew is supposedly present. Reaction shots, awkward glances, and characters adjusting their behavior because a camera is nearby remain useful parts of the comedy, not decoration. Some scenes feel more like conventional sitcom shots presented as a documentary. The more elaborate the story becomes, the harder it is to believe the camera crew would naturally capture every angle needed. It's hardly fatal, but the best mockumentary comedy comes when the format creates the humor rather than merely recording it.

Season 2 shows a genuine affection for local journalism without turning the Truth Teller into something noble all the time. These people make mistakes. They chase dumb ideas. They misunderstand stories and occasionally care more about how reporting makes them feel than whether they're actually doing it well. Their gradual improvement is what makes the season work. The characters don't suddenly become seasoned investigative journalists because they won a few awards. They're still learning, and the show finds comedy in watching people discover that caring about the work and being good at the work aren't the same thing.

That's ultimately where THE PAPER establishes an identity completely separate from Dunder Mifflin. THE OFFICE was largely about finding humanity inside a job that didn't mean much to most of the people doing it. THE PAPER becomes a show about people discovering their job might actually mean something, even if they weren't prepared for that responsibility when they started.

This is where THE PAPER starts looking like a series worth following for reasons that have very little to do with Scranton. The newspaper is becoming the reason to watch, not the excuse for another mockumentary, and that's the best idea the show could have made. The Truth Teller's staff may still be figuring out journalism, but THE PAPER is finally figuring out THE PAPER.

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