Spoilers for Season 2 of The Paper follow.
Summary
- Greg Daniels and Michael Koman discuss Ned and Mare’s fractured relationship, Nicole’s unraveling, and how journalism drives Season 2’s emotional arcs.
- Daniels says a more substantial Office reunion involving Oscar, Angela, and Kevin was removed because it threatened to distract from the story.
- The showrunners explain the casting of Lisa Gilroy, Andy Richter, Andy Daly, and Jon Lovitz.
The Paper began as a spin-off of The Office, but its second season has established a distinct identity. The staff at the Toledo Truth-Teller now faces a web of professional and personal crises. Ned (Domhnall Gleeson) spends much of the season pursuing a defining “journalistic crusade” while attempting to keep his relationship with Mare (Chelsea Frei) separate from the newspaper. Their romance ultimately becomes another newsroom complication, and Mare eventually accepts a position at the Cincinnati Chronicle.
As Ned’s Glass Club investigation unfolds, it becomes a possible bridge between the former couple. Co-creator Greg Daniels describes Ned as trying to balance his romance with his responsibilities at the paper. Co-creator Michael Koman says that pairing a reporting story with an emotional one remains central to the show’s approach.
Even as The Paper develops its own newsroom and explores local journalism beyond Dunder Mifflin, the influence of The Office remains present. Oscar’s (Oscar Nuñez) occasional check-ins with Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) continue the connection to their shared past. Daniels says the series originally considered a much larger crossover moment, but it was ultimately removed.
In a conversation with Collider, Daniels and Koman discussed balancing The Paper with its Office heritage, why Ned gives away the story he spent the season pursuing, Nicole’s unraveling after her relationship with Detrick (Melvin Gregg) ends, the reunion scene that never aired, and how cast members including Jon Lovitz, Andy Richter, and Andy Daly were brought into the series.
Ned Turns His Biggest Story Into an Emotional Sacrifice
“Our goal is always to combine a newspaper story with an emotional story.”
COLLIDER: Ned spends the season chasing a major journalistic crusade, only for the Glass Club investigation to become Mare’s story. What drew you to the idea of him giving up the decision he had been pursuing for someone he loves?
GREG DANIELS: There is a shape to it from a romantic standpoint of him trying to juggle both his romance and his obligations to the paper and trying to show off with the crusade and having it blow up in his face and having him have to suffer the loss of Mare to another paper and then redeem himself through winning her respect back. So that was sort of a shape for the season.
MICHAEL KOMAN: Our goal is always to combine a newspaper story with an emotional story, and the show is following what’s happening between these people. So, to know how much work Ned has put in over the course of the season to what ultimately becomes his article about the Glass Club, and for him to be able to give that to Mare in a way, or to at least make sure that she was included in that, to me, these are the two things that are the most special to him: to have a piece of journalism that the paper can actually be proud of and to do it with this person, who is so meaningful to him.
Domhnall [Gleeson] has joked that Ned seems to want a kind of “throuple” made up of the paper, Mare, and himself.
KOMAN: I think it was really hard for him all season to balance these things. I think he thought it would be easy, and I think he was trying to find some way at the end to create some kind of balance.
Nicole Struggles to Regain Control
“She’s someone who’s trying to plan her life… and she finds out that you can’t do that.”
Image via John P. Fleenor/Peacock
COLLIDER: Nicole has one of the season’s most dramatic trajectories. After losing Mare and watching her relationship with Detrick fall apart, she becomes increasingly fixated on Lisa. Is this her rock-bottom moment, a loss of control, or an attempt to create control for herself?
DANIELS: I think what happened was it’s sort of rooted in Season 1, where she entered into a relationship with Detrick and told herself that she had no feelings for him, and dumped him, and then realized afterwards that she had a lot of feelings for him, and she hadn’t been aware of them. I think that she’s just kind of processing that. She’s also trying to do well at work and get out from under Esmeralda’s thumb, and at one point she’s successfully doing that, and then she isn’t.
KOMAN: I think she’s someone who’s trying to plan her life and by controlling her emotions if they’re inconvenient for her, and she finds out that you can’t do that.
The ‘Office’ Reunion That Could Have Overshadowed the Story
“We kind of like these little Easter eggs that just remind you of it without trying to take over.”
Image via John P. Fleenor/Peacock
COLLIDER: Oscar continues checking in with Kevin throughout the season. Was that always intended as a connection to his wider world, and could viewers ever see Kevin travel to Ohio?
DANIELS: At one point, we had a whole scene where Oscar is on the phone. They call him for help, and it’s over the weekend, and he’s like, “I’m sorry. I’m halfway to Pennsylvania.” And he turns around, and he’s met Angela and Kevin for a little birthday party at a restaurant. I don’t know, it just felt kind of unnecessary to the story, like it would grab too much attention. So, we kind of like these little Easter eggs that just remind you of it without trying to take over, kind of.
How the Show Cast Jon Lovitz, Andy Richter, and Andy Daly
“Why don’t we get the real Jon Lovitz? Let’s not fool around.”
Image via John P. Fleenor/Peacock
COLLIDER: When you introduce comedians such as Lisa Gilroy, Andy Richter, Andy Daly, and Jon Lovitz, do you write with their performances in mind, or do the characters come first and the casting suggestions follow?
KOMAN: You are writing with them in mind, not necessarily knowing that you would get them, but you think of a character first, you’re talking about why that character would be interesting or funny, and then inevitably you bring up, so people can get a picture in their mind. I do know that Jon Lovitz was the picture that we brought up that was written in the script: “Jon Lovitz-type.”
DANIELS: “Jon Lovitz-type” was what we did. I worked with him on Saturday Night Live, and so I know how funny he can be. Then at some point, we were just like, “Well, why don’t we get the real Jon Lovitz? Let’s not fool around.” It was great. That was the same with Andy Richter. And then Andy Daly, we both loved, and he had tried out for Ken’s role that Tim Key plays, and so we were like, “Aw, can’t get two. You can’t have everybody. We got Tim, and Tim’s amazing. Maybe we’ll find a way to work Andy in,” and then he came in.
KOMAN: Working on a television show is fun anyway, but one of the things that’s the most fun is when you can write with a person in mind and then get to stand there and hear their actual voice saying it. It’s very satisfying.
