Mild spoilers below for The Paper Season 2. All episodes are currently streaming on Peacock.
If you were hoping Peacock’s hit The Office spin-off would coast on simple Scranton nostalgia for its sophomore run, think again. The Paper Season 2 takes massive comedic risks, throws its central characters into romantic tailspins, and proves this series has plenty of its own story to tell.
If you are looking for a complete The Paper Season 2 review before diving into the new episodes, we have you fully covered. Here is our breakdown of how the show’s return delivers big laughs, refreshing workplace dynamics, and an incredible expanding cast.
Love Is in the Air (and the Ditch) at the Toledo Truth Teller
At the Toledo Truth Teller, love is officially in the air—along with a gun range, a debate podcast, and a literal roadside ditch during a tornado pass.
In Season 2, the hard-working employees of the fictional Ohio-based newspaper are tangled up in so many workplace entanglements that the office whiteboard looks like a conspiracy theorist’s string map. The latest batch of episodes puts relationships squarely at the center of the narrative, often to absolute gold-tier hilarious effect. It is a bold season of television that dares to move past the classic “will-they, won’t-they” sitcom dynamic to explore what actually happens when co-workers dive headfirst into real, messy relationships.
Ned and Mare: Moving Beyond the “Jim and Pam” Trope
The narrative backbone of Season 2 rests on the budding romance between competent-yet-flailing Editor-in-Chief Ned (Domhnall Gleeson) and star reporter Mare (Chelsea Frei).
Following the events of the Season 1 finale—where the Truth Teller staff unexpectedly swept the Ohio journalism awards—Ned and Mare begin a covert office romance. From romantic getaways involving Orwellian food delivery carts to late-night FaceTime dinners, the duo constantly echoes Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly at their absolute sweetest.
However, where The Office spent multiple years trapped in a loop of missed opportunities and emotional yearning, The Paper accelerates the timeline. Ned and Mare are fully together early on, navigating the hilarious friction of dating your immediate colleague:
The Gun Range Incident: Ned suffers an existential ego hit when ex-military Mare drastically outshoots him while they schmooze a local police chief.
The Debate Podcast: Co-hosting an internal news podcast becomes an exercise in aggressive flirting disguised as fiery political disagreement.
The Interrupted Getaway: A romantic weekend trip gets yanked away when the remaining staff proves completely incapable of handling a basic election story without supervision.
This rapid-fire progression keeps the narrative fresh. It grounds the chaos around them in genuine human passion for their work—which makes the late-season speed bump hurt that much more. While a classic sitcom miscommunication involving a moldy muffin threatens to pull them apart, the core bond between Gleeson and Frei remains the emotional heart of the show.
Secondary Romances and Farce-Level Workplace Hijinks
Beyond Ned and Mare, the sheer volume of romantic chaos across the newsroom borders on absolute anarchy:
Esmeralda & Ken: Resident attention-seeker Esmeralda (a brilliant Sabrina Impacciatore) and corporate stooge Ken (Tim Key) engage in a series of escalation games that accidentally turn into a pseudo-relationship.
Oscar’s Scheme: Senior staffer Oscar (Oscar Martinez) concocts an elaborate ploy just to ask out a local nursing home employee.
The Newsroom Floor: Detrick (Melvin Gregg), Adelola (Gbemisola Ikumelo), Nicole (Ramona Young), and Troy (Eric Rahill) all wrestle with wildly inappropriate office crushes.
While balancing this many storylines occasionally threatens to transform a sharp journalistic mockumentary into an overly crowded ensemble rom-com, the big comedic swings hit more than they miss.
Season 2 frequently breaks out of typical mockumentary boundaries into broad farce. Highlights include Ned faking a rodent attack to the point of almost taking a giant medical needle from a fake nurse, and an emergency task force using condiments to recreate a crime scene.
Standout Guest Stars and The Office Callbacks
Adding fuel to the fire is a stellar expanded cast. Chief among them is Lisa Gilroy as Lisa, the newspaper’s wildly inappropriate new HR representative. Gilroy delivers a masterclass performance—she is spiteful, manic, competent, and completely unhinged. She is joined by guest appearances from sitcom icon Andy Richter and comedy legend Jon Lovitz.
For longtime fans, the DNA of co-creator Greg Daniels and The Office veterans (including Paul Lieberstein, Dave Rogers, and Jen Celotta) is on full display. The season features plenty of meta-callbacks:
While these nods are delightful fan service, The Paper proves in Season 2 that its original characters are strong enough to carry the series entirely on their own merits without constantly leaning on Scranton’s shadow.
Verdict: 8/10 — A Worthy Sitcom Successor
Season 2 of The Paper goes broad with its humor, shatters tired TV relationship tropes, and offers a sharp, hilarious look at modern media survival. While a few broad jokes land awkwardly, its pitch-perfect cast and brilliant character dynamics make it one of the absolute best workplace comedies on television right now.
What Are Your Thoughts on Season 2?
Are you loving Ned and Mare as the show’s central couple, or are Lisa Gilroy’s unhinged HR antics stealing the spotlight for you? Drop your review and favorite moments in the comments section below!
