New Film ‘The Paper’ Explores Humor and Humanity in Community News
The Paper,” the fictional documentary crew who once chronicled the lives of office staff at Dunder Mifflin, a paper company trying to exist in an increasingly paperless world, has set their sights on another dwindling industry — local news.
At the Toledo Truth Teller, the crew finds Ned Sampson, an anti-Michael Scott if there ever was one, as far as bosses go. A newly-appointed editor-in-chief with little actual journalism experience, Ned comes from privilege, is almost hyper vigilant about not offending others and holds meetings with his staff where they actually discuss work. Imagine that!
The point where the two characters intersect, however, will be more important to viewers hopeful that this TV spin-off of ‘The Office’ has legs: Ned, like the fellow former salesman at the center of that other show, is the kind of guy who leads with his heart and tries to do right by his people. In other words, you might find yourself afraid of how much you love him.
When the audience meets Ned in the pilot, which is streaming alongside the entire full season on Peacock starting Thursday, he’s embarking on a big change in his life – even if star Domhnall Gleeson admitted that his taking on a big journalism job with little credentials is “an immensely stupid move” for the character. But Ned’s belief that the newspaper is an essential service to the community drives him to take the leap from toilet paper sales.
