The Paper: Peacock’s next series in the Office universe gets a first look image and title ahead of its September premiere

Parkour! Who’s ready to clock back in for a follow-up to The Office? The upcoming series from former Office showrunners Greg Daniels and Michael Koman premieres this September. Titled The Paper, the new mockumentary comedy series follows the publisher (Domhnall Gleeson) and staff of a historic but struggling newspaper in Toledo, Ohio. Peacock released a first look image from the upcoming comedy on Monday, featuring Domhnall Gleeson going full “Oh, Captain! My Captain!”. In contrast, Oscar Nuñez, who will reprise his Office role as Oscar Martinez, looks on in confusion.

“Greg heard me and moved Oscar to Toledo, Ohio, which has three times the population of Scranton,” Nuñez said about his hopes of moving Oscar to a “more cosmopolitan environment” on stage Monday at NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation. “So it’s nice to be heard.”

“It’s about this struggling Midwestern newspaper that’s much reduced from its glory days,” Daniels told The Hollywood Reporter. “A lot of the story lines are about how this guy, Domhnall Gleeson’s character, is trying to restore this paper, and he just doesn’t have the budget for hiring reporters, and he has to use all the staff that work there on a volunteer basis to be reporters. They’re completely untrained and don’t know what they’re doing,” Daniels said. “It’s a fruitful premise. There’s a tremendous history for local papers. The villain here is the internet and the ability to look at everybody’s news for free, and all the ad revenue going to Google.”

A remarkable aspect of the show’s production is that it employs many crew members who worked behind the scenes on The Office. Their seasoned experience with Daniels and Koman’s comedic sensibilities and run of the show could help the follow-up reach a similar audience and new heights. Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Ramona Young, and Tim Key join Gleeson and Nuñez to round out the primary cast. Duane Shepard Sr., Allan Havey, Nate Jackson, Mo Welch, Nancy Lenehan, Molly Ephraim, and Tracy Letts will have guest roles.

Are you a fan of The Office? Are you interested in how The Paper differs from Daniels and Koman’s previous hit series? Let us know in the comments section below.

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