'The Paper' Has One Glaring Flaw That Keeps it From Reaching the Heights of 'The Office'

Published Oct 11, 2026, 12:32 PM EDT

Charlie Ridgely is a writer from Maryland, currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee. He may be new to Collider, but he's been writing, editing, conducting interviews, and podcasting around the industry for 10 years. From 2016 to the start of 2026, Charlie was a full time writer and critic at ComicBook.com. A lifelong movie fan, avid reader, and renowned (fictional) dungeon explorer/dragonslayer, Charlie is a jack-of-all-trades throughout the fandom multiverse and has covered everything under the sun. 

Spin-off TV shows are rarely as good as their predecessors, but there have been some notable exceptions to that rule over the years. Shows like Frasier, Better Call Saul, and Angel have set the standard for what spin-off and sequel shows should strive for, creating stories that stand alongside the quality of their original series. The Paper is certainly trying to do the same, attempting to fill the enormous shoes left empty by The Office, one of the most beloved TV sitcoms of all time.

With just two seasons under its belt, it's impossible to say yet whether The Paper will be able to keep pace with its predecessor in the long-term, but it has most of the ingredients to be one of the better spin-offs in recent memory. It's a great show with a compelling cast of characters that consistently keeps you laughing, and it manages to capture the same tone as The Office. There's one thing really holding The Paper back, though, and it sadly has nothing to do with the creative vision for the show.

'The Paper' Suffers From Streaming

The Office ran for nine seasons on NBC and, aside from its initial installment, the seasons featured anywhere from 14 to 27 episodes. There's a lot of The Office to watch across its nine seasons, which not only gives fans more time to get invested in the comedy, but also allows the show to explore its side characters in meaningful ways.

The Paper, unfortunately, doesn't have that luxury. Even though it feels just like the network sitcom that made Steve Carell a household name, this spin-off series exists in the era of streaming, and TV production companies have put an emphasis on shorter seasons. The Paper's first two seasons on Peacock have consisted of just 10 episodes each, both of which have been released all-at-once.

This has left The Paper with an issue that The Office didn't have — there's not enough time with these characters or in this world to let it become the classic that its predecessor has been. The side characters, while hilarious, aren't able to become fan-favorites like Kevin or Kelly were in the original series. Just think about Oscar, who is a main character on The Paper. He wouldn't have been nearly as memorable on The Office if that series was spitting out 10 episodes once every fall. How would he have gotten any screen time alongside Michael, Dwight, Jim, and Pam?

A major part of The Office's legacy is in how it lets all the smaller characters and storylines breathe, giving voices to all sorts of characters we weren't used to seeing in other sitcoms. The Paper, as good as it is, simply isn't afforded the ability to do that. And that's not even mentioning the fact that the all-at-once binge model that Peacock is using for The Paper removes the potential for appointment viewing and water cooler discussion each week.

Streaming Models Hurt in the Long Run

While it's nice, in theory, to have these inexpensive and shortened shows on a streaming service, because it keeps budgets low and gives the actors freedom to take on even more projects, it has hindered the creation of any lasting titles in the world of TV. The shows we all think of as classics have hordes of episodes across several seasons, giving us countless hours to watch back through as we work through them. These modern streaming shows aren't building those libraries, which will ultimately hurt them in the long run.

Think about the shows that continue to become topics of conversation years after they go off the air. Sitcoms like Friends and The Office are still staples all these years later, even in the world of streaming where how we watch TV has fundamentally changed. Remember when Suits was added to Netflix a couple of years ago and became a record-breaking title for the streamer? People enjoyed having lengthy seasons, filler episodes, and time to get to know the characters. Longer TV seasons worked at the time, and they keep those shows relevant today. It is rare for a streaming original to have that type of episode count, and revisiting them down the road likely won't result in the same type of moments that older shows have had.

If The Paper was given even a few more episodes each season — or, better yet, moved to the weekly NBC schedule on a permanent basis — it would have a lot easier time climbing into the halls of TV glory alongside Michael Scott and the merry misfits of Dunder Mifflin.