‘The Office’ spinoff to take place at a daily newspaper - The Washington Post
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‘The Office’ spinoff is set at a daily newspaper

It won’t be the Washington Post, sources confirm.

By
May 8, 2024 at 6:03 p.m. EDT
Steve Carell and Jenna Fischer in “The Office.” (Justin Lubin/NBC/Everett Collection)
3 min

Say goodbye to Dunder Mifflin and hello to the Daily Somethingorother?

A new mockumentary comedy series that takes place in the same universe as “The Office” was announced Wednesday by Peacock, set at a yet-to-be-named “dying historic Midwestern newspaper.”

The new untitled series, which starts production in June, will center on a newsroom whose publisher is trying to save it with “volunteer reporters,” per the announcement. The story will be told by the same fictional documentary team from the U.S. version of the “The Office,” an Emmy-winning series about a group of Dunder Mifflin paper company employees that concluded its ninth and final season in 2013.

The new show will star Domhnall Gleeson (“Ex-Machina”) and Sabrina Impacciatore (“The White Lotus”). It will be produced by “Nathan for You” co-creator Michael Koman and Greg Daniels, who adapted the original British version of the “The Office” for American audiences.

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Newsrooms, ahem, have been featured in television shows and movies to varying degrees of success. The ’90s comedy series “NewsRadio,” set at an eccentric radio station in New York, ran for five seasons and starred Dave Foley, Andy Dick and Joe Rogan (yes, Joe Rogan). David Spade starred as a quirky publisher’s assistant Dennis Finch at a high-profile magazine office in “Just Shoot Me, ” which aired 145 episodes from 1997 to 2003. Meanwhile, the super serious Aaron Sorkin drama “The Newsroom” ran for three seasons and is mostly remembered for the “America is not the greatest country in the world” monologue, which actor Jeff Daniels says saved his career.

More recently, ABC’s “Not Dead Yet,” a sitcom about a woman who starts writing obituaries for her local newspaper, is holding down the fort for journalism shows in the current, terrible, economic environment.

“The Office” was a cultural juggernaut during its nine-season run, helping launch the careers of John Krasinski, Ed Helms, Jenna Fischer and Mindy Kaling. The show’s mockumentary style became its own mini-genre, echoed in hits like “Parks and Recreation,” the Emmy-winning powerhouse “Modern Family” and “What We Do in the Shadows,” which is like “The Office” with vampires.

After an “Office” revival’s existence was reported last year, The Washington Post asked modern-day office workers what they’d expect to see in it. They imagined a Michael Scott-style boss sending gaffes and jokes through Microsoft Teams while Dwight Schrute monitored everyone’s keystrokes. No one guessed “newspaper.”

So, can we look forward to journalism-version of Jim falling in love with journalism-version of Pam as they work late trying to cut 1,000 words from an overlong draft? Will some Ryan Howard-esque hotshot show up and TikTok all the news? Can a show about depressed (we assume) reporters possibly follow up the TV magic of “The Office?”

Here in this actual newsroom, we can only wait and watch.