[Warning: The below and video above contain MAJOR spoilers for The Paper Season 1.]
There’s going to be a morning after. The Paper, co-created by Greg Daniels and Michael Koman, and set in the universe of Daniels’ The Office, has been renewed for a second season. TV Insider checked in with the cast about what their characters would be doing after waking up following their wild night at the finale’s Ohio Journalism Awards, where their Toledo paper, The Truth-Teller, won big.
Editor Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson) and star reporter Mare Pritti (Chelsea Frei) capped off the evening with a passionate kiss, preceded by much agonizing over whether they should succumb to their mutual attraction. Gleeson says the next day Ned would be asking, “Is this going to be the thing that destroys everything, or is it going to be the best thing that ever happened? The middle ground would be hard to find. He’d be incredibly nervous.”
As for Mare, Frei says, “A lot was said and done that she’s probably concerned about showing up to work on Monday.”
There are no such concerns for glamorous, self-absorbed managing editor Esmerelda Grand (Sabrina Impacciatore), who unsurprisingly tried to steal the spotlight for the entire awards ceremony. Impacciatore says, “Esmerelda thinks, what a great night. Thank God I chose red.” The actress insisted that her character wear a crown despite the episode director’s initial misgivings: “She’s the only one who has no nomination. At least she must have a crown!”
It was also a good night for accountant and The Office vet Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nuñez) who scored a trophy for his puzzle. Nuñez says his character would be channeling Faye Dunaway in the famous Beverly Hills hotel poolside photograph by Terry O’Neill the morning after her 1977 best actress win for Network. According to Nuñez, “He’s probably at a Toledo hotel rooftop pool, and his friends are running around scantily clad, and his award is on the table with mimosas.”
Check out the video to hear more, as well as what’s next for Oscar’s accountant colleagues/volunteer reporters, Adam Cooper (Alex Edelman) and Adelola Olofin (Gbemisola Ikumelo), circulation maven Nicole Lee (Ramona Young), who was glimpsed crying in Mare’s hotel room, and ad salesman Detrick Moore (Melvin Gregg).
The Paper, Season 1, Streaming Now, Peacock