Domnhall Gleeson on TAKE THE BISCUIT
For nine seasons, from 2005 to 2013, THE OFFICE became a cultural phenomenon that extended far beyond its initial television run. The series thrived in syndication, found new life on streaming platforms, and spawned countless memes and cultural references. Its influence on subsequent workplace comedies cannot be overstated—the mockumentary format became a standard approach, and the idea that office mundanity could be comedy gold inspired numerous imitators.
The series concluded in 2013 with a satisfying finale that tied up loose ends and provided closure for characters viewers had followed for nearly a decade. A finale special followed two years later, seemingly putting a definitive end to the Scranton branch’s story. The paper company had finally closed its doors, metaphorically speaking, and fans were left with memories and endless rewatching opportunities.
Now THE PAPER arrives on Peacock as something between sequel and spiritual successor. With an almost entirely new cast of characters but maintaining that familiar mockumentary workplace format, the series represents both continuity and evolution. It’s THE OFFICE returning without being THE OFFICE, a continuation of format and sensibility rather than character and location. The challenge facing this new iteration is substantial: how do you capture the magic of something beloved without simply repeating it?
The streaming landscape of 2025 is vastly different from the network television environment that nurtured the original American THE OFFICE. Audiences have shorter attention spans, more viewing options, and different expectations for workplace comedy. The mockumentary format, once fresh and innovative, has become familiar territory. THE PAPER must prove that the format still has stories worth telling and that workplace comedy can evolve while maintaining its essential appeal.
The lineage from Slough to Scranton to streaming represents more than just adaptation and continuation—it reflects television’s remarkable ability to reinvent itself while honoring what came before. Each iteration has built upon its predecessor while responding to its own cultural moment. The British THE OFFICE emerged from a specific time and place, capturing post-millennial British workplace culture with surgical precision. The American version expanded and Americanized those themes, creating something that honored the original while speaking to different cultural sensibilities.
THE PAPER now faces the challenge of proving that this format has more to offer, that workplace comedy can continue evolving and finding new ways to make us laugh at our professional lives while recognizing the humanity in our daily struggles. Whether it succeeds will determine not just its own fate but the future of a format that has already proven remarkably resilient and adaptable across cultures and decades.
Don`t miss @scandalous_13 on the @willseeyounowshow!
The PEAKY BLINDERS, KIN and MOBLAND actor opens up about living with aphantasia, his complicated relationship with fear and the self-destructive impulses he works to keep under control.
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Fifty years. One extraordinary career. And he keeps getting better 🎬
Don`t miss beloved #Belfast actor; Ciaran Hinds; in Netflix’s adaptation of John Steinbeck`s EAST OF EDEN.
Hinds re-unites with THE WONDER co-star, with the magnificent Florence Pugh!
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Paul Mescal is now in your Netflix queue 🍿
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Ciilian Murphy for 28 YEARS LATER 3?
Danny Boyle just confirmed at the @zurichfilmfestival that the third chapter of the 28 DAYS LATER saga is happening. Alex Garland already has a script, and Boyle says there will be "a lot of Cillian Murphy in it."
Full details via 🔗︎ in bio!
BAD SISTERS creator @sharonhorgan is in the @criterioncollection closet.
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Who else loves THE PRINCESS BRIDE and THE RED BALLOON 🎈?
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Congrats to Saoirse Ronan!
PAPER PLANE, her 15-min directorial and screenwriting debut, has just won BIG at @encounterssff.
Despite four Oscar nominations, Saoirse still truly believes in independent film!
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73-year-old @piercebrosnanofficial tells @interviewmag that acting means constantly constructing and destroying a part of yourself to become the character.
From Bond to MOBLAND and everything in between, Brosnan is the real deal.
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See you in 2040! 🎬⏳
Richard Linklater just gave the most Linklater progress report imaginable on MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG: nine sections, twenty years, and the fourth one starts filming in a few months. Paul Mescal has been along for the ride since 2019, and the finished film will take eight years longer than BOYHOOD, which already felt like an impossible feat at twelve.
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The first trailer for ELSINORE is here, and it`s a gut punch 🎭
Andrew Scott plays the late Ian Charleson, the actor who chased the performance of his lifetime as Hamlet at the National Theatre while facing impossible odds. Simon Stone (THE DIG) directs, Stephen Beresford (PRIDE) writes, and Olivia Colman stars alongside Scott, who also produced.
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