The American adaptation of The Office is one of my favorite shows of all time. Even when the show is at its worst, I can still find joy spending time with those beloved characters. Naturally, when NBC and Peacock announced that a spinoff from previous showrunner, Greg Daniels, was in the works, I immediately became interested. The idea of a camera crew following around a new cast of quirky characters, this time at a small town newspaper, sounded fascinating and I was all-in.
It is important to note that this is not a copy and paste clone of The Office. Some online conversations have even compared the show more to Parks and Recreation. I like to think that it fits somewhere in the middle while also carving its own path. Also, a huge shoutout to Casting Director Leslie Woo who absolutely nailed it with this cast.
Now that I have had time to consume each episode (twice), I am here to say that Greg Daniels has done it again. This show is not The Office. I repeat: this show is not The Office; and that is a wonderful thing. Sure, some of the characters have similar traits of our beloved (former) Dunder Mifflin employees, but they each bring a new spin or uniqueness to that type of character. This show doesn’t have Michael Scott. Instead, we have Kent, Ned, and Esmeralda, who all have traits that Michael once had. We don’t have Jim and Pam, but we have Ned and Mare and we have Detrick and Nicole. We do still have Oscar, which is a welcome addition and his scenes do not take away one bit from this being an entirely new experience. When we left Oscar, he was running for a state senate seat and was the godfather to Angela and Dwight’s baby. I will assume he lost his race (or maybe just decided not to run for reelection) and that we will at some point see other past Dunder Mifflin characters.
If I had to name one complaint with this show, it is that the length (ten episodes, each running approximately thirty minutes) is entirely too short. This is a show that would benefit greatly from a 14-16 episode order so that we can get to know some of these other characters a little better. The Office was so great because it was lifted up by an exceptional ensemble cast. I am hoping the viewership will warrant a much larger episode order for season two and beyond.
Overall, each episode’s plot feels new and fresh and not a rehash of a former Dunder Mifflin story. As mentioned, some storylines felt rushed, but there is always magic that can be done in the writer’s room to undo or extend some of these things in the future. This is a great first season and I hope we get many more. I look forward to seeing what kind of crazy shenanigans (and hopefully cameos) we get in the future at the Toledo Truth Teller.
