One The Paper Character Still Hasn't Recovered From His Time On The Office

This article contains light spoilers for "The Paper" season 1, episode 4.

"The Paper" might be a spin-off from "The Office," but its also very much its own thing. Now, though, the show has given fans what might be the show's first official callback to Michael Scott. In episode 4, Domhnall Gleeson's Ned Sampson tries to encourage Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nuñez) to create a Sudoku puzzle for the paper and claims that it would be "fun." But the accountant turned Arts and Leisure reporter replies, "Saying that work is fun is a form of pressure. Quite frankly, it's giving me PTSD from an old boss." A quick look to camera leaves no doubt about who Oscar is referring to.

He and Michael had one of the more fraught relationships on "The Office," at least in the beginning. When the series first premiered on NBC back in 2005, it was basically a straight remake of the original British version. But as the show went on, it too became entirely its own thing, transforming into the best sitcom ever made (according to IMDb). The writers began writing for the show's actors and created a fictional world that, at least for the first few seasons, felt like a real place populated by (mostly) real people (Rainn Wilson's Dwight Schrute notwithstanding).

But even while the U.S. series evolved, it mostly retained the central comedy conceit of Michael Scott being a cartoon character man-baby nightmare boss surrounded by people who were just trying to do their jobs and go home. Later seasons saw the supporting cast become more zany and unhinged in their own ways (which might have something to do with why "The Office" went so drastically downhill after Steve Carrell left, even if Jenna Fischer doesn't agree with that "hot take"). Oscar was one Dunder Mifflin staff member who remained fairly grounded for a long time, which put him on a collision course with Michael and his nonsense on numerous occasions.

"The Paper" has given "The Office" fans a way to revisit that universe without delivering a full-on reunion. While the first trailer for the series wasn't a home run, that didn't necessarily mean "The Paper" was going to be bad, especially since it took "The Office" a while to find its footing. Now that the new spin-off has finally arrived, we can at least say that it maintains a similar tone to its predecessor, which, given the involvement of former "The Office" showrunner Greg Daniels, is what you might expect. But it's also a little more optimistic, at least in comparison to early seasons of "The Office."

Instead of a clueless clod like Michael Scott, "The Paper" has Ned Sampson as the unrelentingly hopeful and maybe even a tad naive leader of the titular publication. As editor, Ned is on a noble if romantic mission to restore the reputation of the paper and bring "real journalism" back to a publication that has descended into clickbait and wire service stories. In episode 4, however, Ned's well-intentioned attempt to revitalize the Truth Teller leads to this somewhat tense moment Oscar Martinez. In this case, though, it's just a brief misstep, whereas Michael would have kept pushing until he fully embarrassed Oscar in front of the Dunder Mifflin staff. 

Back when "The Office" first started, Oscar was a closeted gay man who mostly kept to himself. But Michael's complete lack of self-awareness and insistence on work being "fun" and inclusive frequently thrust Oscar into awkward and humiliating situations — the most obvious example being when Michael outed Oscar in the third season premiere "Gay Witch Hunt." What's more, Michael would frequently refer to his employees as "family," and clearly had no idea how to separate his work and personal life. Despite them getting along better as the show went on, it seems Oscar still has some lingering Michael Scott trauma. Thankfully, Ned is nothing like Oscar's former boss, even if he did briefly venture into Michael territory with his Sudoku request.

Every episode of "The Paper" is streaming now on Peacock.