The Paper

I was really looking forward to this series as a big Office fan! I know they said not to expect The Office but when there's a lot of the same ppl how can you not? The show isn't terrible and has the makings to be great! There are no stand out characters. Only time I laughed out loud was when Oscar curses to keep the documentary crew from recording him. The other moments that really stood out also all included Oscar. If they want this show to succeed we need much more Oscar and absolutely zero Esmeralda. She's not funny. She tries too hard. It's uncomfortable to watch. I'm sure the actress is a lovely person but this is not her best role. I'm half way through the season and I give it a 5!

I was a little worried this show was going to be nothing but rehashing The Office and luckily it's not. The one reference to Michael I noticed was well placed and a nice callback. Domhall Gleason is a great actor in my opinion and I have enjoyed most of his work. His role as a rather naive new editor of a local paper is a pleasure to watch. Other standouts would be Chelsea Frei and Ramona Young (who was also outstanding in Santa Clarita Diet). The only carry over character from The Office is Oscar and he also fits in well within the group.

Admittedly this show needs some work. The humor was rather hit or miss at times and there were some long lags where it did get a little boring. I would recommend this show for a relaxing afternoon. It's fun most of the time and quite enjoyable.

However one thing I could not get past was the character Esmeralda. I found her so grating and insufferable. If I watch this show again I will mute or fast forward her scenes. She's such an annoying person who I find impossible to root for. If there's a season two they need to lose that character.

The show on it's own not comparing it to the Office is fine. It needs time to grow I guess, hopefully it will find it's legs in the second season. The "Me Too" joke on the first episode was distasteful and there is some cringe through the season. My biggest criticism is that the character Esmerelda is complete garbage and not in a way that you love to hate a character, she just is jarring to the entire growth of the entire cast. She tries to ruin everything in a sense that makes me want to go away from the screen or turn it off everytime she's on. Get rid of or change Esmerelda and the potential will grow.

Really great cast with a lot of potential and a lot of the same heart as it's predecessor "The Office" watchable easy to get into and even better they dropped the whole season so you can keep watching and really get into and start to enjoy some of these characters. Mare is great and is kinda the Jim of the group and you see the potential with Ned the new editor in chief and they bounce off each other very naturally. I love the fact that Oscar is back I liked him from the original and to have somebody to kind of tie, everything together was a fun touch. The main detractor from this whole series is Esmeralda! I understand she's meant to be the antagonist , causing trouble being a pain but instead she's just kind of a disaster. She's out there by herself. She has no partner in crime. There is Ken but he's another separate person who comes in acts like a jerk and leaves he's not tied to anyone . Esmeralda has nobody on her side, so her character largely comes off annoying and frankly, I skip right past her when she comes on, it's just kind of painful. She's not a love to dislike kind of character and totally without humor. Apparently she's the "Michael Scott" of the bunch...she's no Michael Scott. I think with a simple cast change this show could be a hit.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with the masses. 15mins into the show, irritated by Esmeralda. Kinda reached a stage I am skipping all her parts. I like the tempo of the show, there are some good potential characters for further development. Nice to see an OG Oscar, still brings delight to the TV screen.