Peacock's "Office" spinoff "The Paper" lands a premiere date

To call "The Paper" a spinoff of "The Office" is generous in a vacuum. However, when you think back on the history of spinoffs, it's not that egregious. Backdoor pilots used to be common, and they would feature new characters popping up in a popular show for one episode just to set the table for a spinoff. The most-craven version of this was when Mork, an alien, showed up in nostalgic Americana sitcom "Happy Days" just to pave the way for "Mork & Mindy."

The logline for "The Paper" reads:

The documentary crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch is in search of a new subject when they discover a historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it.

So yeah, basically this is yet-another mockumentary sitcom, this one set at a newspaper, but it is being tied to "The Office" through the entirely-fictional documentary crew from "The Office." Well, and they got Oscar Nunez to show up as Oscar the accountant for "The Paper," so there's that.

The most-notable cast member for "The Paper" is Domhnall Gleeson, who plays "an idealistic new employee" at the titular paper, the Toledo Truth-Teller. Will we get episodes where somebody goes to Detroit or to Cleveland? Will there be an episode at Cedar Point, America's Roller Coast? We can find out after "The Paper" debuts on Peacock.

Say, when is that premiere date for "The Paper?" Why, it's September 4.  Peacock will drop a whopping four episodes on that day, and then two episodes will arrive every Thursday through September 25.

Can "The Paper" coast on being tied to "The Office" sufficiently to be a success? Will it actually be good? On September 4 we will get our first sense.

(h/t Variety)