Why Oscar is the only The Office character back for The Paper, according to show’s creator

Everybody stay calm, stay f***ing calm. The spin-off show for The Office (US), The Paper, is finally here. The Office viewers might be surprised that the only character returning as a regular cast member for The Paper isn’t any of the show’s most famous protagonists, but Oscar the accountant.

Greg Daniels (who is behind The Office, Parks and Recreation and now The Paper) has shared two key reasons why Oscar Martinez is the only The Office character back for The Paper. One is unexpectedly deep.

Wait, what is Oscar doing in The Paper?

There is an in-world explanation for why Oscar now works for a newspaper. The Paper opens with the documentary crew who filmed the Dunder Mifflin employees in The Office showing up at the building, and having the horrifying realisation that the Scranton branch Dunder Mifflin is no more. Bob Vance (Vance Refrigeration) has a quick cameo to explain that a company called Enervate bought Dunder Mifflin in 2019. Instead, the camera crew head to Ohio to make a documentary about a failing newspaper owned by Enervate. They discover Oscar relocated there. He’s pretty unimpressed to see the camera crew, but discovers the contract he foolishly signed decades ago allows them to film him for as long as they like. Oops.

Greg Daniels has explained why only Oscar stars in the new show

Firstly, Greg Daniels asked Oscar Nuñez to return because he’s really very funny. Daniels told The Hollywood Reporter: “Oscar’s just really funny and I love him, and I thought he works really well because he blends in to almost any ensemble. He makes the show funnier.” Well, nobody’s disputing that.

Most Read

Ok, here’s exactly what MAFS’ Keye actually does for work after ‘six figure salary’ comments

A sad update on AJ Owens’ kids, two years after their mum was killed by Susan Lorincz

Scottish girl who faked pregnancy with realistic doll reveals the tragic reason she did it

The second reason why Oscar is the only The Office character with a main role is way deeper. Greg Daniels explained to NBC: “His character on The Office was maybe the only one who didn’t evolve. He didn’t leave to run a bar, he didn’t move to Austin and get into sports management, he didn’t get married, he didn’t reveal he got a PhD.”

By the way, those comments refer to what Kevin, then Darryl, Jim and Pam, then Angela and Dwight, then Meredith got up to in the finale of The Office in 2013.

Oscar thinks it’s un-bel-ievable when the camera crew show up at his new office
(Credit: Peacock)

“He was pretty much the same person with his self-dignity intact at the end. There was no closure to reopen, and we are free to see what happens to him now without that anxiety that we’re changing the ending of the other show.”

He also told The Hollywood Reporter: “Most of the cast, their stories had closure and I don’t think they really want to open them up again just to guest on another show.”

Fair enough.

For more about The Office US, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

Feature image credit: Peacock