For any The Office-rewatching experts out there with Peacock subscriptions who are quietly hoping more familiar faces might pop up in The Paper Season 2 when it hits the 2026 TV schedule, you’re not alone. Former Office star Melora Hardin, who made Jan Levinson one of the most unpredictable characters in the Dunder Mifflin orbit, has an awesome, inspired idea for bringing her character back, making it clear she’d be more than happy to step back into that world.
Hardin spoke with EW about the possibility of revisiting Jan while reflecting on her long-running collaboration with The Office creator Greg Daniels, who masterminded the spinoff series The Paper. When asked if she’d be open to reprising the character, the comedian didn’t hesitate, explaining:
Are you kidding? I would totally go back. I love Greg Daniels. He really knows television, and he really knows comedy, and we spitball sometimes, you know. 'What could Jan be doing now?'
That casual brainstorming eventually turned into a specific pitch, and it's one that cleverly plays with the long-running mystery of The Office’s unseen documentary crew. The Paper, which follows the same crew as they document a struggling newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, already leans more directly into breaking the fourth wall than its predecessor. So Hardin imagined Jan slipping into that structure in a way that feels both fresh and totally on brand.
Her idea starts with the one familiar face already anchoring the spinoff: Oscar Nuñez’s Oscar Martinez. Hardin explained that she loved how Oscar occasionally questions the crew’s presence and motivations, and thought Jan could push that tension even further:
I had this idea that they have Oscar kind of being like, 'Did you guys get enough out of this?' I said to Greg and to Suzanne, his wife, 'It would be really fun, if Jan was the director, and eventually, every now and then, the camera turns around, and it's her.
It’s defintely an inspired twist. For years, The Office flirted with revealing the people behind the cameras but never fully crossed that line. Having Jan Levinson, a character obsessed with authority and image, lead the documentary feels like a natural evolution of her arc. It also gives The Paper a way to connect back to its roots without relying on constant cameos or nostalgia bait.
So far, Nuñez remains the only core cast member from The Office to appear in The Paper, though the spinoff has already teased updates on several familiar characters. Hardin wants everyone to know she’s open to whatever form a return might take, adding that she’d “happily go back” if the right idea presented itself.
There’s still no confirmation that Jan Levinson will appear when The Paper returns, but Hardin’s enthusiasm and her perfectly on-brand pitch make the possibility easy to root for. If The Paper continues to interrogate the ethics and absurdity of life on camera, letting Jan turn the lens on herself would feel especially fitting. That said, I’d take almost any version of her return. Jan Levinson remains one of The Office’s most undervalued characters.
The Paper was renewed for a second season. While no release date is set, the show is expected to return sometime in late 2026 or early 2027.
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