There's One Underrated Thing That The Office And Parks And Recreation Both Did, And I Hope We See Something Similar In The Paper

As a fan of The Office (to put it mildly), my plan to watch Greg Daniels’ upcoming spinoff series, The Paper, when it debuts on the 2025 TV schedule, is a no-brainer. In fact, the only challenge I’m having at this point is keeping my expectations in check, especially when remembering the way it took me a little bit of time to warm up to The Office, and the same for Parks and Recreation, another series executive-produced by Greg Daniels.

I’ve recently been making good use of my Peacock subscription to rewatch Parks and Rec, and the Daniels and Michael Schur co-created comedy got me thinking about one underrated thing the show did really well with two of its characters, that The Office also achieved. Just maybe The Paper will find that magic as well.

It Would Be Great To See Another Satisfying Love Story

When I mention “love story” right after referencing The Office, you might assume I’m about to talk about Jim and Pam, but I’m not. Yes, the romance between John Krasinski’s character and Jenna Fischer’s was undoubtedly a key piece to the NBC series building momentum. I loved Jim and Pam’s whole arc, and if The Paper has a couple like that off the bat, that’d be great.

But, The Office did something later in the series that Parks and Rec also did, and that’s introduce a character who turns out to be the absolute perfect match for one of the leads. I’m referring to Holly (The Office), and Ben (Parks and Rec). I absolutely love the way both of these romantic relationships were set up and how they played out during their respective runs.

A Couple Like Michael Scott And Holly Flax

Michael’s romantic life had its ups and downs throughout The Office, often to great comedic and cringy effect. Let’s take a moment to flash back to him proposing to Carol in front of a crowd of people in “Diwali,” or his epic fight with Jan during one of The Office’s best episodes, “Dinner Party." By the time Holly (Amy Ryan) showed up, it seemed impossible to imagine him in a healthy relationship.

Though Michael wanted to dislike Holly, due to her association with a department that he once described as “a breeding ground for monsters,” the chemistry between the regional manager and HR rep was undeniable from the start. What I love about that spark is that it’s not rooted entirely in any one superficial thing. Yes, he is attracted to her, and she him. But they also get each other’s (sometimes weird) jokes, and are charmed by traits that other people might, at best, be willing to tolerate. Think about how Jan used to chastise Michael, for example. Holly didn’t always approve of his words or actions, but her responses were never disdainful.

One of my favorite episodes of the series is Season 7’s “The Search," where Michael gets lost wandering around Scranton, and Erin and Dwight set off with Holly to look for him. The whole episode is a quirky nod to their compatibility, as Dwight and Erin quickly realize that Holly’s knowledge of how Michael thinks is the key to tracking him down. When she finally finds Michael, it seems impossible that either of them were meant for anyone else, and I loved that for both characters.

Park’s And Recreation’s Leslie And Ben

Now let’s talk about Ben and Leslie, because I see so much of what Michael and Holly have in this couple. This is not to say that I’d compare Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope to Michael Scott, or Adam Scott’s Ben Wyatt to Holly. It’s more the way their relationship came together. Like Holly, Ben wasn’t one of the main characters at the start of the series. He and Rob Lowe’s Chris Traeger don’t show up until near the end of Season 2. Ben and Leslie’s relationship starts off strained, as he gets more involved in her department, but by Season 3, their romance begins to take off.

Like with Michael and Holly, what I love about Ben and Leslie is the way he’s able to see her for who she is – energetic and optimistic and eager to make her community a better place. Does Leslie often set her expectations too high? Yup, and sure, she has a tendency to get hyper-focused on a goal, which can spiral out of control quickly. As Ben gets to know her, he seems to see these traits as strengths, rather than flaws. He’s the cynic to her optimist and together they work. Literally, not only are they a great romantic pair, but they’re really good at working together. It’s such a satisfying thing to watch.

A Common Factor For Both Couples' Stories

I’m not of the mindset that a good love story is a requirement for a TV comedy. There are so many things that I love about The Office and Parks And Recreation that have nothing to do with the romances. So, if The Paper is a great comedy that doesn’t have a central romantic pair, that’s just fine with me. If it does develop one later on, that’s also just fine, because one notable common factor between the love stories of Leslie/Ben and Michael/Holly, is that these love interests didn’t even show up on the series until later on. It wasn’t until after we know Michael and Leslie well as characters that their perfect match appeared.

While it might be safe to assume that Holly and Ben were both written into their respective shows to be potential endgame love interests for the lead characters, they both brought added layers to the story, in addition to shining the best possible light onto the quirky leads.

Will There Be Romance In The Paper?

Ok, so let’s get back to The Paper, because that’s where this all ties in. As I said, a good romantic story isn’t a requirement for a TV comedy, though many of the most memorable sitcoms do have at least one. Given how satisfying the ones in the hits mentioned were to watch, I really hope Greg Daniels finds a way to create that kind of chemistry between two characters in this new series at some point. I’ll take a worth-the-wait story about two characters finding each other at the right time and being perfect together over a will-they-wont-they any day

With all of that said, I realize this means I’m saying I’d be happy to wait multiple seasons to see that connection happen on The Paper. And I would, but... there is one way the show could speed up the process, and that would be to give Oscar the romance he deserves. The Office character, who’s included in this new series (you may have spotted him in the trailer for The Paper), had a few love interests throughout the run of the NBC series, the last of whom was Angela’s (State) senator husband.

I think Oscar is overdue for a perfect match, and this could be the series that delivers it. Because we already know the smart accountant well enough, I don’t need seasons to get to know him before I’m ready to see him find Mr. Right.

It doesn’t have to be Oscar, but he'd certainly be a deserving option. In the meantime, there are so many other things that Daniels has done well with his previous series, so I have no doubt The Paper will deliver.

The Paper debuts on Peacock on September 4, 2025.