Jeremy Speer

Those of my vintage — and I can say things like “vintage” now that I am over 40 —

loved a quirky NBC TV show that became an iconic piece of the popular culture of

the mid-2000s.

Like the previous generation’s “Seinfeld,” “The Office” was a show whose loose

plot was overshadowed by its characters and situational hilarity. A middling paper

sales operation in Scranton, Pennsylvania can only elicit so much plot-driven

interest.

But like “Seinfeld,” its witty writing made it both hopelessly over the top and deeply

relatable, especially to those in their young 20s like me who were experiencing

their first taste of 9-to-5 office life.

In a “mockumentary” format, the whole series used the outrageous to amplify the

mundane. Any of us in the pre-COVID work world could relate. In school, you hang

out with peers. In the work world, you spend 40-plus hours a week with a

patchwork “family,” with unique people different than you at every turn.

Yeah, that one guy who works a few cubicles over kind of acts like the smart but

socially quirky Dwight Schrute. Yep, my last boss was kind of like Michael Scott,

sometimes likeable, sometimes unbearable, but always a doofus.

It was a great show, so long as one didn’t take it too seriously.

I remember, working at my newspaper, having late-night sessions with my best

friend. We listed off coworkers who shared characteristics with “The Office”

characters. Just like the fictional Dunder Mifflin paper company, newspapers are

full of people who don’t fit a traditional cookie-cutter mold.

Chris even submitted a form when we got wind that some entertainment

company was looking to feature a real newspaper staff for a documentary.

We thought of some of our more interesting coworkers — the guy who once ate

seven-day-old reheated bratwursts in a single work day as we counted with an

umpire’s pitch counter or the mild-mannered sales representative who made a

killing by selling ads to gentleman’s clubs and marijuana dispensaries at his

previous job.

Maybe, just maybe, we’d have a shot.

As what can happen in the entertainment industry, the idea died on the vine and I

don’t think that documentary reached production status. The bratwurst guy

retired, the salesperson moved on. Chris now works for a nonprofit, and I’m here

in Ohio.

One weekday morning, as my wife and I were getting ready for the day, I could

not contain my excitement. Popping up on my phone was a news story about the

20-year anniversary of “The Office” (really?!) and the announcement that NBC is

producing a spinoff of the popular show in another mockumentary format. This

time the subject is … drumroll please … a struggling newspaper in Toledo, Ohio.

According to USA Today, “The Paper” features a “the floundering newsroom of

local paper The Truth Teller, and the eager publisher trying to revive it.”

The show features a solid cast and writers, including some that worked on the

original hit show.

For those keeping at home, this checks a lot of boxes for me.

• A spinoff of one of my favorite shows off all time

• A show about the newspaper industry in the hilarious mockumentary format

• A show set in my backyard of Northwest Ohio

• A show featuring an “eager newspaper publisher”

• Nostalgia to my early days in this industry, goofing around with my buddies and

dreaming of being featured on a show like “The Office.”

I hope it’s good.

Even if it doesn’t hit a home run, I’ll smile through it anyway. We all could use a

little more humor in our life, and I’m sure it will provide a weekday night chuckle

or two as I reminisce about a really good time in my life.

To quote Steve Carrell’s iconic character, Michael Scott:

“I am running away from my responsibilities, and it feels good.”

Alpena native Jeremy Speer is the publisher of The Courier in Findlay, Ohio, the Sandusky (Ohio) Register, The Advertiser-Tribune in Tiffin, Ohio, the Norwalk (Ohio) Reflector, and Review Times in Fostoria, Ohio. He can be reached at jeremyspeer@thecourier.com.