NBC’s Sitcom Spinoff With Harry Potter Alum Is Officially One Of The Best Shows On Streaming

A spinoff of an NBC sitcom is one of the biggest shows on streaming this week.

Arguably more than any other broadcast network, NBC rebuilt itself on the backs of comedies like Seinfeld, Friends, and Will & Grace​​​​​​, as well as established hits such as Mad About You. To a lesser extent, the network is finding some of that sitcom success with the likes of St. Denis Medical and The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins. It also helps build the NBCUniversal-owned Peacock streaming service, which has its own breakout hit.

The Paper, the spinoff of The Office, which just premiered season 2, is the #1 show on Peacock. The continuation of the seminal mockumentary just debuted new episodes — ten total in a binge drop on September 9 — and it’s ahead of reality franchises, including Real Housewives and Below Deck.

The follow-up to the American version of The Office debuted in September 2025. It hails from co-creators Greg Daniels and Michael Koman and brings back the documentary crew that made Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch famous. In the years since saying goodbye to Dunder Mifflin, the crew turns their attention to a Midwestern newspaper and zero in on its publisher’s arguably flailing efforts to turn things around.

Domhnall Gleeson leads The Paper, along with Sabrina Impacciatore of The White Lotus season 2. Over the past decade, Gleeson has become known for his roles in Ex Machina and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But he’s also notable for his portrayal of Bill Weasley in the Harry Potter movies.

Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Tim Key, Ramona Young, Eric Rahill, Duane Shepard Sr., and Alex Edelman also star in The Paper, and Oscar Nuñez returns as Oscar Martinez from the original series.

Whether the spinoff will have any bigger connections to the 2000s and 2010s comedy depends at least partly on how well it holds up moving forward, since many indirect sequels and reboots tend to have a quiet run before being cancelled, such as the Frasier continuation or the Saved by the Bell sequel series.

The Paper is doing well so far as far as positive reviews. The new season has a score of 80% based on 15 reviews. And at least so far, viewership is trending in a solid direction that could lead to a season 3 renewal if the #1 spot maintains its early strength.