All ‘The Office’ Easter Eggs in ‘The Paper’ (Including the Fate of Dunder Mifflin!)
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NEED TO KNOW
- The Paper, a spinoff from the hit comedy The Office, premiered on Peacock in September 2025
- Though it’s set in a new office environment, there are several callbacks to the original series
- One of those includes Oscar Nuñez, the only character from The Office who reprised his role for the show
The Paper isn’t The Office. But co-creators Greg Daniels and Michael Koman still included plenty of nods to the original NBC mockumentary series.
Instead of filming the lives of Dunder Mifflin employees, the fictional film team has shifted its focus to a dying Midwestern newspaper and its new editor-in-chief’s quest to revive it.
Though The Paper may be set in the same universe as its 2005 predecessor, Office alum Oscar Nuñez (who reprised his role as accountant Oscar Martinez in the spinoff) promised fans that the Peacock series offers a fresh story.
“There are a couple of [Easter eggs],” the actor told UPI in September 2025. “There’s not as many as people think there are. It is a new show. There might be Easter eggs here and there. Enjoy them by all means, but it’s a new show. It’s a new world. It’s a new day for you and I.”
That new world will continue to be explored as the comedy was renewed for a second season one day before its pilot episodes premiered.
So, how does The Paper tie into The Office? Read on to discover all The Office Easter eggs in season 1 of The Paper.
Warning: The Paper season 1 spoilers ahead!
The documentary crew revisited Scranton Business Park
Peacock
The Paper paid homage to the original series from its opening scene with a message from the fictional documentary team.
“In 2005, a documentary crew started filming at a paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania,” it read. “They followed the workers in an average office, dealing with new rules of workplace behavior and the ups and downs of their personal lives. Twenty years later, they returned.”
The cameras then pan to Scranton Business Park, which housed the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company office for the entirety of the series.
Vance Refrigeration is still alive and well
Peacock
Once inside the building, viewers are greeted by their first familiar face: Bob Vance of Vance Refrigeration, played by Robert Ray Shafer.
Though there’s no cameo from Phyllis Vance (Phyllis Smith), he tells the crew that they’re still married — and that she still keeps in touch with her cubicle buddy, Stanley Hudson (Leslie David Baker). Why? Because they both have “Schnoodles.”
But Dunder Mifflin is no more
Peacock
Sadly, Bob reveals that a laser company took over the former Dunder Mifflin office (noting that they were “less drama”). He then searches the Chamber of Commerce to confirm that the paper supply company was purchased by a Toledo, Ohio-based company named Enervate in 2019.
So, the film crew heads to Toledo, where they learn that Enervate sells paper products including toilet tissue, seat protectors and a local newspaper called the Toledo Truth Teller.
Oscar Martinez found a new accounting job
Peacock
Outside of Bob’s quick cameo, Oscar is the only other Office character to appear in the spinoff series. Acting managing editor Esmeralda Grand (Sabrina Impacciatore) gives the crew a tour of their staff, including accounting department head Oscar, whom she dubbed “head boring.”
Upset at the sight of the crew, Oscar declares that he is “not agreeing to any of this” and runs to the bathroom. A message then pops up on the screen stating that there was no end date to the release he signed back in 2005.
Remnants of Dunder Mifflin still remain
Peacock
Though The Paper is set in an entirely new office in a different state, there are some relics from The Office days that were left behind.
When the new editor-in-chief, Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson), stands on accountant Adelola Olofin’s (Gbemisola Ikumelo) desk to deliver an inspiring welcome message, eagle-eyed fans will recognize a Dunder Mifflin box sitting in front of Oscar’s desk.
Oscar texts Stanley a picture of his Sudoku game
Peacock
In The Paper’s second episode, a staff member leaves an anonymous Sudoku puzzle they made on Ned’s desk just in time for the first edition to hit the printer. It’s later revealed that not only was Oscar the culprit, but he also texted a picture of it to his old Sudoku-loving pal Stanley.
“Maybe too easy for you,” Oscar says to Stanley on the phone after he sees that his puzzle made it to print.
Oscar tells Ned he has “PTSD from an old boss”
Peacock
Ned, both charmed by Oscar’s puzzle-making skills and in desperate need of content, asks him in the third episode if he would make another puzzle for the next edition. When he says he’s too busy, the editor-in-chief tries to sway him by telling him it could be fun.
“Well, saying that work is fun is a form of pressure,” Oscar replies. “Quite frankly, it’s giving me PTSD from an old boss.”
Oscar inspires Ned with Michael Scott’s famously borrowed quote
Peacock
The final Office reference takes place in the season 1 finale. While Ned is debating whether or not to reveal his feelings for reporter Mare Pritti (Chelsea Frei), Oscar decides to give him a pep talk with a message from his old boss.
“A great man once said, ‘You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,’ ” Oscar tells Ned. “Also an idiot I used to know.”
Diehard Office fans will remember how Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell) once put that infamous Wayne Gretzky quote on his whiteboard — and also attributed it to himself.
Credit to Nypost AND Peoples
