For The Office fans who still aren’t over Jim and Pam, you’re in luck. Because The Paper‘s new Jim and Pam are here, but with one big difference.
The Paper is The Office‘s spinoff show that is now streaming on Peacock. The series follows the same mockumentary film style, but instead of following Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton, this show focuses on a declining Midwestern Newspaper trying to resurrect itself with volunteer reporters.
And fans are getting a breath of fresh air because the show has its own version of the beloved and epic Jim and Pam relationship.
“I think of Jim and Pam as the most iconic couple I’ve ever seen on TV, so it’s scary to be compared to that,” Chelsea Frei, who plays Mare Pritti in The Paper, told The New York Post.
Frei continued, explaining the differences between The Paper’s romance compared to The Office‘s, saying, “I do think the difference with Ned and Mare is… both love making this newspaper. So, I think whatever the romantic love story might be between them, it’s more the love story that they both have with this paper.”
However, there’s one other significant difference between the two shows that fans have already noticed. Jim and Pam were definitely a slow burn, and it took a couple of seasons before they got together. However, The Paper‘s new Jim and Pam, Ned and Mare, kissed after the first season. This is leaving some fans to think they’re moving too fast, or that the romance might not end well.
“We talked about it a lot. It went so many different ways. And what ended up being in the finale, I don’t think any of us thought would happen that fast. You kind of just go where the story tells you. So when it started feeling like ‘oh, maybe something’s going to happen’ by the finale, we just kind of went for it,” she explained.
“It’s interesting seeing what people have to say about it, and how people have their own thoughts, and that’s really exciting. We love making a conversation in any sort of way.”
Frei also promoted the “The Paper and The Office” exhibition at The Paley Museum in Manhattan, which will be on display through Sunday, November 16.
The exhibition will showcase props and costumes from the beloved original show, and there will also be some costumes from The Paper.
For more information on all things The Office, including their new spinoff series The Paper, keep checking back for more information.