‘The Paper’ Season 3—Will ‘The Office’ Spinoff Get Renewed Again?

‘The Paper‘ has become one of Peacock’s biggest comedy success stories, and with Season 2 landing this week, fans are already looking ahead to what comes next for the Toledo Truth Teller newsroom. The mockumentary spinoff of ‘The Office’ earned an extraordinarily fast vote of confidence from NBCUniversal the first time around, and that history has viewers wondering whether lightning could strike twice.

So does ‘The Paper’ have a Season 3 in the works. Here is everything that has actually been confirmed, plus what the show’s rapid track record suggests about its future.

Has ‘The Paper’ Been Renewed for Season 3?

As of now, neither Peacock nor NBC has made any official announcement regarding a third season of ‘The Paper.’ A potential Season 3 renewal is not on the same early timeline as Season 2, since that pickup came before Season 1 had even premiered.

That is a notable contrast to how the show’s history has played out so far. The Season 2 renewal was announced by Peacock a full day before the series even debuted on the streamer, driven by strong early buzz around the project inside NBCUniversal. Stars Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore broke the news themselves on NBC’s Today show that same week.

Given that unprecedented early pickup, some fans have assumed a Season 3 order is inevitable. But streamers typically wait to gauge viewership and critical reception for a new season before committing further, so a Season 3 confirmation is more likely to arrive sometime after Season 2 has had a chance to land with audiences.

What We Know About ‘The Paper’ Season 2 Ahead of a Potential Renewal

Before any Season 3 conversation can move forward, ‘The Paper’ Season 2 has to actually premiere and perform. Season 2 is set to premiere on Peacock on September 9, 2026, with all ten episodes released simultaneously for a full binge watch. That matches the ten episode run fans got with Season 1.

The new season picks up with the Toledo Truth Teller newsroom in a stronger position after the team earns recognition at the Ohio Journalism Awards, though the victory does not make things any easier for the staff. Editor-in-chief Ned Sampson, played by Gleeson, becomes determined to chase down a major story involving a local private club, a pursuit that ends up putting the paper’s future at risk.

Season 2 also explores a developing romance between Ned and reporter Mare, played by Chelsea Frei, continuing a storyline teased in the Season 1 finale. The Season 2 trailer specifically teases the fallout of that finale kiss cliffhanger as the two characters seem to pursue a secret relationship amid the newsroom chaos. Most of the ensemble is returning for the new episodes, including Gleeson, Impacciatore, Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Tim Key, Ramona Young, Eric Rahill, Duane Shepard Sr., Alex Edelman and Oscar Nuñez.

If the sophomore season delivers the same kind of reception that earned it an early greenlight, a Season 3 renewal announcement would likely follow within weeks or months of the September 9 premiere rather than years down the line.

‘The Office’ Universe Connection Fueling ‘The Paper’ Season 3 Hopes

Part of what makes ‘The Paper’ such a closely watched bet for NBCUniversal is its direct link to one of the most rewatched comedies in television history. The series is a spinoff of ‘The Office,’ following the same documentary crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch, only this time turning their cameras on a struggling Midwestern newspaper.

Oscar Nuñez, reprising his role as Oscar Martinez, along with Bob Vance, remain the only characters to have crossed over so far from the original series. The show was created by Greg Daniels, who also developed the American version of ‘The Office,’ working alongside Michael Koman on the new series.

Daniels has spoken about the challenge of following up a beloved original, telling Variety that the team had ideas for future seasons but that it would be interesting to see what the broader world of ‘Office’ fans thought of the new show. That cautious optimism paid off, with the early Season 2 order proving the strategy worked, and setting the stage for the show to keep expanding the world Daniels first built at Dunder Mifflin.

Guest stars across the show’s run have included Tracy Letts, Molly Ephraim, Mo Welch, Allan Havey, Nate Jackson and Nancy Lenehan, giving the newsroom a deep bench of comedic talent to pull from if the story does extend into a third chapter.

What Could Drive a Season 3 Renewal Decision

Streaming renewals increasingly hinge on engagement numbers rather than star power alone, and ‘The Paper’ has already shown it can move quickly when the data looks promising. The show’s binge release strategy for Season 1 was itself a last minute call by Peacock after executives saw positive early feedback and recognized how much of ‘The Office’ audience now consumes shows in binge format.

Season 2 rights were also picked up internationally, with Sky acquiring exclusive UK and Ireland rights to the show, a sign that NBCUniversal is treating ‘The Paper’ as a global asset worth building out. Inside Peacock’s own comedy slate, ‘The Paper’ joined ‘Ted’ as one of just two comedies to land a renewal in that cycle, putting it in fairly exclusive company.

With Season 2 now streaming and the Ned and Mare storyline poised to dominate conversation, all signs point to a Season 3 decision landing sometime in the weeks following the September 9 release, assuming the numbers hold up the way they did the first time around.

Are you hoping Ned and Mare’s secret romance survives long enough to carry the Toledo Truth Teller into a third season?