The cast of The Paper shares their reactions as John Krasinski and Steve Carell from The Office make a surprise appearance on their set.
Quote from Oladosun Joshua Segun on September 2, 2025, 12:10 PM
Compared to pretzel day, this delightful surprise was superior. The actors of The Paper, an NBC spin-off, revealed a set visit from Steve Carell and John Krasinski, who portrayed Michael Scott and Jim Halpert on the original series, respectively, along with some wise words from the pair ahead of the show is Sept. 4 launch.
“One of the first days on set, we were in the hair and makeup trailer, and I think I had eye patches on, and John Krasinski and Steve Carell walked in, looking phenomenal,” Chelsea Frei, the series' Mare, revealed. “They were so sweet.”
Chelsea was astounded by the authenticity of the original American series' performers, as was her co-star Sabrina Impacciatore, who plays Esmerelda.
“We were saying how nervous we were to be coming on the footsteps of their iconic show,” Chelsea remembered, “and they were telling us how they kind of experienced the same thing with the UK Office and just to see it as its own thing.”
In the words of Chelsea, who also mentioned that she met Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, “Everyone I’ve met from the original The Office has been so insanely supportive.”
Given that Sabrina has been a huge admirer of Dunder Mifflin's for a long time, she was particularly thrilled by his presence.
“To meet Steve Carell was a blessing,” Sabrina mentioned that she had already flown from Italy to see him on Broadway the previous year. “I will never forget that. This is a moment I will cherish in my life forever.”
According to the White Lotus alum, Steve advised her to "just enjoy" the process of collaborating with Greg Daniels, the creator of the series. "He suggested just to, 'let it go,' and this is actually what we did," she remembered.
Before he finally crossed the dotted line to star in The Paper and collaborate with its creator Greg, Domhnall Gleeson, who plays a counterpoint to Steve's Michael as tenacious boss Ned Sampson, mentioned that he also picked Steve and John's brains while working with them on earlier projects.
“They were just like, ‘He is the best. If you get a chance to work with him, do it,’” Domhnall remembered “They said, ‘You’ll have some fun,’ and they were right about that.”
On September 4, all ten episodes of The Paper will debut on Peacock.

Compared to pretzel day, this delightful surprise was superior. The actors of The Paper, an NBC spin-off, revealed a set visit from Steve Carell and John Krasinski, who portrayed Michael Scott and Jim Halpert on the original series, respectively, along with some wise words from the pair ahead of the show is Sept. 4 launch.
“One of the first days on set, we were in the hair and makeup trailer, and I think I had eye patches on, and John Krasinski and Steve Carell walked in, looking phenomenal,” Chelsea Frei, the series' Mare, revealed. “They were so sweet.”
Chelsea was astounded by the authenticity of the original American series' performers, as was her co-star Sabrina Impacciatore, who plays Esmerelda.
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“We were saying how nervous we were to be coming on the footsteps of their iconic show,” Chelsea remembered, “and they were telling us how they kind of experienced the same thing with the UK Office and just to see it as its own thing.”
In the words of Chelsea, who also mentioned that she met Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, “Everyone I’ve met from the original The Office has been so insanely supportive.”
Given that Sabrina has been a huge admirer of Dunder Mifflin's for a long time, she was particularly thrilled by his presence.
“To meet Steve Carell was a blessing,” Sabrina mentioned that she had already flown from Italy to see him on Broadway the previous year. “I will never forget that. This is a moment I will cherish in my life forever.”

According to the White Lotus alum, Steve advised her to "just enjoy" the process of collaborating with Greg Daniels, the creator of the series. "He suggested just to, 'let it go,' and this is actually what we did," she remembered.
Before he finally crossed the dotted line to star in The Paper and collaborate with its creator Greg, Domhnall Gleeson, who plays a counterpoint to Steve's Michael as tenacious boss Ned Sampson, mentioned that he also picked Steve and John's brains while working with them on earlier projects.

“They were just like, ‘He is the best. If you get a chance to work with him, do it,’” Domhnall remembered “They said, ‘You’ll have some fun,’ and they were right about that.”
On September 4, all ten episodes of The Paper will debut on Peacock.
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