The Paper

The Paper uses a visibly mixed cast in a present-day Toledo newspaper. The group does not appear to follow an obvious “one of each” design. The interviews found no clear marketing that focused first on diversity or identity. The casting gives the show a mild representation signal, but it does not strongly shape the series.

The show includes brief jokes and lines about identity. Esmeralda falsely tells Ned that Mare is asexual. Another scene compares exercise pain with menstrual cramps. The dialogue does not repeatedly teach modern activist ideas or make identity politics a central subject.

The show gives women important jobs and lets Mare and Esmeralda drive major workplace conflicts. Season 2 continues stories about prejudice, rumors, and workplace power. These themes support character comedy and newsroom plots. The themes do not become a strong message about identity.

The series criticizes a large company for weakening a local newspaper and supports independent reporting. The show also jokes about corporate apologies, workplace rules, and the decline of media. The criticism focuses on business pressure and poor management. The criticism does not mainly target family, religion, masculinity, or traditional Western culture.

A handful of small X accounts and a few Rotten Tomatoes comments called the show woke or complained that political correctness made it less edgy. The complaints had little reach and did not lead to a boycott, review-bombing campaign, or major news cycle. The Fox opinion piece mainly praised the show for making fun of excesses linked to #MeToo.

Stephen Merchant, Ricky Gervais, Greg Daniels, and Michael Koman have low stored scores and are mainly known for comedy and satire. Some writers and producers have stronger links to race, identity, labor, or social-impact work. The mixed team provides supporting context. The main creators do not have a strong record on these issues.