John Krasinski Leaves the Door Open for Jim’s Return on ‘The Paper'

The American version of The Office premiered over twenty years ago, and plenty of things about it haven’t aged well. However, what I see most is that people really don’t like Jim. I get it to an extent. He’s a tall, handsome, sarcastic white guy who doesn’t take anything seriously, which, to be fair, is part of his growth. But the thing getting the most scrutiny is how he treats Dwight. Jim pulls pranks on his co-worker that can definitely cross the line sometimes, but also, Dwight is a jerk, and also a Nazi? Or, like, the grandson of a Nazi? Proudly?

All that to say, I wonder if there would be much clamoring for Jim Halpert’s return. The show leaves him in a very successful place, with him and his family moving to Austin so he can keep working for the new business he helped start. Dwight, who ends up manager of the titular office, even fires him so he can give him a large severance package, which feels… highly irresponsible for a struggling business, but it showed how far the two had come. It felt like Jim’s story came to a nice conclusion, but that doesn’t mean it’s over, cause there’s a spinoff coming.

The Paper, a show about a struggling newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, is set to premiere on Peacock in September. The mockumentary will be a documentary by the same “in-universe” crew that made the documentary about Dunder Mifflin. It will star Domhall Gleeson as a publisher who is desperately trying to keep the paper, known as The Truth Teller, afloat in a shifting media landscape. The show will also star Sabrina Impacciatore and returning Office star, Oscar Nunez.

With Oscar jumping to the spinoff (which is already funny because he was supposed to appear in the Dwight spinoff), people have been wondering who else may return to the universe. While Steve Carell has said he’s not interested in appearing, John Krasinski is way more enthusiastic. “I’m excited to see what they do with it. It’s such an amazing idea,” he told Extra. “Listen, if Greg [Daniels] is behind it, we’re all in. And you can’t get a better actor than [Gleeson] to take on the mantle. He’s going to be so perfect for it.”

When asked whether he would return for the show, Krasnski was pretty straightforward. “Done!” he quickly answered. “If they ask me, I’m in.” There ya have it! No dancing around it. No teasing. Krasinski would do the show if asked and, presumably, paid the correct amount (which I assume is a lot). Maybe he can cameo as a favor, but I’m sure if they got him, they’d want him for more. Bringing somebody like Jim in would likely be for a whole episode that they can promote to the heavens.

But will it work? Ideally, The Paper would be able to stand on its own and not need to rely on the past. But, if that doesn’t work, we could see them reaching out to Office cast members to return to their cubicles. But the question remains, will the people want Jim? One Pajiba staff member who would only describe himself as “The Big Boss Man” (not that one) had this to say when told of Krasinski’s comments: “Christ almighty shut the f*** up.” Fair enough, Big Boss Man. Fair enough.