Dunder Mifflin is no more, but don't let that upset you, as the employees of Enervate -- an Ohio-based company that dabbles in everything from selling toilet paper to newspapers -- are worthy successors. After years of anticipation (and possibly even worry), we are pleased to announce that "The Paper," Peacock's spin-off of "The Office," is an absolute delight, and we can attribute some of the show's quality to the cast members bringing their own ideas to the table.
In an interview with /Film, Melvin Gregg, who plays the Truth Teller's status quo-loving ad salesman/volunteer reporter Detrick Moore in the series, revealed that creators Greg Daniels and Michael Koman encouraged the cast members to shape their characters' personalities -- and it paid off. In his own words:
"I specifically wanted to go against type. I felt like I've been cast based off of people's idea of me a lot of times, and that comes off of prior work. So, things kind of blend in together, in a sense. And with this project, I had more freedom over the character. Like, when we got the breakdown in the audition, there was no breakdown -- it was just the sides. So, we got to bring to the character what we thought made the most sense, and if they liked it, we got cast, and from there, they wrote around it. So, I didn't pull a lot from personally who I am. I wanted to go against type. But I pulled from personal experiences within the story."
It's rare for a show's supporting players to be given so much input over their characters, but Daniels' workplace comedies are known for allowing their actors to contribute ideas that might not be in the original script. "The Paper" is merely the latest example of this approach in action.