This is a shocker. Up until today, The Office fans had no real reason to believe that the upcoming spin-off show – which has been in the works for a while now – would have any direct connections with the nine-season hit series. Today, however, Variety is reporting that one of the U.S. series’ fan-favorite characters is making a comeback: Oscar Nuñez is set to reprise his role in the Peacock follow-up series, which is yet to get a release date.

According to Variety sources, Oscar Martinez has been in the pilot script from the start, meaning that it was always the plan to lead the The Office spin-off with him in the cast. However, the sources also revealed that once again he is not a central character in the show. Since the new series takes place in the same universe, chances are that Oscar has been hired as a consultant of sorts or maybe quit Dunder Mifflin and found a new job at a different paper company.

For now, Oscar is the only original cast member of The Office that will appear in the follow-up – which so far is sticking to the title The Paper – but his presence signals possible returns of other cast members as special guests or even cameos. The spin-off is created by Greg Daniels (Upload), who developed the British The Office to American audiences and found huge success with the story. So, if anyone is capable of bringing old characters back without ruining the series’ legacy, it’s Daniels. The writer and producer is creating the new show with Michael Korman (Nathan For You).

Who Is in the Cast of ‘The Office’ Spin-off?

So far, The Paper has been able to land some pretty good names to its cast. Along with Nuñez, the cast will feature Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Sabrina Impacciatore (The White Lotus), Chelsea Frei (Poker Face), Melvin Gregg (Story Ave), Gbemisola Ikumelo (Black Ops), Alex Edelman (Unfrosted), Ramona Young (Never Have I Ever) and Tim Key (Mickey 17). In the story, a paper company is trying to survive digital media, and enlists the help of a documentary crew to tell their story – the same crew that documented the everyday lives of Dunder Mifflin employees many years ago.

The Paper is the newest iteration of The Office but it’s far from the only one. The series was adapted in over 15 countries, and one of the most recent versions hailed from Australia. It quickly rose to become the most successful Australian Prime Video Original down under, with the biggest opening weekend viewership for any Australian title.

The Paper is yet to get further information, including a trailer and release window.

via Collider