Oscar Nunez says "The Paper," premiering Thursday, is a very different show than "The Office," even though the workplace comedies exist in the same universe.

Oscar Nunez stars in the new workplace comedy, "The Paper," premiering on Thursday. Photo courtesy of Peacock UPI Oscar Nunez attends the world premiere of "Father Figures" at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles in 2017. File Photo by Christine Chew/UPI UPI Oscar Nunez accepts the Year in Television Comedy Actor award for "The Office" during the taping of the 2009 NCLR Alma Awards at UCLA's Royce Hall in Los Angeles. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI UPI Domhnall Gleeson arrives on the red carpet at Apple's "Fountain of Youth" premiere at American Museum of Natural History in New York City in May. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI UPI

NEW YORK, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Oscar Nunez says The Paper is a very different show than The Office, even though the workplace comedies exist in the same universe.

Nunez reprises his Office role as accountant Oscar Martinez in The Office, premiering Thursday on Peacock.

This time around, Oscar is lending his sardonic wit and wisdom to the staff of the struggling Ohio newspaper The Toledo Truth Teller, led by editors Ned (Domhnall Gleeson) and Esmeralda (Sabrina Impacciatore), instead of a Pennsylvania paper sales team.

With few actual journalists to assign stories to, Ned finds himself pulling employees from other departments to fill the void.

Oscar, for example, steps up and becomes a puzzle creator.

"He's a pragmatic man. He's listening. Arts and Leisure comes up [and he says,] 'Sure,' because he likes that. He fancies himself a sophisticate and he wants to contribute and he's a little bored," Nunez told UPI in a recent Zoom interview. "He helps out in that way."

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Oscar's new gig leads to a phone call with one of his old colleagues from Dunder Mifflin. A few other beloved supporting characters from The Office are also mentioned, as is the fate of the company.

"There are a couple of [Easter eggs]," Nunez teased. "There's not as many as people think there are. It is a new show. There might be Easter eggs here and there. Enjoy them by all means, but it's a new show. It's a new world. It's a new day for you and I."

Asked about the difference between starring in a comedy for a streaming service as opposed to a broadcast network like The Office's home base of NBC, Nunez joked that viewers can expect to hear more profanity.

"I say some things in the pilot," he quipped.

He does, but his NSFW remarks -- largely directed to the documentary crew that is supposedly following him again -- are bleeped out.

Never Have I Ever and Legends of Tomorrow actress Ramona Young plays Nicole Lee on the show.

"She's in circulation and she eventually becomes, very early on, a volunteer journalist," Young explained, noting Nicole is happy when Ned arrives and dethrones bossy Esmeralda.

"Nicole is definitely a little bit bullied by Esmeralda. Especially in the beginning, she's kind of under her thumb a little bit and she tries to stay out of her way by blending into the background," Young said. "But once Ned comes along, I think Nicole starts showing her cards a little more and being more active in her journey."

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Melvin Gregg from The Blackening and Nine Perfect Strangers plays Detrick Moore.

"He works in sales at the newspaper," Gregg said.

"He's not really allowed to interact with anybody else from the paper, so given the opportunity to engage with other people, specifically Nicole, he jumps at the opportunity which ends up with him being a reporter."

Gregg said he expects viewers to "ship" certain characters, such as Nicole and Detrick, because they like them and want to see them in romances.

"I wouldn't compare them to a 'Pam and Jim,' but maybe it will be shipped," Gregg said, referring to the famous couple Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski played on The Office.

"There's a lot of different archetypes for couples," Moore added. "Hopefully, [audiences] could find something in their actual lives that may permeate through our relationship that they could relate to."

Co-starring Chelsea Frei, Gbemisola Ikumelo and Alex Edelman, the show has already been renewed for a second season.