The Paper’s Journalism Awards: The Office Spinoff’s Dundies

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Paper season 1, episode 10.The final episode of The Paper season 1 has already given The Office‘s spinoff show its own version of the iconic Dundies. In The Office, the Dundie Awards were Michael Scott’s way of celebrating the Scranton Dunder Mifflin branch. Though they were only featured in two episodes, they quickly became iconic parts of The Office with inappropriate awards, awkward moments, and more.

Even though the cast of The Paper doesn’t have an exact replacement for Michael Scott – Ned Sampson is much more of a Leslie Knope – it does have its own version of the Dundies. It’s the first step in bringing The Paper closer to the feel of The Office, but it can also make it its own thing. Since The Paper season 2 has already been confirmed, its version of the Dundies can even become a yearly episode.

The Paper’s Journalism Awards Can Be The Office Spinoff’s Dundies

At the end of The Paper season 1, the staff of the Toledo Truth Teller was invited to the Ohio Journalism Awards. Even though it was a much more formal affair than the Dundies — which were famously held in a local Chili’s restaurant — the Journalism Awards already seem like The Paper‘s version of The Office‘s award episode.

Both the Dundies and the Journalism awards offer a chance for the entire casts of their respective shows to get out of the office together in a more casual setting. It’s also a chance for characters to show new sides of themselves, like when Pam got drunk or when Ned showed how much he cares about awards. It’s also a rife situation for awkward humor.

The Paper Proved How Chaotic An Awards Show Can Be

One of the best parts of the Journalism Awards in The Paper was how it was different from the Dundies. Most notably, the Journalism Awards are an actual event that’s supposed to be high-class. The Dundies, on the other hand, were orchestrated by Michael, and it all took place in a Chili’s. The difference in setup lets The Paper‘s awards shine in different ways.

The Dundies are basically expected to be wild moments. It’s Michael making a fool of himself in a Chili’s, no one is taking it seriously, and the bar for embarrassment is fairly low. The Journalism Awards, however, are a professional conference where all the Truth Teller’s peers and competitors are in attendance. When Esmeralda sings, it induces a lot more cringe than Pam getting drunk.

The Journalism Awards also present new opportunities for The Paper that the Dundies couldn’t. Since it’s a professional awards ceremony, there are actual awards, an in memoriam section, and speeches from serious journalists. All of those are prime opportunities for characters like Esmeralda and Ken to put their feet in their mouths in the most hilarious way possible.

The venue of the Journalism Awards itself is also a great change. Unlike a Chili’s, the Journalism Awards were held at a hotel conference room. If this does become an annual episode, The Paper can put its cast in all manner of absurd situations the Dundies could never provide. We already saw Ned, Mare, and Esmeralda crash a wedding, and who knows what future events will be happening at the same time as the Journalism Awards.

• 
  

  

  
  The Paper
  

  
  

  7/10

  Release Date

  September 4, 2025
  

  Writers

  Greg Daniels, Michael Koman

  
  

  • 

  • 

  
  

  
  

• 
  

  

  
  The Office
  

  
  

  8/10

  Release Date

  2005 – 2013-00-00

  Showrunner

  Greg Daniels

  Directors

  Greg Daniels, Paul Lieberstein, Paul Feig, Randall Einhorn, Ken Kwapis