In the heart of the Midwest, a local newspaper is on life support. But its stubborn publisher isn’t ready to write its obituary just yet. The Paper follows a documentary crew that stumbles upon the Hawthorn Herald and its quixotic leader, Ned Sampson, as he attempts a Hail Mary: reviving the dying institution with a team of wildly inexperienced, passionately opinionated volunteer reporters. This is a comedy about community, chaos, and the crumbling first draft of history.

This brilliant ensemble cast, packed with character actor royalty and rising comedic stars, brings to life the hilarious, heartfelt, and often absurd battle to keep local news alive. They are a band of misfits trying to save their town’s soul, one misprinted classified ad at a time.

The Paper Cast explained

– Domhnall Gleeson as NED SAMPSON

Domhnall Gleeson (The Revenant, Star Wars, About Time) trades epic sagas for a different kind of fight as Ned Sampson, the idealistic, fraying-at-the-edges publisher of the Hawthorn Herald. Gleeson masterfully captures a man fueled by equal parts nostalgia, principle, and pure, unadulterated stubbornness. His Ned is a tragicomic figure, delivering rousing speeches about the Fourth Estate to a room of volunteers who are mostly there for the free coffee.

Gleeson’s performance is a study in controlled desperation. Watch the subtle shift in his eyes—the flash of genuine hope when a volunteer has a good idea, quickly buried under the weight of endless logistical nightmares. He is the anchor of the show, a man trying to hold back the tide with a notebook and a prayer, and Gleeson makes him both inspiring and profoundly human.

– Tim Key as KEN

The brilliantly dry Tim Key (After Life, The Witch) is perfectly cast as Ken, Ned’s eternally pessimistic managing editor and the paper’s lone remaining paid employee. Ken has seen it all and is deeply unimpressed. He is the cynical, coffee-stained id to Ned’s optimistic superego, muttering prophecies of doom from behind a perpetually crashing computer.

Key’s deadpan delivery will be a constant source of the show’s darkest laughs. His Ken is the institutional memory of the paper, a man who knows where all the bodies are buried because he probably wrote the obituaries. His dynamic with Gleeson—a ballet of exasperation and reluctant loyalty—is the comedic backbone of the newsroom.

– Sabrina Impacciatore as ESMERALDA

Fresh from her scene-stealing turn in The White Lotus, Sabrina Impacciatore brings formidable energy as Esmeralda, a former metro columnist lured out of retirement. She operates with the regal authority of a veteran journalist, refusing to acknowledge that her new colleagues are unpaid amateurs. Her clashes with the modern world (and Ken) are instant classics.

– Gbemisola Ikumelo as ADELOLA

The BAFTA-winning Gbemisola Ikumelo (Famalam, Sex Education) is Adelola, a sharp-witted stay-at-home mom who becomes the paper’s unexpectedly brilliant investigative reporter. Ikumelo brings heart and fierce intelligence to the role, portraying a woman who finds her voice and a new purpose by holding her community accountable.

– Melvin Gregg as DETRICK & Ramona Young as NICOLE

Melvin Gregg (High Flying Bird, Snowfall) is Detrick, a charismatic gym teacher who volunteers as the sports editor and immediately tries to unionize the volunteers. Ramona Young (Never Have I Ever, Zombies 3) is Nicole, a overly enthusiastic film studies major whose arts reviews are wildly incomprehensible but never boring. They represent the unpredictable energy of the new recruits.

– Chelsea Frei as MARE & Alex Edelman as ADAM

Chelsea Frei (The Great, The Sex Lives of College Girls) plays Mare, the documentarian who becomes increasingly entangled in the story she’s trying to capture. Alex Edelman, the acclaimed comedian, brings his neurotic wit to Adam, a volunteer obsessed with correcting grammar in the town’s Facebook comments section.

– Chris Witaske as THEO & Tracy Letts as [Mystery Role]

Chris Witaske (The Bear, Love) is Theo, the town’s mildly corrupt and deeply insecure mayor, who becomes the paper’s primary antagonist and most reliable source of scandal. The legendary Tracy Letts (Lady Bird, Elswehere) is in a mystery role, but given his prowess, he is likely the paper’s former legendary editor or a powerful town patriarch, a ghost of the Herald’s past who haunts its present.

Their deadline is extinction. Read all about it on Peacock, September 4, 2025.