In the Peacock mockumentary “The Paper,” an unseen documentary film crew arrives in a midsize city in order to capture — fly-on-the-wall style — the daily life of office drones. If the premise sounds familiar, that’s intentional. The series comes from Greg Daniels, who adapted “The Office” for U.S. television, and he’s collaborating with Michael Koman (whose writing credits include several years on “Saturday Night Live”) to recapture some of what has given “The Office” such a popular second life on streaming, even a decade-plus after its last episode aired on NBC.

Instead of a nondescript paper company in Scranton, the setting for “The Paper” is a struggling newspaper in Ohio called the Toledo Truth Teller. Or as the passive-aggressive managing editor (Sabrina Impacciatore) calls the digital version in her syrupy Italian accent: TTT online. But instead of covering Toledo news, the daily paper has been reduced to a combination of “local ads, clickbait, four AP stories and local high school sports scores.” The shoestring staff is mostly administrative and the paper itself — once a legitimate news operation 50 years ago — now only exists as a tiny subsidiary of a company that otherwise makes its profits from the sale of toilet paper.

There appears to be no interest among executives to change the status quo, but for reasons that go unexplained, a gung-ho editor-in-chief (Domhnall Gleeson) has been hired anyway, and he hopes to inspire his minuscule staff to shed their downtrodden outlook and actually go out and report the news. As a group, they are earnest but lacking any journalism skills. I suppose the process of watching them gradually figure it out is supposed to be endearing and funny, but I don’t find anything humorous about their floundering, considering … (gestures at the real-world need for journalism amid perpetual news industry layoffs).

The staff have other jobs at the Truth Teller, mind you — three of whom are accountants, including Oscar Nuñez, the one holdover from “The Office” — but their new editor says eagerly that they are “more than welcome to volunteer (their) time at this newspaper.” Then, glancing over at his boss: “Is it OK if we borrow a few hours a week from these guys’ other duties if they want to participate?”

Not to be a stickler, but that’s not volunteering — not if they’re being allowed to do journalism during their paid workday. But since this is strictly a matter of “if they want to participate,” I guess that part is voluntary? I have such a knee-jerk reaction to this word, because so many of us are struggling to hang on to the paying journalism jobs that remain. The suggestion that this isn’t a profession, but something people should do on a volunteer basis, really rankles.

So I don’t love that detail. Although I doubt most viewers will give it a second thought. This is me asking you to give it a second thought.

You’ll note that NBC isn’t carrying “The Paper,” but has instead put it on parent company NBCUniversal’s streaming platform. I don’t know if that says anything about whether executives have confidence in the show or not. But we do know this much: NBC, once home of the vaunted '90s-era comedy block known as Must See TV, is not currently a hospitable network for comedies.

That’s probably for the best. I want to see comedies back on network TV, but “The Paper” only brings to mind newsprint that’s been left out in the rain: Too soggy to be of any interest. It doesn’t help that the show uses the same title as the very funny and far superior 1994 movie “The Paper” starring Michael Keaton as the editor of an often chaotic and ridiculous (and therefore realistic) New York City newsroom. It’s not on any of the streaming platforms, but you can get a digital rental for under four bucks and I highly recommend watching that instead.

But if your curiosity remains about this TV endeavor (which has already been renewed for a second season, bafflingly enough), it’s worth considering why “The Office” works as well as it does.

The fortunes of a paper company are never treated as high stakes because they simply aren’t; Dunder Mifflin is yet another faceless corporation and people work there because it’s a job. Not a job they want to lose. But a boring 9 to 5 nevertheless, with all the attendant drudgery that implies, which is why it doesn’t seem weird when they’re blowing off work and pulling pranks during those eight hours each day spent under the fluorescent lights.

A newspaper is a different proposition. The aim of any news outlet should be to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, and if you value the work of newspapers — and I hope you do; you’re reading this review in one! — then the stakes are considerably higher. Which is why the central premise that animated “The Office” doesn’t graft so neatly onto “The Paper.”

You could argue the same is true of NBC’s “St. Denis Medical,” which is also a mockumentary; I think the problem exists there and is fundamentally holding that show back, as well.

There’s another reason “The Office” is an example of Hollywood catching lightning in a bottle: The character (and performance) of Steve Carell’s Michael Scott. As branch manager, he has no interest in actually managing anything or anyone; he’s incapable of it because of his childlike need to be liked. A ridiculous figure, he’s a cuddlier version of David Brent in the British original starring Ricky Gervais, the latter of whom played up the character’s reptilian and annoying personality. Michael Scott may be a fool who makes you shake your head, but he’s also weirdly likable. I don’t think TV characters need to be likable, but it really does seem to be a key facet to the success of “The Office.”

Other mockumentaries following in the wake of “The Office” have also used the annoying-outrageous boss template, more successfully on “Abbott Elementary” than “St. Denis Medical.” A show like “Parks and Recreation” abandoned that formula altogether and I respect that “The Paper” also wants to change things up by putting a dedicated but somewhat hapless Jim Halpert equivalent in charge. A worthy experiment. But one that ultimately doesn’t work.

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'THE PAPER'

2 stars (out of 4)

Rating: TV-14

How to watch: Peacock

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