The Paper Season 2: The Truth Teller Aims High, but What About Marv?
- Damian Ali
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
Sabrina Impacciatore as Esmeralda, Domhnall Gleeson as Ned, and Tim Key as Ken Davies celebrate onstage during the Ohio Journalism Awards in The Paper Season 1. Image Courtesy of John P. Fleenor/Peacock.
What to Know
The Paper Season 2 premieres Sept. 9 on Peacock with 10 new episodes.
Ned and Mare face their attraction, but Marv’s quiet heartbreak remains unresolved.
The Paper Season 2 returns to Peacock on Sept. 9 with the Toledo Truth Teller chasing a bigger story, Ned and Mare testing their new romance, and one lingering office mystery that deserves another chapter: Marv Putnam’s unspoken love for his brother’s wife.
Season 1 followed Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson), an optimistic editor-in-chief trying to revive the struggling Ohio newspaper owned by Enervate, the parent company of both the Truth Teller and Softees Tissues. He found an ally in reporter Mare Pritti (Chelsea Frei), but managing editor Esmeralda Grand (Sabrina Impacciatore) and corporate strategist Ken Davies (Tim Key) repeatedly tried to undermine him.
Ned’s greatest challenge was turning an inexperienced staff into working reporters. Detrick Moore (Melvin Gregg), Adelola Olofin (Gbemisola Ikumelo), Adam Cooper (Alex Edelman), and Nicole Lee (Ramona Young) gradually found their footing, even as personal conflicts complicated the job.
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Ramona Young as Nicole, Domhnall Gleeson as Ned, Alex Edelman as Adam, Gbemisola Ikumelo as Adelola, Melvin Gregg as Detrick, and Eric Rahill as Travis in The Paper Season 1. Image courtesy of Peacock.
Their work paid off in the finale.
The Truth Teller swept the Ohio Journalism Awards. Mare won Outstanding Investigative Journalism for her reporting on the Man Mitts Softees clog, while Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nuñez) received Best New Game for his Mr. Digit puzzle.
Esmeralda and Ken spent much of the ceremony competing for Marv’s attention, with Ken nearly choking Marv and his brother Luke on steak during a failed rescue scheme.
Detrick ended his relationship with Nicole after she mistakenly believed he had forced her into monogamy while seeing other people. Nicole later broke down in Mare’s hotel room.
Tim Key and Sabrina Impacciatore star in The Paper, Episode 110. Image Courtesy of Peacock
The finale’s biggest development came when Ned, encouraged by Oscar’s advice, visited Mare. The two agreed to “do the research” and find out whether kissing would be a mistake. Their successful or unsuccessful experiment, depending on how you look at it, left Mare smiling and Ned cursing.
Season 2 will address their attraction to one another while Ned's search for a journalistic crusade involves a local private club that could put the newspaper at risk. Esmeralda will struggle to find her place, and the staff continues maturing as reporters.
But what about Marv?
Allan Havey as Marv Putnam, Nancy Lenehan as Anne Putnam, and Chris Mulkey as Luke Putnam in episode 110 of The Paper. Image Courtesy of Peacock
“True love isn’t something you just say out loud. Kids don’t get that because it’s based on experience. Long experience. You don’t have to say I love you to people you actually love. They know.”
— Marv Putnam (S1 Ep 7)
The question is: Does Anne know how Marv feels?
Episode 7 hinted at the depth of his feelings for Anne Putnam (Nancy Lenehan), his brother Luke’s wife. After Anne reminded him to take his vitamin D pills, Marv told the documentary crew, “42 years. Couldn’t do it without her. My brother’s wife.”
At the award ceremony, Oscar later found Marv drinking alone and told Ned that Marv loved Anne. Ned believed Marv had never acted because he was principled. The exchange between Oscar and Ned pushed Ned toward Mare, but it left Marv’s history with Anne unexplained.
What did Oscar say to motivate Ned and leave viewers wondering about Marv and Anne? “A great man once said: You miss 100% of the shots you don't take— also an idiot I used to know.”
The Paper has already confirmed Ned and Mare’s relationship as part of Season 2. Whether it will return to Marv, Anne, and Luke is another question. Their 42-year backstory may be the newsroom’s quietest unresolved story, and possibly its most intriguing.
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