Sabrina Impacciatore is emerging as the awards-season frontrunner for her performance in The Paper, Peacock’s new comedy series and spinoff of The Office.
Following its successful September premiere, the Greg Daniels-created series will mount campaigns at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards and Critics Choice Awards, before targeting Primetime Emmy recognition in 2026.
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Impacciatore, previously nominated for an Emmy for The White Lotus, stars as Esmeralda Grand, the sharp-tongued managing editor of the Toledo Truth Teller. Variety has learned exclusively that she will be submitted in lead actress in a comedy categories for the upcoming awards cycle.
Created by Daniels and Michael Koman, The Paper revisits the same documentary crew that once chronicled the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch, now turning its lens to a fading Midwestern newspaper trying to reinvent itself with volunteer reporters.
Alongside Impacciatore, the ensemble features Domhnall Gleeson, Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Ramona Young, Tim Key and original Office cast member Oscar Nunez. A second season was ordered the day before the show’s premiere on Peacock.
Impacciatore’s performance has been singled out for both humor and emotional depth. Though initially presented as the series’ “villain” including a storyline in which Esmeralda cancels the paper’s wire service she later wins over audiences with absurd yet sympathetic turns. In “Scam Alert,” she falls victim to a catfishing scheme involving her online boyfriend posing as Lost actor Josh Holloway. In the season finale at “The Ohio Journalism Awards,” she disrupts the ceremony by hijacking speeches and even commandeering the In Memoriam tribute.
If she were to claim the Emmy for lead actress in a comedy, Impacciatore would become the first NBCUniversal performer to win the category since Tina Fey for 30 Rock in 2008. Peacock, launched in 2020, has only secured one nomination in this category to date, Natasha Lyonne for Poker Face in 2023.
Industry analysts suggest The Paper could achieve multiple nominations across major awards. The Golden Globes have historically embraced new comedies Brooklyn Nine-Nine won best comedy series in 2014, and the series is also considered a strong candidate for a SAG comedy ensemble nod. An Emmy nomination for outstanding comedy series next year would mark a first for Peacock.
Born in Rome, Impacciatore has built a diverse career spanning Italian film and television, as well as Hollywood projects including her role as Seraphia in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. Her international breakthrough came with her acclaimed turn as hotel manager Valentina in season two of Mike White’s The White Lotus, earning her an Emmy nomination for supporting actress in a drama.
Looking ahead, Impacciatore will appear in Julian Schnabel’s In the Hand of Dante, which premiered at Venice in August, and will star in an upcoming untitled R-rated comedy from David Wain, alongside Jon Hamm, Zoey Deutch and John Slattery.
All episodes of The Paper are currently streaming on Peacock.
Source: Variety