Ramona Young Talks ‘The Paper’ Season 1 and Reflects on the Impact of ‘Never Have I Ever’

Just like the show that inspired it, The Office, the recently released spinoff, The Paper, continues to make waves in the realm of mockumentary comedies. Though it’s been a while since viewers were transported to this franchise, it’s clear that this series will continue to go on.

The Paper Season 1 gave us so many new things, from a rambunctious cast of new faces to wild shenanigans that dealt with the issues of modern-day journalism in the best way it could.

I recently had the chance to speak with Ramona Young about her role on The Paper, Nicole and Detrick’s flirtatious relationship, and potential unexplored opportunities left in Never Have I Ever.

Talking about her general experience working with the cast and creatives of The Paper, Young discussed the best part about filming the workplace mockumentary spinoff in a nutshell.

“I think everyone just brings something super unique to the show,” Young began. “Everyone’s really funny, and my favorite part is just like getting to show up and work with really talented, smart, funny people!”

Though Young is a newcomer to this franchise, she’s also starring alongside a seasoned veteran of The Office, Oscar Nuñez. Young explained what it was like to work with the experienced star.

“I think overall, Oscar’s the best, by the way,” Young said. “He’s just very lighthearted. At the same time, he makes sure everyone’s okay. He’s one of the most giving, sweet people ever.”

Though Oscar, the character, knows about what’s going down, Nicole is a character who has her own boundaries that are further explored. Young went into detail with how she resonated with Nicole’s arc throughout The Paper Season 1.

“I relate to Nicole a lot,” Young said. “I really took this role as an opportunity to really try to bring more of my authentic self to something, even though it was slightly more vulnerable.”

“I’m very used to playing like really big characters or really small characters, or just like maybe slightly exaggerated versions of myself. I really wanted to challenge myself to really be grounded and to have an opportunity to show people my real personality.”

Throughout The Paper Season 1, Nicole slowly finds herself in a relationship with one of her co-workers, Detrick. Together, they deal with some messy situations, such as the experimental circumstances on The Paper Season 1 Episode 6, “Churnalism.”

On that episode, Nicole and Detrick are brought together, albeit in a comically troubling way. Young recalled what those scenes were like to film with Melvin Gregg, who plays Detrick, given how filthy it got on set. 

“We had so much fun as well filming those episodes,” Young recalled. “Melvin really like had to gargle some Campbell’s soup, and he really had to throw up on the back of my head. And it was so specific, [Jason Woliner]’s vision.”

“We had to do multiple takes where he would just throw up at the back of my head. There was one take at the end where they didn’t call cut, and I turned around, and the throw up was coming down like over my eyes. It was just like going over my face, but it was fun and I was game!”

Nicole and Detrick’s relationship heavily relies on the chemistry between Young and Gregg, which plays its particular roles later in The Paper Season 1. Young recalled what it was like to build that dynamic alongside Gregg.

“Working with Melvin is so easy,” Young said. “He’s such a relatable, grounded, and talented actor, and we spent a lot of time talking about our characters’ relationship. We spent a lot of time together because we had a lot of scenes together. So naturally, we developed a very natural chemistry.”

Watch the full interview with Ramona Young:

Given that The Paper was recently renewed for Season 2, Young also had some ideas for where she wanted Nicole to go as a character. In addition, she also hopes that the bridge between her and the flaunty Esmerelda can be mended.

“Moving forward, I would love an opportunity for Nicole – for the audience – to really get more of who she is, what she’s about, what she’s actually thinking, and for her to let her guard down a little bit more,” Young explained.

Notably, Young starred as Devi’s energetic best friend, Eleanor, throughout Never Have I Ever‘s four-season run. Young compared what it was like to play both Eleanor and Nicole, and the differences that highlight Young’s acting range.

“With Eleanor, my objective wasn’t to make her big per se,” Young described. “It’s just that with Eleanor, her inspiration for me comes from everything being her first. She’s very excited about everything, like she’s excited about having sex for the first time.”

“She’s excited about going to school again, and potentially being popular for the first time. With Nicole, it’s kind of the opposite; she doesn’t want to be noticed, and she doesn’t want to be seen. She’s protective of herself.”

Though Never Have I Ever ended a few years ago with Season 4, its fanbase still hopes that there could be more stories within that world. However, Mindy Kaling, series creator and another veteran of The Office, made it clear that Season 4 was conclusive.

However, Young did reach out to Kaling about filming on The Paper and what those reactions were like.

“We haven’t talked about the show,” Young said. “I know Mindy [Kaling] loved doing Never Have I Ever. Of course, I feel like it ended perfectly, which was like the four-year high school journey.”

“She was so nice about the pilot of The Paper, and we chatted a little bit, and she was very excited about it. So, it’s good, all good things!”

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The Paper Season 1 is currently streaming on Peacock.

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