How did comedian/actor Eric Rahill go from being a Nordstrom employee to a writer/actor on one of the hottest shows on streaming? Fate…and signing with a new agency. Late in 2023, Rahill found himself interviewing with co-creator Greg Daniels for a spot in the writers’ room and the cast of The Paper, Peacock’s wildly funny series set in universe of The Office. As he waited to hear back, Rahill toiled away at his corporate job, unknowingly gaining valuable experience that would serve him later. Finally, 5 months later, Daniels called to offer Rahill the job as a writer, and Rahill hasn’t looked back since.

Rahill had to fight for the role of Travis Bienlien, the fishing enthusiast/Softees employee who joined the voluntary staff of the new and improved Toledo Truth Teller, the local paper revived by Softees’ parent company Enervate to appease former top salesman/editor in chief Ned Sampson (Domnhall Gleeson). Though the series features a number of compelling and interesting characters, Rahill is proud that Travis stands out as somewhat of “an enigma” “You can’t really tell where he lies politically. You can’t assume anything about him,” said Rahill. “He keeps you guessing.”

As a die-hard fan of The Office, Rahill was familiar with Jim Halpert’s and Pam Beesley’s slow-burn romance, which has been compared to the connection between Sampson and Mare Pritti (Chelsea Frei), the TTT‘s compositor turned lead reporter, in The Paper. Rahill admits he was surprised as a viewer that Sampson and Pritti kiss in the Season 1 finale instead of holding out until Season 2. “We didn’t even know how the season was going to end,” Rahill revealed. “As writers, I remember leaving the room and being like, ‘I’m not sure exactly what they landed on.'” Thankfully, fans won’t have to wait an excruciating amount of time to see what happens next because Rahill and the creative team are currently writing the scripts for Season 2. “We’re working on it,” assured Rahill.

Rahill stopped by the Decider studio to talk about the first season, securing Lost‘s Josh Holloway for his surprise appearance, and which character from The Office he’d like to see pop up in Season 2.

DECIDER: The Paper is/was one of the most highly anticipated shows of 2025 for comedy fans. How did you land the job of a lifetime as a writer/actor on the series?

ERIC RAHILL: It was kind of out of the blue. I had just signed with a new agency. I guess they were pushing my scripts pretty hard and sent them to Greg Daniels. He called me in for an interview for an actor/writer gig around Christmas 2023. We had this great long talk. I was so nervous, but it went well. I called my mom and dad and I was like, “I can’t tell, but like, I think this might be good.” And then I didn’t hear a word for like five months [laughs].

So, I took this job at Nordstrom Corporate, and I worked there for a long time. They didn’t know I did comedy. Then I got a call out of the blue in April 2004 from Greg offering the writing job , but they weren’t convinced about my acting [laughs]. So, I joined the room as a writer, and I tried out for Travis throughout the process. My real audition came at the table read, which I didn’t know until right before it started. We did another table read after that, and then they wanted to take a cast photo. Greg tapped me on the shoulder, and he was like, “why don’t you get in the picture?”

And you got to be in the writers’ room with the icon Paul Lieberstein, who played Toby Flenderson on The Office!

I’ve never been in a writers’ room before. When I walked into Greg’s office, the first person I saw was Paul. I grew up watching The Office, so it was crazy to see someone I knew from TV. I was like, “damn, Toby’s right there!” [Laughs] Paul’s so normal and so nice.

What’s your biggest takeaway from working with him?

I don’t know what I thought a comedy writers’ room was like. I thought maybe it was like spitting jokes and, like, crying and laughing every minute. But it’s actually quiet sometimes [laughs]. Sometimes the best pitches come after a quiet pause with some contemplation. Paul is really good at letting an idea marinate before sharing it with the room. I learned a lot from Paul.

Was he instrumental in the Easter Eggs from The Office that we see throughout The Paper?

Yeah. You know, I didn’t even know about some of those Easter eggs until I saw them on Reddit. That little doll that’s on Oscar’s desk that Michael made him— I don’t know whose idea that was—but I’m sure it was someone from the original show.

I love seeing your fellow writer Mo Welch as Kim, another Softees employee. What was it like working with and being on set with her?

Mo is the best. She’s my anchor, and she’s so funny. I don’t know if you guys have seen her do stand-up before, but she’s so good. I love Kimberly. She has the craziest fits. I don’t know if you noticed, but it’s like every episode. She has a bump-it in one episode. She has a braid that goes down to the lower part of her back in another.

Like a poop braid?

If that’s what they call it… then yes [laughs].

You know, Travis seems simple when he first appears on screen, but the layers are peeled back as the season progresses. Can you talk about the trajectory of this fishing enthusiast/standoffish toilet-paper-warehouse worker turned whistleblower/ journalist/babysitter?

I just wanted to play him and write him like a real guy who has many, many different interests. You can’t really tell where he lies politically. You can’t assume anything about him. He’s an enigma. Hopefully. My favorite thing that got in was that he’s wearing that Brandy shirt. There’s a part where I’m at home recording myself taking melatonin gummies with that Brandy t shirt. I really fought for that. I think he keeps you guessing.

Yes, in the “Churnalism” episode, which you also wrote! How did you decide which products the TTT team would test?

There was a pitch meeting where everyone was shouting out every Instagram wellness product that they could think of. We just picked our favorite ones.

In a later episode, Travis creates the mouse nudger to thwart Ken’s efforts to police the TTT team’s time. Where did this idea come from?

I won’t claim that, but it was inspired by my life in the corporate world. When I did work corporate, I did have a mouse mover. So, if my old bosses are reading, I’m sorry [laughs]. On Amazon, you can get these little things that you put like a physical mouse that, like, spins around. I remember telling Greg about in on like Day 3 in the writers’ room, and they eventually made it like something that Travis initially designed to stick down the throat of a frog.

I have to know: how did you guys get Josh Holloway to play himself in those Cameos?

There were other actors that were mentioned, and then everyone just started fighting for Josh Holloway so hard because he’s so sick. We were like, afraid to reach out, but he was immediately like, “yeah, I’m down.”

Did it inspire you to get into the Cameo game?

[Laughs] Down the road, I’m going to be on Cameo every day making millions. It did inspire me to start rewatching Lost though. I just started last week.

And is Sawyer your favorite character?



Yeah, he’s so good. Sexy, charismatic, the whole package.

Obviously, everyone is shipping Ned and Mare. The Office made us wait until the Season 2 finale for Jim’s and Pam’s first kiss. We only had to wait until the Season 1 finale for Ned and Mare’s first kiss. Was that timeline debated in the writers’ room?

Yeah, constantly. I don’t know how much I can reveal, but we didn’t even know how the season was going to end. I remember leaving the room being like, “I’m not sure exactly what they landed on.” I didn’t know about the kiss until I watched the 10th episode a few weeks ago in the writers’ room.

It was kept from us. Season 2 of The Paper is already greenlit! Is production starting soon? What can you tell us?

We’re back in the writers’ room. That’s all I can say, but yeah, we’re working on it. Toiling away, writing it up [laughs].

Do you have any idea how Travis will evolve in Season 2?

I think he starts caring more about his fellow employees. I think he and all the other volunteer reporters will be more invested in the paper. It’ll be fun to see what events or stories they all are interested in covering.

Which character from The Office would you like to see on Season 2 of The Paper and why?

I’m just such a Steve Carell fan, you know? I would just love to have Steve appear as Michael Scott to see what he’s up to. But I would take any of them. Everyone’s so great.

The first season of The Paper is streaming on Peacock