'The Paper''s Gbemisola Ikumelo on Playing the "Style Icon": The Torch in 'The Office' Spin-Off - INTERVIEW

Both the American and British versions of the workplace sitcom "The Office" are comedic institutions in their respective countries. The former, starring Steve Carell, and the latter, starring Ricky Gervais, served as the launching point for their stars and catapulted them to stardom. Now there has been a passing of the torch to "The Paper," and actress Gbemisola Ikumelo is holding it proudly.

Following up on a legacy like that is difficult, to say the least. However, it seems the minds behind the American "Office" are up for the task in Peacock's "The Paper," its spinoff. This new sitcom follows the employees of a dying, irrelevant newspaper company as new management attempts to bring it back to life.

The employees at the newspaper office are apathetic at best and saboteurs at worst. The show focuses on a new, idealistic boss who wants to revive the paper as a beacon of journalism. The only returning character from "The Office" is Oscar Martinez (played by Oscar Nuñez, reprising his role), an accountant who now works at the newspaper's office. Oscar has two assistant accountants who work directly under him.

One of them is Adelola Olofin, played by Gbemisola Ikumelo.

In an interview with The Latin Times, Ikumelo said that "We're very lucky that we get to sort of spend all that time with Oscar... One, because Oscar Nuñez himself is hilarious, and he's someone to watch and observe and see how he does what he does...And two, it's a really fun thing to have this sort of accounting department within this while all these other characters are very sort of disparate... and it's like we're a team... and I think that's lovely to be able to mine comedy out of that."

Ikumelo describes Adelola as "that person at work who's just like, 'I just want to get paid. I just want to take my paycheck and go." However, she "effortlessly picks out the most flashy clothes, but she's not doing it on purpose." She told us that her wardrobe is reflective of her arc in the show, "as she learns to dream again" and love her new job as a reporter for the newspaper.

As someone who has worked behind and in front of the camera on both British and American productions, Ikumelo was also able to elaborate on the inner workings of writer's rooms (or lack thereof) in both countries.

"I don't even think there is a culture of writer's rooms in the U.K.....there's something wonderful about being in a room full of writers and getting to work together. I wrote a show for BBC not that long ago, and it was just me in a room", she gushes.

Being a Brit playing an American in a show that came from an American reboot of a British series, Ikumelo was also able to give a unique perspective on the often-discussed differences between American and British comedy, stating, "I was going to say comedy is universal, but it really isn't...I think in terms of the difference...the American style of comedy is a much grander experience...and there is this kind of bigness in terms of production...'The Office' [UK] felt much more intimate, and then the American one felt broader."

You can watch all 10 episodes of "The Paper" on Peacock now.