“Isn’t it crazy?” - Sabrina Impacciatore reveals how Steve Carell and John Krasinski surprised the cast of The Paper season 1

Sabrina Impacciatore stars as newspaper editor Esmeralda Grand in The Paper season 1, a new Peacock sitcom from the crew that brought The Office. It's a follow-up spinoff to the hit NBC mockumentary sitcom, and according to her, in an Interview with Entertainment Weekly, published on August 26, 2025, two of The Office's stars visited them on set.

As luck would have it, Steve Carell and John Krasinski were filming a commercial for the Italian coffee brand Lavazza right next door, and they decided to visit the set of The Paper season 1, shocking the new show's cast members. It was reportedly their first day of filming at the Universal Studios Lot in Los Angeles, and they were very anxious and scared for the big day.

Then, per Impacciatore, they heard a knock, and then came The Office alum. As for their reactions to seeing Carell and Krasinski enter their trailer, she told the outlet:

"We're fainting. Like, what? Can you imagine? Isn't it crazy? The first day of shooting!"

Sabrina Impacciatore stars in The Paper (Image via Robin L Marshall/Getty Images)

Sabrina Impacciatore was reportedly with co-stars Chelsea Frei and Domhnall Gleeson on the makeup trailer when Carell and Krasinski crashed the set to share their good luck messages to the cast. She also called The Office alums dropping by while filming the Lavazza commercial a "blessing," considering that it's the coffee she's been drinking all her life.

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Sabrina Impacciatore once said that she asked Steve Carell to bless her for starring in The Paper season 1

Steve Carell crashing the The Paper season 1 set on their first day of filming wasn't the first time Sabrina Impacciatore met the actor. She told Entertainment Weekly in the same August 26 interview that she jumped on a plane from her native Rome to New York after learning that the actor-comedian would be headlining Uncle Vanya on Broadway.

At the time, Impacciatore was already cast for The Paper, prompting her to binge-watch episodes of The Office, as she had never watched the iconic sitcom before. She said that she quickly became "addicted" to the sitcom and developed an appreciation for Carell. After the show, she said that she waited for Steve Carell in the green room, adding that she asked him to bless her.

"He came out. I was shaking. I said, 'I'm Sabrina! Can you bless me?' I needed his blessing [for The Paper]! He was the sweetest," she said.

The Paper premieres on Peacock on September 4, 2025 (Image via Peacock)

While she didn't clarify if Carell actually blessed her or how he did it, Sabrina Impacciatore shared that The Office alum was so warm and encouraging towards her. Carell also reportedly told her about how brilliant the The Paper season 1 crew is, since he worked with them in The Office.

"He was giving me confidence. I will never forget that. Never," she added.

The Paper season 1 will premiere on Peacock on September 4, 2025. It will be a 10-episode series about a struggling Midwestern local newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it. Besides Sabrina Impacciatore, Domhnall Gleeson, Chelsea Frei, Ramona Young, Ramona Young, Melvin Gregg, and Tim Key will be starring in it.

The new sitcom will also bring a familiar face from The Office, Oscar Nuñez, the former Dunder Mifflin accountant. But while Steve Carell and John Krasinski visited The Paper cast on set, Nuñez will reportedly be the only one from the OG NBC show coming to the new show.

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Stay tuned for more news and updates on anticipated shows like The Paper season 1 as the year progresses.