If there was one relationship in The Paper that viewers were desperate to see go somewhere, it was Ned Sampson and Mare Pritti. Their chemistry was never subtle. The show kept putting them in the same rooms, giving them increasingly personal conversations, then pulling them apart just when things looked ready to happen.
That worked beautifully in Season 1.
But after ten episodes of hesitation, mixed signals, awkward misunderstandings and one extremely important kiss, there was no way fans were going to accept another season of endless romantic teasing.
So, are Ned and Mare dating in Season 2 of The Paper?
Yes. They are officially a couple.
And honestly, I’m glad the show made the decision this quickly. I was worried the writers might fall into the same trap that has hurt plenty of workplace comedies before: stretching a good romantic storyline until the characters stop feeling like people and start feeling like a plot device. Instead, Season 2 takes the relationship somewhere much more interesting.
Ned and Mare aren’t asking whether they like each other anymore.
Now they have to figure out whether they can actually make this work.
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How Ned and Mare Got Here
The relationship between Ned and Mare didn’t appear out of nowhere.
Ned Sampson, played by Domhnall Gleeson, arrives at the Toledo Truth Teller with a ridiculous amount of enthusiasm and a very clear mission. He wants to save a struggling local newspaper through serious, original journalism. He’s ambitious, occasionally painfully earnest and sometimes so focused on his professional goals that he completely misses what’s happening emotionally right in front of him.
Mare Pritti, played by Chelsea Frei, is almost his opposite.
She’s more guarded. Her background as an Army veteran gives her a different perspective on people and pressure, while her early position at the newspaper doesn’t exactly suggest that she’s destined to become one of its most important reporters. Yet Ned recognizes something in her.
And Mare recognizes something in him, too.
Their connection developed through the newsroom rather than through some artificial romantic setup. They worked together. They argued. They trusted each other. They shared frustrations about the newspaper and gradually became the two people who could understand what the other was trying to accomplish.
That made the romance work.
It wasn’t just flirting.
The Season 1 Finale Changed Everything
The Season 1 finale, “The Ohio Journalism Awards,” finally stopped playing games with the audience.
After the awards ceremony, Ned and Mare ended up at a wedding reception in an adjacent ballroom. The atmosphere immediately changed. Away from the newsroom and their usual professional responsibilities, they could finally behave like two people who were obviously attracted to each other.
There was flirting.
There was dancing.
There were those painfully long looks that practically scream, “Just kiss already.”
Eventually, Ned turned up at Mare’s hotel room under the excuse of going over his acceptance speech after winning the Outstanding Print Coverage award.
Sure.
The speech.
Nobody watching that scene believed the speech was the real reason.
The tension finally snapped, and Ned and Mare kissed.
Then the episode ended.
Of course it did.
It was exactly the kind of cliffhanger designed to send viewers online and immediately start arguments about what the kiss actually meant.
Was it a one-time mistake?
Was it an emotional release after months of tension?
Or had The Paper finally decided to make Ned and Mare an actual couple?
Season 2 gives us the answer.
Yes, Ned and Mare Are Dating in Season 2
The Season 2 promotional material removes most of the ambiguity.
Ned and Mare aren’t pretending that the kiss never happened. They aren’t resetting the relationship back to awkward glances and accidental hand touches.
They are dating.
That’s the big romantic development heading into Season 2.
And this is where I think the show makes a much smarter choice than simply repeating Season 1.
The interesting question isn’t “Will Ned and Mare get together?”
That question has already been answered.
The interesting question is what happens when two coworkers who genuinely care about each other have to hide their relationship while working in the same newsroom?
That’s considerably messier.
And much funnier.
The Problem: Ned Is Mare’s Boss
There is one gigantic complication sitting directly in the middle of this romance.
Ned is the Editor-in-Chief.
Mare works under him.
So this isn’t just a case of two coworkers secretly hooking up behind the break room door. There is a serious workplace power dynamic involved, and the characters know it.
That’s why keeping the relationship secret becomes such an important part of Season 2.
Ned has to maintain his authority around Mare while privately dealing with feelings that are obviously much less professional. Mare, meanwhile, has to continue doing her job without giving the rest of the newsroom an obvious reason to start connecting the dots.
Good luck with that.
These people are journalists.
Their entire professional existence revolves around finding things other people don’t want them to find.
Trying to hide a relationship inside that environment is almost comically hopeless.
And that’s exactly the kind of situation The Paper should exploit.
The Secret Romance Is Already Falling Apart
The promotional footage suggests that Ned and Mare aren’t exactly masters of secrecy.
Their coworkers are suspicious.
Very suspicious.
Nicole Lee, played by Ramona Young, appears particularly aware that something strange is happening between them. The jokes about Mare suddenly having a “new best friend” make it pretty clear that the newsroom isn’t buying the innocent explanation.
And that’s exactly the kind of comedy I want from The Paper.
The best workplace comedy doesn’t need characters behaving like complete idiots. It works when smart people find themselves trapped in ridiculous situations.
Ned can be a capable editor and still be terrible at hiding his romantic life.
Mare can be a talented reporter and still completely panic when someone notices that she and Ned are acting differently.
Meanwhile, the documentary cameras are there to capture every uncomfortable pause.
That’s a recipe for disaster.
Why I Prefer This Direction to Another Slow Burn
I’ll be honest: I would have been annoyed if Season 2 had spent another ten episodes asking whether Ned and Mare were attracted to each other.
We already know.
The chemistry was established in Season 1. The emotional trust was established. The kiss happened. At this point, making them repeat the same cycle would feel less like slow-burn romance and more like stalling.
Some viewers will inevitably compare Ned and Mare to Jim and Pam from The Office, especially because The Paper exists in the same broader television universe.
That comparison makes sense, but I don’t think the exact same formula needs to be repeated.
Jim and Pam spent years circling each other.
Ned and Mare don’t necessarily need that.
Streaming television has changed the rhythm of sitcom storytelling. Ten-episode seasons simply don’t provide the same amount of room for endless romantic hesitation. If a show spends too much time protecting the “will they/won’t they” formula, it risks making every other storyline feel secondary.
I’d rather see what happens after the couple gets together.
That’s where things become unpredictable.
The Romance Could Actually Make the Workplace Story Better
One thing I like about this setup is that the romance isn’t isolated from the newspaper storyline.
Ned and Mare aren’t just dating because the writers wanted a cute subplot.
They have a shared professional obsession: saving the Toledo Truth Teller.
That matters.
Ned is heading into another difficult period as he pursues an investigation involving an exclusive and secretive local private club. It’s exactly the kind of story that could put the newspaper in conflict with powerful people.
Meanwhile, the newsroom itself is becoming more chaotic, with the staff taking on increasingly ambitious assignments.
So imagine Ned and Mare trying to have a private relationship while simultaneously working together on stories that could affect the future of the newspaper.
One argument about journalism could suddenly become an argument about their relationship.
One professional disagreement could feel personal.
And when you’re hiding a romance from coworkers who are literally trained to investigate things, privacy becomes almost impossible.
That’s far more interesting to me than another season of flirting.
What Fans Are Saying About Ned and Mare
The reaction to their Season 2 relationship has been pretty predictable in one sense: fans are excited.
A large portion of viewers seem relieved that the writers didn’t drag the romance out indefinitely. After watching Ned and Mare slowly move toward each other throughout Season 1, finally seeing them become a couple feels like a payoff rather than a cheap twist.
But there is also a legitimate concern.
Did the show move too quickly?
That’s the argument I understand.
When a romance is one of the strongest sources of tension in a series, making the characters a couple can potentially remove some of that tension. Once the question “Will they get together?” disappears, the writers have to find something new.
Luckily, The Paper has an obvious replacement: Can they stay together?
That’s a much harder question.
| Ned & Mare Relationship | Season 1 | Season 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Attraction | Obvious but restrained | Openly acknowledged |
| Emotional connection | Growing | Established |
| Romantic status | Complicated | Official couple |
| Workplace secrecy | Not necessary | A major problem |
| Main tension | Will they get together? | Can they keep it together? |
That shift gives the writers plenty of material.
The Real Test for Ned and Mare
The biggest test won’t be whether they can survive gossip around the newsroom.
It will be whether they can separate their professional relationship from their personal one.
Ned is ambitious. Mare is becoming increasingly confident in her reporting. Both care deeply about journalism.
That sounds romantic until one of them disagrees with the other’s decision.
What happens when Ned has to criticize Mare’s work?
What happens when Mare thinks Ned is making a terrible editorial call?
Can they argue about a story at 10 a.m. and still have a normal dinner together that night?
Those are the situations that could make this relationship feel real.
And that’s where Chelsea Frei and Domhnall Gleeson have a lot of responsibility. Their chemistry was one of the strongest parts of Season 1, but chemistry alone isn’t enough anymore. Now the performances have to sell the awkwardness of an actual relationship.
The romance has to survive ordinary problems, not just dramatic ones.
My Take on the Season 2 Romance
I’m firmly on the side of “let them date.”
I don’t need another three seasons of Ned staring across the newsroom at Mare while the audience screams at the television.
The kiss was the payoff to Season 1. Season 2 should be allowed to deal with the consequences.
And the workplace secrecy angle is exactly the right complication.
It gives the show room for comedy without pretending the relationship itself is a joke. It also creates genuine professional stakes because Ned isn’t just another coworker. He’s Mare’s boss.
That’s uncomfortable.
It should be uncomfortable.
If the show acknowledges that instead of brushing it aside, Ned and Mare could become one of the strongest parts of The Paper.
I’m especially interested in whether their relationship makes Ned a better editor or a worse one. He’s already the kind of character who can become obsessive about his vision for the newspaper. Having Mare challenge him emotionally as well as professionally could expose parts of Ned that the first season only hinted at.
And Mare has just as much to prove.
She isn’t simply “Ned’s girlfriend.” She has her own reporting career, her own judgment and her own voice as a journalist.
That distinction matters.
What Season 2 Needs to Get Right
For this romance to work, I think the writers need to avoid three things:
- Don’t make Mare’s entire storyline about Ned. She needs her own reporting career and conflicts.
- Don’t turn Ned into a clueless sitcom boyfriend. His flaws are more interesting when they come from ambition and insecurity.
- Don’t rely only on secret-romance jokes. The relationship needs emotional consequences, not just awkward hiding scenes.
If the writers get those things right, Ned and Mare could actually become more interesting as a couple than they were when they were chasing each other.
That’s the funny thing about romantic comedies. Sometimes the relationship becomes interesting only after the characters finally get together.
And with the Toledo Truth Teller falling into another round of newsroom chaos, Ned and Mare have picked possibly the worst workplace imaginable for a secret romance.
Which, frankly, is exactly why I want to watch it.
Ned and Mare are dating in Season 2 of The Paper. The mystery is over. Now comes the fun part: watching two people who genuinely care about each other attempt to maintain a relationship while working in a newsroom where everyone is basically paid to notice things.
I don’t think they’re going to keep that secret for very long.
And I absolutely don’t want them to.
