‘The Office’ stars John Krasinski, Steve Carell encouraged Domhnall Gleeson to star in spinoff

There’s a new “World’s Best Boss” in town.

Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars, Just in Time) is gearing up to lead NBC’s The Office spinoff, The Paper, which is coming to Peacock in the fall. But Gleeson might not have signed on if it weren’t for the urging of the mockumentary’s original stars, John Krasinski and Steve Carell.

“He was wonderful,” Gleeson told PEOPLE of Krasinski. “I mean, his big advice that he gave me was to do it.”

Krasinski echoed this when speaking with Entertainment Weekly about Fountain of Youth when asked if he had any advice to offer. “Oh my god, no advice needed,” he said. “I think they’re already doing their own thing and they have the secret weapon, which is Greg Daniels.”

Daniels is the showrunner and creator of both The Office and The Paper.

“If Greg Daniels is involved and he had the idea and thought of it and he handpicked Domhnall, and Domhnall is going to be amazing,” Krasinski added. “I speak on behalf of our whole cast when I say we are all so excited for them and we can’t wait to see what they do with it.”

When speaking with PEOPLE, Gleeson said that Daniels was the key to what both Carell and Krasinski told him. “The same with Steve Carell, another just wonderful actor who I’d worked with before,” he explained. “Their advice was, if it’s Greg Daniels, you should do it because getting to work with him is a treat that not many people get to have.”

Gleeson found that Carell and Krasinski didn’t steer him wrong. “I’m so happy I did it because I think we have something really lovely. So I’m thrilled with it,” he said. “I like to think I would’ve got there on my own anyway, but certainly if [John] and Steve had been like, ‘Don’t do it, it’s a nightmare,’ I would’ve hightailed it, but they could not have been more positive about it, and I’m delighted I listened to them.”

The Paper, created by Daniels and Nathan For You‘s Michael Koman, recruits the camera crew behind the mockumentary chronicling the day-to-day of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company to do it again, this time with a failing Midwestern newspaper called The Truth Teller.

“We are three members of a wonderful ensemble cast of underdog characters that are banding together to keep journalism alive,” Gleeson said at the NBC upfronts earlier this month. “My character has the unwavering optimistic belief that he can turn The Truth Teller to the glory of its heyday… And, if you’re wondering, I will not be using this Irish accent.”

The series will also bring back a familiar face, Oscar (Oscar Nuñez), who is now working at the publication. “I told Mr. Greg Daniels that if Oscar came back, he would probably be living in a more bustling, cosmopolitan city,” Nuñez quipped at the presentation. “Greg heard me and he moved Oscar to Toledo, Ohio — which has three times the population of Scranton. So, it was nice to be heard.”

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Gleeson also made a joke nodding to one of the more colorful characters on the original series. “Fans of The Office will be delighted to see Oscar back at work, and some older fans will look at me and be glad that Meredith is also coming back,” he teased, referencing Kate Flannery’s character from the original series. “That’s a red hair joke.”

The cast also includes Sabrina Impacciatore, Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Ramona Young and Tim Key.

A premiere date has yet to be announced.