‘The Office’ star Paul Lieberstein was worried he’d ruin franchise with ‘The Paper’

No, God, please, no! 

Paul Lieberstein still gets approached by fans daily for his portrayal as Toby on the beloved comedy, “The Office.”

The most common quote they bring to him “is shouting, ‘No!’ When Michael Scott sees my character come back,” he exclusively told The Post. The scene took place in Season 5 when Steve Carell’s boorish boss, Michael Scott, is dismayed to see Toby. 

Lieberstein, 58, was a showrunner on the NBC series from Seasons 5-8. He recently promoted “The Office” — and its spinoff, “The Paper” — at a Paley Museum exhibition in Manhattan, which runs until Sunday, November 16. 

The exhibit includes props and costumes from the mockumentary, which ran from 2005 to 2013, starring Carell, Lieberstein, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, and Jenna Fischer.

Features include Michael Scott’s office suit, Meredith Palmer’s “Casual Friday” dress, Dwight Schrute’s wedding suit, and Pam Beesly’s copy of the “Threat Level: Midnight” screenplay. 

There’s also a replica of Michael’s desk for attendees to take photos with.

“The Paper” recently debuted on Peacock (and airs on NBC in November). It features a new cast of characters working at a newspaper in Ohio, but one “Office” cast member — Oscar (Oscar Nunez) — has returned. 

Nunez told The Post that if “The Paper” added any more characters from the original show, Toby might make sense. He works in HR, after all, which is a flexible job open to any company.

“I think that would be fun,” said Lieberstein, noting they’d have to “see if it fits in.”

“I know there’s a need for the show to go its own way,” he explained. “And so, I don’t know if that’s moving backwards or not.”

But, if he was asked to appear in “The Paper,” he would jump at the chance.

Since he’s a consulting producer and part-time writer on “The Paper,” too, Lieberstein was involved in “The Paper” from the early days. 

“It felt a little like when we started up with ‘The Office.’ That there was this British show that we all love,” he said, referring to the Ricky Gervais BBC version. “[At the time, we thought], ‘Oh, God, what are we doing? We’re going to ruin it and be a laughing stock!’” And there was a little bit of that same apprehension, I think [for ‘The Paper’].” 

Originally, there was also a spinoff to “The Office” in the works called “The Farm,” which would have focused on Wilson’s weirdo, Dwight Schrute. 

It had a backdoor pilot in “The Office,” but NBC never moved forward with that series. 

“I think that was timing. I think if we had waited two years for the show to end, they would have understood the need and desire for it,” Lieberstein explained toThe Post. “But there was new management at NBC, and they didn’t really get what was happening.” 

“We did it before the show ended. They tested it,” he continued. “Comments came back like, ‘We want more Jim and Pam!’ Oh, okay. Like, you’re not really seeing it for what it was.” 

Lieberstein thinks if the audience had enough time to “mourn” the end of “The Office,” then they might have “welcomed” the Dwight spinoff.