We know we’re biased, but MTV’s “The Paper” is definitely one of our new favorite shows. Even if you aren’t a journalist, we think you can find something to like about the series that follows the staff of The Circuit, the student-run newspaper of Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Fla.

Last week’s premiere was all about four staffers competing to be the next editor in chief. The clear frontrunner from the very beginning of the episode is copy editor Amanda Lorber, a brown-nosing overachiever who wants to be president of the United States someday. Her lofty goals and statements serve as much of the show’s comic relief. She spouts off gems like, “Journalists are the most important part of the world,” that make you chuckle at her intense naiveté.

Lorber’s intensity and disregard for the talents and feelings of her coworkers creates a lot of tension and drama in the newsroom. The fact that they’re all in high school probably helps, too.

Though the first episode of the eight-part series focused primarily on the annoyingly arrogant Lorber, the series has an ensemble cast of diverse students. Managing editor Alex Angert, advertising manager Adam Brock, entertainment editor Cassia Laham and the paper’s power couple, news editor Giana Pacinelli and layout editor Trevor Ballard, all seem ready to bring the drama at The Circuit. The season premiere showed the editors eating at a local restaurant and making fun of Lorber while she was at home, sick in bed. Harsh.

The best part about the show is that it blows L.C. and the gang from “The Hills” out of the water. Let’s compare, shall we? “The Hills” follows a group of spoiled California kids who have everything in life handed to them. Their biggest problem in life is wondering if the camera is getting their good side. “The Paper” features an ambitious team of motivated students who have goals in life and have to work to achieve them. They’re intelligent, too, making the dialogue infinitely more tolerable than the “likes” and “whatevers” of “The Hills.”

We’re not saying we’ll necessarily stop following “The Hills,” but it’s nice to have something a little less mind numbing to wash it down with.

If anything, maybe the show can bring more awareness to aspiring journalists and how journalism works, even at this basic level. That sense of importance combined with a heavy dose of high school drama makes “The Paper” a great addition to MTV’s reality show lineup.