Fans have long wanted to see more of the (usually) quite nutty characters from the hit sitcom The Office. Many years ago, there was an attempt at a spinoff that would have focused on Dwight and his beet farm, but seeing as how that never came to fruition, we've been left with the (mostly) brilliant comedy as it is. Until now, that is. Leslie David Baker, who played Stanley on the series for its entire nine-season run, is trying to get a new project off the ground which would, seemingly, give us more of the lovable grump.
Leslie David Baker and his business partner Sardar Khan have started a Kickstarter to get funding for a television project called Uncle Stan. While the listing for the show doesn't specifically mention The Office or any of the craziness that took place at the Scranton branch of a little paper company called Dunder Mifflin, Baker will be playing the title character of Uncle Stan, and it seems pretty clear that he's looking to bring some of Stanley's post-Scranton years to life for fans.
So, what will Uncle Stan be about? Here's the set up for the show:
After enjoying his retirement in Florida, carving wood, enjoying the white sand beaches, and dancing to old disco, Uncle Stan (Leslie David Baker) gets a call from his nephew Lucky in Los Angeles asking for help with his two kids and running his motorcycle/flower shop. With his business failing, his kids growing up without enough attention, and on the brink of losing his patience with the cast of characters he has working in the shop, Lucky is going to need all the help he can get from no-nonsense Uncle Stan.
This seems like just as good of an idea as any for a television show, right? We've got a wacky cast of characters, a retiree who would rather stay retired but steps in to help out his family, and a failing business that sounds kinda nutty even without a bunch of weirdos working there. I mean, we all know that there are good reasons why workplace comedies like The Office often work so well, seeing as how work forces a bunch of people who would typically never hang out to deal with each other for many hours a day.
The synopsis goes on to say that Stan will have to use his many years of business experience to deal with the adventure ahead, and all those unique personalities populating Lucky's shop. On top of all the work challenges, Stan also has a "lady friend" who was expecting to become engaged soon, and has been left out of the loop on this sudden change in his life, with Stan hoping help his nephew ASAP and get his retired life back to normal before she knows what's going on. Oof...Good luck with that, Stan!
So, aside from the very obvious detail of Leslie David Baker playing yet another Stan, you might be wondering how it seems so clear that this is the same Stanley who we saw on The Office. Well, there are a few clues in the synopsis, so let's break them down a bit. For starters, Season 9 saw Stanley (who had always felt overworked, underpaid and surrounded by idiots while doing it) retire from Dunder Mifflin after many, many, many years and head down to Florida to enjoy the rest of his life. And, when he returns for the reunion, Stanley reveals that he's taken up carving wooden birds as a hobby.
In Season 8, we got some genius foreshadowing that Florida was in Stanley's future when he lobbied hard for and won a spot on a special project team of Dwight's, which saw the group head to Tallahassee. Even he acknowledged that "Florida Stanley" was a very different person than who we'd been watching for eight years, noting that he was more adventurous and relaxed when in the state. So, having Uncle Stan be a retiree in Florida seems like an obvious nod to The Office.
And, let's not forget that Uncle Stan has some serious attention from the opposite sex. It didn't seem like someone as gruff and uninterested as Stanley would be much of a ladies' man, but the dude got some real play on The Office. He was married to Teri for quite a while, but later cheated on her and began a relationship with Cynthia (his nurse after his heart attack), whom he even brought to Jim and Pam's wedding, while still technically married to Teri.
The Kirkstarter also notes that Stan is "coming out of retirement," which describes the character's situation on Uncle Stan, but could also be a clever way of discussing the fact that he was on The Office, took a long break on screen, and is now hoping to make a comeback.
Uncle Stan needs to raise $300,000 by August 1 in order to be funded and be able to start production, so you know what to do if you'd like to see more Stanley on your screen. You can revisit Stanley's time on The Office by streaming it on Netflix, but for more on what to watch right now, check out our guide to summer TV!
