Spinoff of 'The Office' on Hold, Star Returns Money to Fans

Somehow, it's been over a decade since The Office ended its nine-season run, but ardent fans have never lost hope for a continuation of the series. Unfortunately, the closest project to making that a reality—a proposed spinoff starring the character of Stanley Hudson—seems to be indefinitely on ice after a lengthy series of delays and fan complaints.

Leslie David Baker, who portrays Stanley on the NBC series, had launched a Kickstarter campaign back in July 2020 in an attempt to bring a spinoff called Uncle Stan to fruition. However, after getting delayed first with the pandemic and now the one-two punch of the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Baker is refunding his 1,640 backers who pledged more than $336,000 to the cause.

"We apologize about the delay in updates," the 65-year-old wrote in a recent Instagram post. "We have been working behind the scenes to get everything on track and rewards fulfilled. We are just as excited as all of you to get this project out and truly appreciate all of your patience and support."

Baker noted that the project took longer than anticipated due to circumstances beyond his team's control, causing them to put things on hold again..

"As you are all aware, SAG is now on strike and we will continue to be on hold indefinitely until an agreement is reached," he continued. "We stand in solidarity with those in the entertainment industry and will do our part in supporting WGA and SAG during these times."

Baker said that both he and his partner in developing the series, Sardar Khan, had made the decision to refund their backers "after careful consideration." He added that the final amount they had received from the Kickstarter, $110,629, were never used for any purposes other than reward fulfillment and had otherwise remained accounted for and untouched in the account.

"We sincerely apologize for any miscommunication or inconvenience during this campaign," he concluded.

According to a Reddit post from five months ago, the Kickstarter reached its $300,000 goal in just 30 days, but was "extremely slow" in doling out rewards to backers. Rewards included everything from signed posters and T-shirts to a personal phone call from Baker to a "thank you" credit at the end of the show, but many fans say they never got what they paid for. A 2021 Uproxx report notes that at one point, Baker was even accused of running a cryptocurrency scam tied to the series.

The spinoff series was said to focus on Stanley, who comes out of his Florida retirement to help his nephew Lucky raise his two kids and run his motorcycle and flower shop in in Los Angeles. "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," a description on the Kickstarter page reads.