There’s been a lot of talk about the new spin-off of The Office lately, so over the next few weeks at Big Diction, we’ll all be picking our favorite Office spin-off stars, and speculating on the show that might develop around them. Now, Sam Wunderl on Craig Robinson.

NBC is giving their most popular sitcom, The Office, a spin-off next February. Let’s go over the facts. Oh wait, I just did. That’s all of them. There’s literally nothing known about the show, including the title (although The Office Spin-Off has nice ring to it). While the premise of the show is something we at Big Diction are clamoring for, what we really want to know is which character will be leaving the Scranton branch to become the lead on the new program.

As Adam said, none of the main characters could possibly leave without destroying the dynamic of the show. And most of the supporting characters are rather one-dimensional, good for a few jokes based on the little information we know about each character (“Creed’s crazy, let’s have him say something that makes no sense.” “Meredith is an alcoholic; let’s have her mention how much she loves alcohol.”). When thinking about the possible characters that could leave the show and carry their own sitcom, there was really only one answer: Darryl Philbin, played by Craig Robinson.

Think about it! He’s on the rise as an actor (more so than Ed Helms), getting progressively bigger roles in Apatow films such as Knocked Up and Walk Hard. This summer, he’ll be starring in Pineapple Express and Kevin Smith’s Zach and Miri Make a Porno. Comparatively, his career will be at the same point as Steve Carell’s when The Office began.

Also, Darryl does not work in the office of the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin, but is instead the foreman of the warehouse. His different occupation (and the little we’ve seen of a day at the warehouse) prevents a spin-off from being a retread of the original concept. And, his mentioning of both a daughter and a divorced wife already give him a background that has so far been unexplored on The Office (and a potential set-up for his spin-off!).

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is the fact that NBC has not had a successful sitcom (or any sitcom, as far as I know), headlined by an African-American actor since the days of The Cosby Show and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. That, coupled with the popularity of The Office, would not only bring a larger demographic and audience to the show, but perhaps even help NBC’s image, as they are struggling in fourth place among the top networks. Possible titles for the show include any sort of “black slang” that Darryl has taught to Michael during the run of the series (Fleece it out, Goin’ Mach Five, Dinkin’ Flicka).

Whatever happens, whether the spin-off does or does not feature Craig Robinson, whether or not it is good or bad, we will still have The Office to entertain us, both with new episodes on Thursday nights and repeats several times a day when it enters syndication in the fall of 2009.