The Office is a mockumentary series that ran for nine seasons from 2005 to 2013 and was adapted from the British show of the same name, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Though the show originally aired on NBC and hasn’t filmed in almost a decade, it has amassed an even larger following than when it was still on air. New and returning audiences are continuously drawn in thanks in no small part to streaming platforms like Netflix and now NBC’s own Peacock. One of the driving forces of the show’s success continues to be its ensemble cast, a group that was largely unknown at the time.
While Steve Carrell is undoubtedly the star as Michael Scott, the boss of fictional paper company Dunder Mifflin, the show wouldn’t be the same without characters like lovable office fool Kevin Malone. Like many characters from The Office, Kevin initially took a backseat to the main action until later seasons. As the show grew in popularity, more and more storylines were developed for the large cast. Some scenes didn’t make it to air, paving the way for fan theories to fill in the gaps and now the actor who portrayed Kevin, Brian Baumgartner, just revealed the truth behind one fan theory in an interview.
Was Kevin Malone Really a Secret Genius?
One of the favorite fan theories to emerge from The Office over the years is that Kevin is secretly a genius. Many laughs have been shared at Kevin’s expense, especially during his infamous chili scene, but it’s hard not to wonder if this wasn’t all part of his plan all along. Most of the time he’s the butt of the joke, so inept that it doesn’t take much convincing for Holly to believe he’s mentally disabled. Theories claiming otherwise have run rampant, citing scenes like in “Garage Sale” when Kevin pretends to get angry with Daryl and Andy during a game of Dallas when really he ran off with the money.
The theory that Kevin is secretly a genius has led fans to speculate that it’s also the explanation behind his character successfully managing a bar in the finale of the show. In an interview promoting his new book on the history of the beloved sitcom, Brian Baumgartner shed light on just how, exactly, Kevin ended up with a successful bar in a scene that was ultimately cut from the episode. As the story goes, Kevin becomes a fan favorite once the fictional documentary airs in the series finale, and he’s a regular at a local bar where people keep offering to buy him drinks. So many drinks, in fact, that he leverages his “credit” into part ownership of the bar.
It’s not uncommon for material like this to end up on the cutting room floor in post-production, sometimes leaving fans to fill in the gaps with their imaginations. Several popular fan theories have emerged over the years, like Toby being the Scranton Strangler, but none have delivered as many laugh-out-loud moments as those surrounding Kevin.
All nine seasons of The Office are available to stream on Peacock.