New 'Mayberry Man' series builds a world with 'Andy Griffith' tribute artists and comics

Two years ago, the modern Mayberry came to life in a movie about an "Andy Griffith Show" tribute festival that helped insufferable movie star Chris Stone drop his sour attitude. Now, that world has its next chapter.

The team behind the movie, which includes the children of "Andy Griffith" actors, has produced the five-episode "Mayberry Man: The Series." It picks up with a much happier Stone, who's back working in Los Angeles, while weaving in new characters and storylines that reveal the fictional lives of the tribute artists who played Barney Fife and Floyd Lawson, among others, in the film.

"Basically, it builds the world of, 'What do all these folks from the movie — what do they do when they're not tribute artists?'" said "Mayberry Man" writer Stark Howell, the son of "Andy Griffith" guest actor Hoke Howell.

The filmmakers are currently seeking a home for the series and will announce when the public can watch once they finalize distribution details. Like the 2021 movie, producers fundraised about $133,000 from Indiegogo campaigns, which was a portion of the series' overall budget.

Also like the movie, Hoosier actors and locations — along with some in California and Griffith's Mount Airy, North Carolina, hometown — help shape the Mayberry spirit as it navigates a new set of challenges.

Related: Mayberry Man actor to get cooking lessons on Food Network hit, 'Worst Cooks'

New storylines in the series

The first episode finds Stone — the fictional son of an "Andy Griffith" actor — still dusted with the sparkle of Mayberry Fest, where he underwent a change of heart while representing his late father. Played by Brett Varvel, Stone now lives in a downsized suburban home and is dating Mayberry's sweetheart, Kate (played by Ashley Elaine), who's in the process of moving to L.A.

But their relationship hits a hurdle as she struggles to adjust. Not helping the situation is Stone's last-minute trip to star in "Checkered Flag," where Lucas Oil Raceway Park and two-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr. make an appearance.

In the grind of it all, Stone's newfound Mayberry spirit wanes. Questioning his direction, he seeks answers in his late father's box of scripts, rejection letters and pay stubs.

"Really deep down, Chris is a character who wants to matter," said Varvel, a Ball State University alum who grew up in Danville and Brownsburg. "He wants to have some kind of purpose and value in life and yet, he's typical of the type of person who will find that value and purpose in the wrong places."

But what unfolds with Stone and Kate is only one aspect of the series.

Tribute artists 'become their own people'

With episodes running about 25 minutes each, Howell said he had the space to introduce more storylines — including the neighboring town of Melville, whose mayor who would like to subsume the sleepy, quirky Mayberry.

Tackling the problem is a two-man team. Allan Newsome and Rik Roberts — who play the barber Floyd Lawson and Barney Fife tribute artists — come out of their white coat and deputy sheriff's costumes to work day jobs as the town manager and postal carrier, respectively.

Their bond nods to the myriad courthouse conversations between Andy and Barney in the 1960s show. But their own personalities come out, too.

"If this is going to have any legs at all, they have to sort of become their own people," Howell said.

Joining the duo is efficient office manager Janet, played by Karen Knotts. She not only creates high-quality charts townspeople didn't know they needed — like measuring Mayberry's water consumption — she also can easily drop Newsome with her black-belt-worthy martial arts moves. The latter calls back to Barney Fife's embrace of self defense, which is among famous scenes filmed by Karen's father Don Knotts in the original show.

"Doing the character of Janet was really great for me,” said Karen, who also incorporates different characters into her own standup comedy. “I got to create this role. She didn’t have a lot of dialogue but you kind of get the sense of Janet."

New characters bring more quirks

One returning favorite is Shane, the endearingly annoying assistant to Stone who fell so in love with Mayberry that he purchased a house there, which is shown at a residence near Danville. Played by Ball State alum Jakob Winter, Shane becomes a successful corn salesman while struggling to pull off the town's Christmas festival.

New California characters come into play as well. Stone's agent, who's only on the other end of the phone in the movie, appears in several episodes of the series. Stanley (Vince DonVito) is handling Stone's career and problems of his own — namely, that he's unexpectedly living in an RV in a Santa Clarita studio lot. The dynamic provides another avenue for comedic effect.

"It's less about me trying to be funny with a one-liner. It's more about feeling timing and letting certain moments breathe, and sometimes just simple eye gestures is all you need," Varvel said.

Kate's neighbor Levi (played by Christian McCartney) is an aspiring actor who talks to his plants and completes bird-like warmups before running lines. Once-dueling documentary filmmakers at Mayberry Fest in the movie, Chris Hudson and Gregory Schell have banded together and found a lucrative path forward in California.

Schell's father Ronnie Schell, who was in "Andy Griffith," also makes an appearance as does Gary Varvel, Brett Varvel's father and IndyStar's former cartoonist.

The series is "just the kind of thing that people really want more of," Karen Knotts said. "What people really care about is the characters."

Watch the movie and learn more

Fans can find updates on the series on the Mayberry Man Movie Facebook page. The 2021 movie is available on Amazon Prime and Freevee, Tubi and YouTube, among others. Find more information at mayberryman.com.

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Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or d.bongiovanni@indystar.com. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @domenicareports.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 'Andy Griffith' tribute artists and comics make up new Mayberry series