- Hey you don't mess with a Sicilian!
Stacey Paterno is a principal character on Spin City, portrayed by Jennifer Esposito.
Character[]
Stacey is a tough Italian girl from Brooklyn who works as Mike's new assistant after Janelle is promoted to The Mayor's Office. She is smart and savvy, landing the gig by charming the mayor and Mike. Stacey is good at reading people and also very direct, with no time for bs, especially when it comes to Paul and Stuart. Despite her bravado, Stacey is also emotional and romantic at heart.
Story[]
Stacey applies for the position of assistant to the deputy mayor following her dismissal from her previous job due to downsizing. She comes highly recommended, but squares off against a territorial Paul who is enjoying his temp gig as Mike's assistant a little too much. Stacey quickly realises she needs to go directly to the source, Mike Flaherty, for a real chance at the job. She charms the mayor and impresses Mike, who hires her on the spot.[2] Stacey quickly settles in to the office and provides a new energy to the staff, as she is blunt and fiery, not taking any bull from the likes of Paul and Stuart. Stacey is surprised that they are allowed to date co-workers, when it's revealed that James is dating a girl from another office. She and Nikki try to help James charm her, by demonstrating how he should make a move.[3] When Mike dives into a feud with a misogynist shock-jock who is challenging the mayor to a popularity contest, Stacey gets an unfortunate role as she bought Drew West's book and gets a shout on the radio from West, though Stacey is just happy about it. Janelle and Nikki introduce Stacey to 'Water Day', which is when a fit delivery guy supplies water coolers to the office and they stare at him as he works. Carter tries to chastise them for objectifying him until he sees him and joins in. They all flirt with him and plot to date him, fantasizing about having sex with him. Stacey alters the order so that he will have to retun and eventually the guy stands up to them, angry about being objectified.[4]
When Mike turns 30, Stacey and Janelle sandwich him with a kiss on the cheek as he comes into the office. They attend a birthday party at his apartment, which Stacey is eager to leave as she couldn't bring a date and has the date wait for her in his car downstairs. Mike toys with whether to keep a promise to meet his first love at the top of the Empire State Building, and while everyone finds it romantic, Stacey decries to the concept, saying the girl probably did it to live rent-free in Mike's head, as that is what Stacey does herself to a lot of guys. The others find it deplorable, while Stuart is impressed. When Mike decides to go, Stacey hurries off to go on her date.[5] Around Thanksgiving, Mike's mother comes to visit. She finds a gun that belongs to the City Hall security guard, Hank, who seems too confused to still hold the position. Despite this, Stacey finds him sweet and supports him. City Hall installs metal detectors and one morning Stuart teases Stacey by putting stuff in her pocket so the alarm goes off. When Stacey has to hurry for a meeting, Stuart pushes the situation by telling Hank to stop her and he fires his gun into the air at random. It turns out the bullet grazes Paul in the head and Hank is of course fired. Despite the scenario, everyone's sympathies lie with Hank and Stacey tries to get him a new job at City Hall. When nothing materialises, Hank decides to sue Paul for the termination.[6] Paul asks Stacey to help him with the case and she is disinterested, until he mentions that it'll be on TV as he is taking his case to the People's Court reality show. Stacey is ecstatic and calls her mom to tell her she'll be on TV, neglecting to do any of the research Paul asked for. At the court house, Stacey basically puts on a personal ad for herself when Paul asks her to speak on his behalf, not referring to the case at all.[1]
Trivia[]
Episodes[]
Stacey appears in 47 episodes total. In Season 2, she is absent from the first 3 episodes, debuting in The Goodbye Girl.
- SEASON 2 (21/24)
- SEASON 3 (26/26)