SPOILERS AHEAD: We’ve decided to take a look at Superstore, the most underrated TV comedy of its time that you definitely need to be watching.
In 2015, a little workplace sitcom started on NBC, called Superstore. Despite being helmed by one of the writers of The Office and starring THE Ugly Betty herself, America Ferrara, as its lead, the show begun to minimal fanfare.
What an oversight that was. Over the last six seasons, Superstore has grown into one of the finest TV comedies of the 21st century, full of outlandish characters and relatable storylines. It follows in the grand tradition of American workplace comedies but it might be the most political and offbeat one yet.
The basic premise started as following a quirky boss, Glenn, at Cloud 9, a fictional big-box superstore in middle America, trying to keep the store running smoothly, amidst a budding romance between Amy and Jonah. Anyone who’s worked retail though knows that it’s an ever-changing landscape and the show has evolved at a remarkable pace accordingly.
The original core cast of seven has been wildly expanded. One line for a background character has become a second line and another and another until they’re no longer a peripheral character. Justine, a cheerful employee who just wants to be one of the popular girls, went from one line to being a semi-regular cast member, her character fleshed out.
The wonderfully shy but lovable Sandra, a meek Hawaiian employee, was so hilarious in her role that she became a series regular from season five (she’s played by Kaliko Kauahi, who can do more with a wide-eyed look than many comedic actors could do with a monologue).
Check out Sandra calling out Jonah for flirting:
The depth of the show is astounding. Forget having six Friends. Forget your dual pairings à la Kath & Kim or Will & Grace. There’s now at least 12 characters on the show with rich backgrounds and storylines. This includes Australia’s own Josh Lawson as an overconfident and crass pharmacist.
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Similar to The Office and its conference room, the scenes with most of the cast involved that take place in one setting, usually the Cloud 9’s break room – are comedy gold.
It’s the diversity of this extended cast that really stands out. Of the original seven series regulars, four were people of colour. This has grown to include Mateo, a gay undocumented Filipino immigrant chased by ICE (on a network TV comedy, that’s almost unfathomable). Sayid, a Syrian refugee, was added in season four without ever making him the butt of tired Middle Eastern jokes.
What Superstore gets right is never about making it diversity for diversity’s sake. Each individual character, no matter their history, is in the show because they’re funny.
Unsurprisingly for a show set in a retail store, class is also a constant issue that’s explored. Superstore debuted in 2015, one year before Donald Trump rose to power in the U.S..
There’s definitely a claim to be made that’s it’s the defining show of the last 6 years. (Perhaps it’s telling that the most acclaimed TV comedy of the Obama era was Modern Family. It was an aspirational show, about how the middle class comfortably lived. Over time though, the money and apolitical stances felt jarring. Whole episodes based around Apple product placement were cringeworthy).
Check out every customer interstitial mashup:
A true working-class sitcom, Superstore doesn’t shy away from highlighting how difficult it is working low-paying jobs. The joke is always at the expense of the corporate owners though, and it never punches down. Issues of health care, maternity leave, sexual harassment, and cultural appropriation are highlighted without being preachy. The issues are acknowledged without offering easy solutions.
When Amy started to climb up the ranks of Cloud 9, the show makes clear the stark class divide between the employees and corporate, going deep into this tension. Soon it even puts her at odds with her own boyfriend Jonah, when he tries to organise a union.
When America Ferrara announced that she was departing the show late last year, NBC soon announced that the entire show would come to an end after its sixth season; somehow, there was cold comfort in corporate acting just like you expect them to, just like Superstore itself would have shown.
It just means that now’s the perfect time to discover the show, before it inevitably arrives on Netflix in five years’ time and a new generation adopts it in the same manner that Gen Z has adopted The Office.
In the meantime though, stream it in Australia via Binge, which has all six seasons. Come back and thank us after!
It’s deeply humane, sweet and big-hearted, a class comrade of a show, a comfort watch with relatable people. Watch it and never feel the same way walking through Target or Kmart again.
Check out the top 10 funniest Superstore moments:
