“The finale was almost like an emotional Xanax for the fans and for us it was a giant glass of wine,” Ben Feldman says about the upbeat series finale of NBC’s beloved workplace comedy “Superstore,” which ended on a hopeful note, delivering an emotionally satisfying final montage for fans. He adds, “we shot that during the pandemic and so yeah everybody needed it!” Watch our exclusive video interview with Feldman above.
SEE Exclusive Video Interview: Nico Santos (‘Superstore’)
“Superstore” is a quintessential workplace comedy, which recently concluded its six season run on March 25. Created by Justin Spitzer, the series is set at the fictitious Cloud 9 big-box retail store in St. Louis, Missouri and stars Ben Feldman (who also serves as a producer), Lauren Ash, Colton Dunn, Nico Santos, Nichole Sakura, Mark McKinney and Kaliko Kauahi, with former star and co-executive producer America Ferrera departing the show after the sixth season premiere.
The show premiered in 2015 and grew in popularity and acclaim over the years, with its swansong season garnering an impressive 92% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The critical consensus for the season is that it is “funny and poignant as ever, ‘Superstore’ closes up shop with a superb sixth season that solidifies its place as one of TVs greatest workplace comedies.”
Production for the season began in September 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and was one of the first series to be set during the pandemic, which gave the show additional material to mine. As a test for Universal Television, it was decided that Superstore would create episodes set during the pandemic. In December 2020, it was announced by NBC that the season would serve as the show’s last.
SEE Exclusive Video Interview: Lauren Ash (‘Superstore’)
Feldman plays Jonah, a college graduate who lands a job at Cloud 9 after dropping out of business school. While Jonah initially struggles as a “fish out of water” with a customer service job that feels beneath him, he evolves over six seasons by embracing his work family and becoming more comfortable in his own skin as a Cloud 9 employee.
“It’s the most important story to tell because our show, ultimately the end of the day, was not about class or economic levels or race or whatever, it was about community and about loving the people that you’re with that and the family that you found yourself in and how people grow amongst each other,” he explains. “Our show was about people, which was an interesting thing, especially for this last season, when our entire last year and a half was about the absence of people,” he says.
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