NBC has given the green light for Season 2 of freshman comedy American Auto. Justin Spitzer (Scrubs, Superstore) is the creator of the series, which premiered in December 2021. The last episode for the first season aired over two months ago, so this announcement is surely a welcome one for fans of the sitcom.
American Auto is a workplace comedy set at Payne Motors in Detroit — after the company hires CEO Katherine Hasting (Ana Gasteyer) from the world of big pharma, hijinks ensue as she knows next to nothing about cars. NBC is a known home for workplace comedies, especially after shows like The Office and Superstore. While ratings weren't incredibly strong for the series, it's fresh and fairly popular on NBC's streaming service, Peacock.
Gasteyer leads a cast that also includes Harriet Dyer (The Invisible Man) as COO Sadie and Jon Barinholtz (Superstore) as Wesley, grandson of the previous CEO. Tye White (Greenleaf), Michael Benjamin Washington (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Humphrey Ker (Mythic Quest), and X Mayo (The Farewell) round out the rest of the cast. Season 1 consisted of ten episodes, while NBC did not announce how many episodes would come with Season 2, it's likely to follow suit.
American Auto is the second NBC sitcom to be renewed following Young Rock. That series stars — of course — Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Joseph Lee Anderson, Stacey Leilua, Bradley Constant, Uli Latukefu, Matthew Willig, Randall Park, and Rosario Dawson. Not all shows received good news, however, as Ted Danson's Mr. Mayor was cancelled after two seasons. Created by 30 Rock duo Robert Carlock and Tina Fey, the sitcom also starred Holly Hunter and Bobby Moynihan.
New network sitcoms have seen a bit of a resurgence this past television season. CBS found great success with their new comedy Ghosts (an adaptation of the BBC series of the same name), while ABC's Abbott Elementary grew its audience significantly across its freshman run. Both of those shows were picked up for second seasons previously, avoiding the cancellation gamut that typically comes for network shows each May. NBC will surely be hoping to find similar success with American Auto's second season.
All ten episodes of American Auto Season 1 are now available to stream on Peacock.