I’ve always been surprised that Superstore has never received the same level of devotion as The Office. The show was created by The Office alum Justin Spitzer, and it flows from the same kind of miserable workplace setting brings together misfits. There are even beats and characters that are similar like how Dina (Lauren Ash) is like a female Dwight Schrute with her insistence on authority and rules, or how the show even had a plotline to introduce a new female coworker that would delay the eventual coupling of leads Amy (America Ferrera) and Jonah (Ben Feldman). And still the show had an energy and personality all its own that it never felt like a retread. I would simply tell people that if you liked The Office, you should really give Superstore a chance.
So perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised that Superstore came to the same thematic conclusion in its series finale, “All Sales Final.” Unafraid to take harder swings at work-life in America, Cloud 9, which had been purchased by the tech company Zephra a couple seasons ago, would be closed down and turned into a fulfillment center as people continued to take their shopping online. It was hard to mourn the loss of a big box store as it simply appeared that a big fish had inevitably been swallowed by the larger fish of a tech giant. Wisely, rather than putting the emphasis on how it was sad that Cloud 9 was closing (although there was kind of a last-ditch effort to save the store in the prior episode, “Perfect Store”, that never felt fully cohesive), Superstore turned its attention to its cast of characters who made the show come alive.
And that’s where the similarity to The Office finale came in. Like Dwight, Dina was now firmly in charge (no longer would she have to split management duties with the kindly but inept Glenn (Mark McKinney)) over the fulfillment center, and we were assured that all of our lead characters would be okay. Amy, now with corporate experience, went on to get a new corporate job. Jonah, always politically active (although the show, due to accepting the reality of COVID, basically ditched its unionization subplot) was now running for city council. Naturally, Jonah and Amy got together, got married, and had another child together, a conclusion that made Ferrera’s Season 6 departure even more frustrating. BFFs Mateo (Nico Santos) and Cheyenne (Nichole Sakura) went to work at Glenn’s new hardware store. Sandra (Kaliko Kauahi) became Dina’s assistant manager and brought along hilariously tragic supporting characters Marcus (Jon Barinholtz) and Justine (Kelly Schumann) to work in the fulfillment center. And Garrett (Colton Dunn), the show’s begrudging voice of wisdom, let us know he’d be just fine and got to give the series’ closing lines.
In addition to letting us know that all of these characters we going to be okay (it’s a sitcom after all), the closing lines echoed The Office in trying to thread the needle by acknowledging that work sucks. Whether you’re going into a soulless corporate office to push paper or working long hours on a retail floor (I’ve done both, the latter is worse), the closing argument with both The Office and Superstore is that the relationships you form at these jobs can give your life meaning. It’s not the work that matters to the people; it’s the relationships to other people. It’s a nice message—that people not productivity is what give our lives meaning, and while Superstore never shied away from how heartless corporate treatment of retail workers could be, I appreciated the closing sentiments about how these characters felt about each other.
The finale itself probably won’t go down as one of the strongest ever for a sitcom. It felt like a way to wrap things up on a high note while acknowledging that this probably isn’t the way they would have concluded if given the choice. Perhaps Cloud 9 was always going to close, but the show had to deal with the reality of COVID and Ferrera choosing to leave to spend more time with her family and pursue other projects, so Season 6 kind of limped to the finish, and honestly it’s probably better that the series got out now rather than drag on for several more seasons like The Office. Still, despite an uneven final season, Superstore knew how to get big laughs and embrace the weirdness of its eccentric cast coupled with some sharp zingers about the characters’ socioeconomic circumstances.
Perhaps I’m being as upbeat as the series’ conclusion, but I’d like to believe that Superstore will eventually find an even bigger audience on streaming. All six seasons are available on Hulu, and the show has the goods. Not only is it incredibly funny while also having you root for the characters, it’s willing to go to more realistic places than The Officeever dared. As much as I love The Office, I can’t imagine it wrestling with a deportation storyline or what it means when your pregnant employees need to give birth but have no healthcare or time off to recover. Sure, The Office’s Oscar was gay, but Superstore made Mateo’s romantic entanglements their own ongoing subplots rather than relegate his sexuality to the background. Superstore knew how to find the humor the reality of its characters, but it also deserves credit for exploring those waters in the first place.
I’ll miss Superstore, but I hope that it’s able to create its own legacy where network TV workplace comedies are willing to take some shots at corporate establishments and not shy away from the hardships of working-class life. Streamers would also do well to note that not every series need a high concept to work. Superstore was about an eclectic group of workers in a Walmart-like environment. With terrific writers, actors, directors, and crew, they struck gold. And just as I find The Office and Parks and Recreation to be comfort watches, I wouldn’t be surprised if I kept coming back to Superstore.
Rating: B
Series Rating: A-