Tara McCauley December 3rd, 2020 - 10:26 PM
NBC announced that Cloud 9 will be closing its doors in 2021, as the current sixth season of workplace comedy Superstore will be the show’s last. This news comes after star America Ferrera (Ugly Betty, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants) made her departure from the series earlier this year. However, Variety credits a general dip in the show’s ratings, rather than Ferrara’s exit, for the NBC decision.
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The workplace comedy, set in a fictional St. Louis big box store called Cloud 9, is one of the rare shows who saw an impact from COVID-19 on-screen as well as behind-the-scenes. Ferrera’s departure from the series was announced in early 2020 and meant to happen at the end of Superstore‘s fifth season. However, the onset of COVID-19 shut production of down before the season finale was shot, pushing Ferrara’s departure to the beginning of season six. Ferrara’s character, Amy Sosa, leaving Cloud 9 was not the biggest news for the store’s employees, as they have now become essential workers during a global pandemic.
Despite covering a topical subject matter this season, Variety reported that the show has “been struggling a little in the ratings of late.” Conversely, Grey’s Anatomy, which has also spent a season tackling COVID-19 stories on-screen, has been seeing immensely successful ratings in its competitive Thursday night time-slot, via Variety.
Lisa Katz, president of scripted content at NBC, expressed her admiration for Superstore and it’s legacy at the network, despite the decision to bring it to an end. She called the retail comedy a “signature series” that “will forever hold its place among the top workplace comedies for which we have a cherished history” (Variety).
According to Variety, Superstore executive producers Justin Spitzer (The Office, Superstore), Gabe Miller (Superstore, The Mindy Project) and Jonathan Green (Superstore, The Mindy Project) will continue their work with the studio UTV, having recently renewed their contracts. With 11 episodes of Superstore left, the showrunners thanked fans and promised “we’ll do our best to go out strong and give you the satisfying ending you deserve” (Variety).
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The ensemble cast members, who makeup Cloud 9’s eccentric workforce, sounded off with their reactions to the news of the show’s cancellation on social media. Lauren Ash (Superstore, She-Ra and the Princess of Power) and Colton Dunn (Superstore, Blockers) expressed messages of gratitude for their time on the show with screenshots of text posts on Instagram. Ben Feldman (Mad Men, Superstore), who plays Jonah Simms on the show, jokingly responded to Ash’s Instagram post: “wait…what nobody called me?”
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In a similar-style Instagram post, Nico Santos (Superstore, Crazy Rich Asians) spoke specifically about how the show embraced and built stories around his identity as a LGBTQ+ Filipino immigrant. The series, nominated for GLAAD Awards in 2018 and 2020, has been celebrated for it’s representation and comedic spin on topical issues.
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Though, saddened to see the series go, the cast and crew expressed great pride in all Superstore was able to accomplish in it’s six years at NBC. Currently on a winter hiatus, the show will return on Jan 24 for its final stretch of episodes.
