The fate of Cloud 9 hangs in the balance after Thursday’s penultimate Superstore, which saw two on-screen reunions. Dave Foley’s (The Kids in the Hall, A Bug’s Life) Lowell Anderson, for whom the episode is named after, hinted at escalating tension between Cloud 9 and its corporate overlord Zephra all-the-while reuniting with fellow The Kids in the Hall alum Mark McKinney (A Night at the Roxbury, Saturday Night Live). Thursday’s episode provided yet another surprise for fans, brining back America Ferrara’s (Ugly Betty, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants) Amy an episode sooner than anticipated.
While Superstore’s March 25 finale comes nearly a year after Ferrera first announced her departure from the NBC comedy, the actress stuck around for the beginning of the series’ current sixth season, due to COVID-19’s impact on production. Shortly after Ferrara’s November farewell, the news broke that season six would be Superstore’s last.
Thursday’s episode teased that the finale may mark, not only the end of the series but, the end of the fictional big box store Cloud 9. TVLine recaps that “the retail giant’s fate came into question” when Foley’s Lowell Anderson indicates that corporate overseer Zephra may close the store’s doors for good. As the episode unfolded, Lowell Anderson proved to be unreliable – as well as cruel and out-of-touch – leading McKinney’s co-store manager Glenn to dismiss his claims.
However, TVLine points out that “Cloud 9’s imminent closure was foreshadowed in the cold open” when “Cheyenne told a customer that corporate had yet to supply Store 1217 with new shopping carts.” For this reason, Nichole Sakura’s (Superstore, Shameless) floor manager Cheyenne takes Anderson’s statement to heart, calling Ferrerara’s Amy for insight.
Superstore spin-off Bo & Cheyenne, starring Sakura and Johnny Pemberton (Son of Zorn, In the Loop), was offered as silver-lining to fans after the show’s cancellation, and the results of Cheyenne’s phone call could play a crucial role in that upcoming series. While TVLine posits that former Cloud 9 manager Amy Sosa appeared surprised by Cheyenne’s news, there’s certainly room for interpretation. Ferrera’s Amy, who relocated for a corporate job in California, may know more than she let on in her brief scene in Thursday’s episode.
Next week’s bulk-sized finale will uncover just how much Amy knows about Zephra’s plans and whether that knowledge will make a difference in Cloud 9’s ultimate fate or not. The store shutting down could offer distinct closure for Superstore’s ensemble of eclectic characters and ensure a blank-slate for spin-off Bo & Cheyenne. On the other hand, saving the store could constitute one last collective effort that brings Amy back home – complicating her ex Jonah’s new relationship – and leave the door open for an array of cameos in Superstore’s forthcoming spin-off.
Fans will have to tune in to NBC on March 25 to see how the story threads introduced in “Lowell Anderson” get resolved in Superstore’s final episode.