Over time, fans have come to know and love Superstore's quirky cast and the funny cut-to gags the show often airs. This wasn’t always true. Critics at least weren’t kind to the series when it first made its pilot available. At TCA this week, showrunner Justin Spitzer revealed how he feels about people realizing Superstore does not suck. Well, at least a subset of people. As he put it:
That’s probably more of a question for you guys than I can answer. We’re just you know, we’re continuing doing the best show we can. How do you account for the turnaround? I mean, I’m very proud of the show, and I think I’m hoping that some people are discovering it more and getting more excited about it. You know, I think part of that is also probably that Season 1 you have everybody, you know, reviewing it, and as you go on, you have, like, people that are more excited to get write another article, give it another shot, so you’re seeing a little more of a selective group. But we’re excited about the reviews we’ve been getting.
He's not wrong. A slew of TV outlets will watch the new shows networks are putting out each season and will review them. In subsequent seasons, the reviews slow down but the fanbases tend to grow. It’s a good thing for a comedy like Superstore as it finds its groove and really figures out its characters.
If you look at the Rotten Tomatoes score for Superstore in Season 1, it’s right above middling, coming in at 54%--a splat on the site. But 84% of the audience liked it and the show made it from Season 1 to Season 2 thanks to good ratings. The show is now in the middle of Season 4.
One reason I personally feel Superstore is a must-watch every week is because the show is one of the best on TV at balancing being topical without ever feeling preachy. This season alone, Superstore has touched on immigration and even Halloween appropriation in careful, sometimes touching, and always amusing ways.
There’s even been an episode when Amy is having her baby and realizes her healthcare plan doesn’t cover a good hospital. Rather than wholly blaming the system, it’s turned into a comedic situation, but there are sparks of topicality peppered throughout as well.
Series producer and lead actress America Ferrera also touched on this with CinemaBlend and other outlets at the TCA Winter Press tour, also noting that she feels a lot of TV watchers are looking for shows to be topical, but as she put it “sane.” She also said:
I think one of the nicest things I’ve ever heard anyone say about our show is that it’s the type of world they want to live in, a world where people can be so different from each other and believe such different things and treat each other with decency. And I think that’s something that we’re not seeing a lot of in our society and it’s something that you can find on our show. So, we make you laugh. But, as one person put it, it restores your faith in humanity. I agree.
Superstore, like many network shows these days, has fallen in the Live+Same Day ratings over time. However, the comedy has found new life on streaming platforms and continues to make me, for one, laugh every week.
You can catch new episodes of Superstore when it returns to the schedule on Thursday, March 7 at 8 p.m. ET after its hiatus. Take a look at when your other favorites are returning at midseason with our full premiere schedule.
