2020 and 2021 have been pretty prolific years when it comes to beloved TV shows being cancelled for one reason or another. One of those unfortunate cancellations ended the two-season run of NBC's beloved (if not extremely high-rated) musical dramedy Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, starring Jane Levy and Mary Steenburgen. While the earliest attempts to find the show a new home didn't appear to be successful, everybody can put their lighters and lit-up cell phones in the air, because Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist is coming back for a properly conceived swan song.
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist won't be returning to its former home at NBC for its wrap-up story (and Jane Levy might have had some strong words had they asked her to return there). Instead, the tuneful romances will have a new home on The Roku Channel, which has ordered up a new feature-length TV movie. And for anybody out there who was secretly hoping that Zoey & Co. would get a holiday-themed exit, then it's time to set up the mistletoe and start celebrating.
The Roku Channel's new project will be dubbed Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas, and the plan is for the movie finale to hit the streaming platform during the 2021 holiday season. That doesn't exactly leave a ton of time to get things made, but it does sound like Roku Channel has been working behind the scenes with creator Austin Winsberg for long enough that the creative details are largely worked out.
For one, the entire cast is reportedly coming back for the new project. And the plan is for Zoey's Extraordinary Christmasto go into production in Vancouver this month, so it can be lightly presumed that Austin Winsberg already wrote the script for it, or is at least in the final stages. No story details were revealed, but the announcement did state that the holiday-set follow-up will pick things up where the TV show left off with its Season 2 finale, with Zoey attempting to maintain a sane balance of life, love, work, family, and harmonious rhythms. (Okay, maybe not that last one.) The TV film will be directed by Richard Shepard, who also helmed the pilot for Zoey's.
Creator Austin Winsberg shared some very appreciative thoughts about the new streaming home for Zoey's, saying:
I am so extremely grateful to The Roku Channel for helping us get Zoey to sing again. I can’t think of a more appropriate time to hear someone’s heart song than the holidays. And Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas will be an opportunity to provide the fans and new viewers alike a chance to all tap their toes and get in the holiday mood. This show has always been about empathy, compassion and the triumph of the human spirit. The Roku Channel has sure lifted mine and I hope that our film can have the same effect on viewers everywhere…
Despite Roku being known more for its streaming devices than its original IP production, the company's execs have definitely been building up that side of its free-to-watch Roku Channel. Arguably its biggest acquisition was picking up the entire library of short-form Quibi series that were left without a home after the massive-budgeted platform went belly-up. Now it looks like Roku may continue serving as a potential lifeline for cancelled-too-soon projects, so expect for it to enter the conversation the next time a broadcast network pulls the plug on a fan-favorite series in the coming months.
On top of the new projects, The Roku Channel will soon have all 25 episodes of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist available to stream later this fall to prep fans for the final hurrah to join the 2021 Fall TV season.
