64 new york | february 1–14, 2021
whostockshelvesandruntheregistersat
a fictionalbig-box storecalledCloud9.
SetinSt.Louis,it is a MiddleAmerican,
“thisis what realeverydaylifeis like”kind
ofshow, pullingfromtheworkplacetradi-
tionsofCheersandTheOfficebutalso
fromtheworking-classfamily-sitcomlin-
eage ofRoseanneandTheMiddle.Super-
storehasalwaysincorporateda looming
awarenessofbigsocialandpoliticalpres-
sures:Theemployeeshavea running
unionizationeffort,andearlyintheshow,
a characternamedMateo(NicoSantos)
realizesthat heisundocumented,which
leadstoanepisodewherehe’s detainedby
ice. Andwhileitslatestreal-lifestoryline
wasnotoneitswritershadplannedon
havingtodealwith,covidhasmadethis
season unexpectedly poignant. NBC
announcedinDecemberthat theshow’s
sixthseasonwouldbeitslast; itsfinalepi-
sodeswillbeset duringthepandemic.
“It seemscrazy, lookingbacknow,”
SuperstoreshowrunnersJonathanGreen
andGabeMillertoldme,“butwhenwe
first startedthinkingaboutthisseason,
wewereassumingwe’dbedone with
covidbythetimewestartedairinginthe
fall.”Whenit grew clearthat wouldnotbe
thecase,thedifficultyofSuperstore’s first
fewepisodesbecamea timelinequestion:
Shouldtheshowstartfromthespring
andfollowthecharactersasthereality of
covid slowly settled ontheir lives?
Shouldit skipaheadtothefall?
“Iwaslike, ‘Wehavetotelleverybitof
thisstory,’ ”saidFeldman,whoplaysone
oftheleads,Jonah,andis alsoa producer
oftheshow. “I wanttoseetheevolutionof
this,wherewestumbledintothisinthe
beginning,thinkingit wasnothing,and
endedupbeingmarriedtothiscom-
pletelynew life.”
Thewritersdidn’t agree.Theyfeltthey
hadtomovequicklythroughthoseearly
monthstobringtheshowclosertothecur-
rentmoment.“Weultimatelydecidedwe
shouldn’t spendtoolongonthebeginning
ofthepandemic,” Ellicksonexplained,
“becausethewholethingaboutthepan-
demicisitsconstantpresence—it’s this
shadowinpeople’s lives.”
“I was wrong,” Feldmanconceded,
“whichis usuallythecase.”
Theshowrunners’firstdecisionwasto
turntheseason’s openingepisodeintoa
timejump,a set offast leapsfromTom
HanksandRitaWilson’scoviddiagnoses
tofranticshoppersgrabbingtoilet paper,
hugelinesoutsidethestore,confusion
aboutmasks,and,finally,anuneasymid-
summercovidstatusquo.It gaveSuper-
storea way toreintroducea worldaltered
bycovidandtoset thetoneforhowthe
seasonwouldtreat thepandemic.Oneof
theearlyjokeshasMarcus,amongthe
show’s silliest jestercharacters,playedby
JonBarinholtz,comedownwitha severe
caseofcovid(hespendssometimeinan
ICUafterdecidingtogo onvacationat a
nearbylake forspringbreak);bythetime
he’s backat thestore,he’s anxioustotalk
aboutTiger King, but everyone has
movedon.(“Ithinkwe’reallembarrassed
wecaredinthefirstplace,” hiscolleague,
Sandra,tellshim.) “Thatwasa joke we
cottonedontovery early,” Ellicksonsaid.
“T onally,that getsuswhat wewant,which
is that theliveswe’relivingareinsanein
a way that is funny.”
Fromthere,they ampeduptheabsur-
dity throughout. Zephra, the show’s
fictionalcorporateoverlord,sendsthe
storeemployeesriotgearinsteadofmasks
or health guidelines. Glenn (MarkMcKinney),Cloud9’s manager,is exposed
tocovidbutcontinuestonitpickdaily
operationswhilequarantiningfroma car
parkedjust outside.A new corporatefocus
onracial justicebeginswiththestore
removinglocksfromshelveswithBlack
hair-careproductsandsomehowspirals
intoanAllLivesMatterpizzaparty.
Oneofthebiggeststickingpointsfrom
theearliest daysofplanningremained
trickyseveralepisodesin.“Therewasan
initialdiscussionthat waslike, ‘Themasks
area problem,’ ”Feldmansaid.“From
soundtoeverysingledepartment,it’s a
painintheasstoputa bunchofactorsin
masks.”ButGreenandMillerknewthat
ignoringthemwasimpossible.Somecast
membershada sessionwithprops,sound,
andphotography totest everykindof
mask,includingsee-throughfaceshields.
(They turnedouttobea lightingissue.)
Theteamincludeda “maskplan” with
every episode,detailingwhowearsmasksinwhichscenes,whenthey’regoingtobe
putonandtakenoff, andwho’s eatingor
drinkingtojustifyremovingthem.In
general,thisseasonhasa muchmore
explicitboundary betweentheprivate
andpublicareasofthestore.Employees
taketheirmasksoff intheopen-airware-
housewherethey nowhavestaffmeet-
ings,butinthepublic-facingretailspaces,
theirmasksstayon.
It’sstilltoughtoknowwhat theright
balanceis.Superstorehasnevershied
away frompoliticalthirdrails,andthe
peoplewhomake it aren’t interestedin
soft-pedalingthepoliticsofmasksoutof
fearthat they mightalienatetheiraudi-
ence.“Fuck’em,”Feldmansaidwhen
I askedabout viewers whomightbe
offendedbythemasks.“Ifthey haven’t
left yet, if they haven’tleft afterempathiz-
ingwithanundocumentedworkerand
thegun-rightsepisodeandabortionand
laborlaws—ifthey’restillwithus,they’re
goingtostickaroundformasks.” Atthe
sametime,Superstoredoesn’t seeitselfas
responsibleformodelinggoodmasketi-
quetteorforschoolingaudiencesonpan-
demicrealities.Itscreatorsarelesswor-
riedaboutpoliticsthanthey aretone.
Ellicksonrecalledwatchinga cutofthe
fourthepisodeandrealizingthat most of
thesceneswerefullymasked.Theircon-
stantpresencejust felt“sobrutal.” He
decidedtodialthemdowna bit,swap-
pinginfootage shotwithoutmasksand
adjustingfutureepisodestoallowfor
moreunmaskedscenes.
Thefirstfewepisodesthisseasonhad
anotherfundamental,show-alteringshift
todealwith:Justbeforetheendofthepre-
viousseason, thelead actor,America
Ferrera,announcedshewasleaving.The
writershadplannedtheseason-fivefinale
asher exitepisode,butthepandemic
introduceda newwrinklewhenproduc-
tionwasshutdownjust weeksbeforethey
couldfinish.Theyhadoriginallywritten
whatEllicksondescribedasa “hilariously
covid-unfriendly”good-byeforherchar-
acter, Amy:a huge ravecrammedintothe
store’s loadingdock.“It wasalmost like, ‘All
right, and now we’ll film the big
face-lickingepisode,’ ” Ellicksonsaid.“It
wassodiametricallyopposedtoanything
youcouldeverdonow. We hadtothrow
outmost ofit.” Thestoryalsorequired
some tricky emotional maneuvering.
Ferrera’scharacterwasina long-termrela-
tionshipwithFeldman’s,andtheshow
neededtoexplaintheirbreakupaswellas
herdeparture.
Ellickson,whowrotethepre-covid
versionofAmy’sfarewell,wasresponsible
forrebuildingit twoepisodesintoseasonThe CULTURE PAGES
“It was
almost like,
‘All right, and now
we’ll film the
big face-licking
episode.’ We had
tothrowout
most of it.”