Blockbuster, Netlfix's latest original sitcom, premiered to largely negative reviews, showing it didn't take the right lessons from tonally similar sitcom NBC sitcom Superstore. Despite its star-studded cast led by Randall Park and promising premise, the show, which follows the employees of the last Blockbuster franchise on Earth, fails to fully capitalize on its potential. While workplace sitcoms are common, the subcategory of sitcoms set in retail environments is populated by a unique few, including Blockbuster and Superstore. Because these types of half-hour comedies are less common, there are fewer norms and expectations, but Superstore serves as a strong prototype of this nascent genre.
Both shows feature retail workers in vanishing industries; Blockbuster struggles against the dominance of streamers like Netflix, while the six-season-long Superstore, which is set in the fictional Walmart-esque Cloud 9, grappled with the death of brick-and-mortar stores in a burgeoning era of online shopping. Both tackle issues faced by actual retail workers in America; job insecurity, wealth inequality, and shifting industry norms. Only Superstore, however, made these issues feel important to the essence of the show. Despite their similarities, Superstore was better able to depict the retail environment in a humorous, evergreen way. Where Blockbuster failed to connect with its audience, Superstore succeeded.
How Blockbuster Fails To Use Its Greatest Potential
Blockbuster has two incredibly comedic elements that it fails to develop. First is the central David-versus-Goliath conflict of a video rental store, in 2022, competing with the ease and accessibility of streaming giants like Netflix. This showdown is further steeped in irony due to Blockbuster being a Netflix show. This paradox gives the amusing and somewhat uncomfortable impression that the viewer is complicit in the show's conflict. However, Blockbuster never acknowledges this irony. Superstore, conversely, centered itself around its struggle of being a brick-and-mortar store versus online shopping. In a particularly memorable scene, Cloud 9 customers espoused what was essentially a commercial for Amazon Prime while shopping in the store. Blockbuster only succeeds in making the irony more conspicuous. A potential Blockbuster season 2 story will need to lean into it.
Blockbuster's second great strength is its setting; a video rental store in 2022 is anachronistic. One of Superstore's trademarks was its short vignettes of the strange, hilarious customers who spent their time in a Cloud 9. Blockbuster barely featured any of its beloved customers and, when it did, it tried too hard to insert these characters into the show's plot, making the interactions awkward and clunky.
Why Blockbuster Needs To Tweak Its Characters
In their current forms, Blockbuster's ensemble cast members are too pigeonholed by single facets of their lives: Blockbuster's Timmy, played by Randall Park, has never coped with his parents' divorce; Eliza's husband cheated on her; Carlos wants to make movies. Characters should have their primary aspirations and plot points, but Blockbuster drives these details home to the point they constrain the characters. Superstore's characters had their quirks and passions, but they were also allowed to stray from their primary motivations. Blockbuster can learn from Superstore that, even within the confines of a retail environment, characters should be developed.
Blockbuster, which is loosely based on the real-life last Blockbuster, follows in Superstore's footsteps as the next star-studded retail sitcom. However, what Superstore accomplished from its first episode, Blockbuster hasn't yet managed in its one season. There are two pieces of good news for Blockbuster. First, many sitcoms restructure after the first season and go on to have long, successful runs. Second, Blockbuster has the potential to be funny, from an experienced cast to a strong premise. The show just needs to capitalize on its humorous elements while discarding the constraints it's built for itself. If the show wants to enjoy a successful run, it should take cues from the successful and acclaimed sitcom that preceded it, Superstore.