Whether viewers have worked in retail or not, everyone can find something to relate to on Superstore. Some Cloud 9 employees love what they do — Dina and Glenn couldn't picture themselves anywhere else. But others, like Amy and Jonah, feel that there is more to life beyond this quirky store.
There is so much to love about this sitcom, from Amy and Jonah's romance to the funny dialogue between the characters. While this is definitely a funny show where the characters find themselves in silly situations, there are many storylines that highlight serious topics in a more compassionate way than most sitcoms.
Health Care
A sitcom set in a big box store isn't likely to talk about the important issue of health care, but that's why Superstore stands out from other funny shows.
In the third season, the employees at Cloud 9 were talking about how they didn't have proper health care, and when they got sick or had an injury, they had to deal with it themselves. Amy and Jonah set up a health fund, thinking that if everyone put in a certain amount of money, it would be easy to do. As soon as Amy and Jonah decided that employees would fall into Group A or Group B, that brought up the question of why people were being treated better than others. The idea totally fell apart and proved that health care is a much more complicated issue than they expected.
Immigration
Mateo is an undocumented immigrant, but he didn't know that he wasn't an American citizen, so he found out along with viewers. Once Glenn learned the truth, he protected his employee and did his best to make sure that Mateo could continue working at Cloud 9.
Superstore dealt with this topic in a compassionate and moving way, and viewers always rooted for Mateo, wanting the best for this fan-favorite character.
Maternity Leave
In the season 1 episode "Labor," the Cloud 9 employees realized that they didn't have any maternity leave as Cheyenne went into labor in the store. This turned into a disaster, as Glenn attempted to get around the rule by allowing Cheyenne to go home for six weeks and still get paid, but he has to pretend that she has been suspended. Glenn ends up losing his job as a result. Everyone supports Cheyenne and leaves the store, but Dina doesn't. The show could have had Cheyenne deliver her baby off-camera and avoid the whole topic, but they chose to shine a light on this important issue. The show also talked about it in season 4 when Amy had her baby and was told to come back to the store two days later.
Cheyenne is known for her ditzy personality but she's also a kind person, and after she has her baby and marries Bo, she wonders if she could advance at Cloud 9.
Gun Control
Jonah has hilarious lines in most episodes, and fans know that he can also go on and on about his ideas and opinions. This often frustrates his co-workers, but he also has strong moral beliefs, and he explained his stance on firearms in the second season.
In the episode "Guns, Pills and Birds," Jonah worked in the area of the store that sold guns. While he could say that he didn't want to sell a gun to someone who seemed to cause suspicion — which could be seen as profiling — he took that to mean that he could refuse everyone. Jonah is all for gun control and he was really uncomfortable with this position.
Catastrophic Weather
Jonah is very political and peaceful, and he was just as shocked as the other Cloud 9 employees when a tornado hit St. Louis and destroyed the store at the end of the second season.
While Superstore tackled this storyline with its trademark sense of humor, the subject of a weather event is a serious one. Jonah lost his apartment and moved in with Garrett, and Dina began feeling overwhelmed and Amy wondered if she had PTSD. The employees were also uncertain if another worker, Brett, had died in the tornado. These episodes were really sad to watch as the characters had to deal with a shocking event and uncertain future.
Racism
In the sixth season of Superstore, the show tackled racism with a storyline about Black hair care products.
Before, Cloud 9 had kept these products locked up, and in this episode, they decided to stop that. Dina acted like changing this policy meant that everything was fine now, and she proved that she truly had no idea about the subject she was talking about. Garrett spoke up about the racism that he had experienced and observed at the company. This is one of the most significant and powerful episodes of the show.
Worker's Rights
Superstore also deals with worker's rights, and the unique setting of the show allows them to make some really good points. Fans love watching Jonah and Amy together, and besides falling in love, these two characters have also done their best to stand up for themselves and their co-workers.
In the season 2 episode "Election Day," Jonah and Amy wanted people to vote for a political candidate who cared about unions and other related issues. Season 5 also features the employees trying to form a union. While Jonah and Sandra were able to get some higher-ups to agree to their conditions, everyone found out later that a huge company was acquiring Cloud 9, so it didn't matter anyway. Superstore often shows the unfair reality of working at a store owned by a massive company where the people at the top get all the money and perks.
Surrogacy
Glenn and his wife Jerusha had many foster children, but when they tried to have a child, they learned that it wasn't possible. Dina agreed to be a surrogate for them, and she approached this situation with her typical tough attitude.
Carrying someone's baby brings up many emotions and thoughts, and while Dina acted like this was truly no big deal, it was clear by the end of the journey that it was an emotional experience for her. It was sweet that she was able to do this for Glenn, who meant a lot to her.
Minimum Wage
In season 5, Cheyenne and Jonah go to a "Raise the Wage" rally, which allows the show to talk about fair pay and the minimum wage.
The show is also honest about how some characters, such as Amy and Glenn, were given high salaries and many perks, whereas those working shifts weren't paid very much at all. Amy felt guilty about making so much money. It also turned out that Marcus was being paid way too much money per hour as there had been a mistake.
Running A Business During The COVID-19 Pandemic
Fans had high hopes for the Superstore series finale and the final season reflected real life as Cloud 9 tackled the COVID-19 pandemic.
The employees wore masks, sat far apart from each other during meetings, and in one very relatable scene, Sandra sanitized a group of shopping carts and then a customer touched all of them immediately. Glenn also went into quarantine for a little while. The entire season was relatable as the pandemic has touched everyone's lives.