While 2020 has been a pretty rough time for most of the world, audiences have found something of a bright spot in Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. The NBC series follows Zoey (Jane Levy) who, after an MRI accident, begins to hear the inner thoughts of those around her in the form of epic musical numbers.
On paper, it sounds like a concept that might be a bit too wacky to work. Once you get past that idea, it's clear that this is a special show. The musical numbers are extravagant, the characters are well-written, and it's funny. Though it may be a fun show, it still has plenty of huge emotional gut punches.
Zoey's Extraordinary Neighbor (Episode 4) - 8.2
There are actually three episodes tied with an 8.2 rating on IMDb. "Zoey's Extraordinary Neighbor" gets the nod for the list due to the total number of votes. It puts the attention on Zoey's attempts to help her new friend and neighbor, Mo (Alex Newell).
Mo hides who she really is around her church and family. When Zoey discovers this and hears Mo sing, she knows she has to assist her in being comfortable with her true self. It also sends Zoey on a journey of her own faith. Elsewhere, David (Andrew Leeds) throws a gender reveal party so his dad could enjoy it in case he doesn't have a lot of time left.
Zoey's Extraordinary Confession (Episode 7) - 8.3
The relationship between Zoey and Max (Skylar Astin) is one of the driving forces of the series. In this episode, she revealed her powers to him and he believed it was just her crazy way of avoiding talking about their feelings. She spends her time trying to prove it to him.
Ultimately, he accepts it but it still doesn't fix their relationship because of her fear of commitment. This episode also introduced fans to Howie (Zak Orth), the in-home nurse hired for Mitch (Peter Gallagher). He quickly became a fan favorite.
Zoey's Extraordinary Failure (Episode 5) - 8.3
Zoey finds her brother David hanging out with friends after he lied to his wife. He admits that he's scared of fatherhood, which Zoey accidentally reveals to his wife Emily (Alice Lee). This causes a major rift in the usually solid relationship between the siblings.
There was a lot more going on. Leif (Michael Thomas Grant) deals with sadness after a bad peer review, Maggie (Mary Steenburgen) contemplates shutting down her business, and Simon (John Clarence Stewart) pays Zoey a late-night visit that gets hot and heavy.
Zoey's Extraordinary Mother (Episode 11) - 8.4
The penultimate installment of the season shifted the focus to Maggie. Most of the season saw her struggling to deal with what life will be like when Mitch eventually passes away. Here, she started making preparations like picking out a coffin and a burial site.
After hearing her mom sing, Zoey knows she needs help. She enlists the help of widower Deb (guest star Bernadette Peters) to meet with her mother. This episode also sees Max and Leif become unexpected friends, while Mo breaks up with her boyfriend when he gets a job that would take him away for months.
Pilot (Episode 1) - 8.4
The only episode of the season to not be prefaced with "Zoey's Extraordinary." The premiere actually aired and was streamed in early January before the show officially got going the following month. This did exactly what a pilot should, setting the stage for the premise, and introducing the characters.
It established Zoey's world, including her sick father who she uses her gift to communicate with for the first time in months. Zoey also gets a promotion before her gift leads her to uncover the way that her best friend Max feels about her.
Zoey's Extraordinary Best Friend (Episode 2) - 8.5
The follow-up episode had to deal with the fallout from Max's romantic confession through song. Not wanting to deal with this and possibly lose his friendship, Zoey sets him up with Autumn (Stephanie Styles), a barista they both know.
Zoey hears songs from her father and, after talking it over with Mo, realizes that the power can be used to help people. That ends up being her plan for the rest of the season. Also in this episode, there's a tremendous group musical number set to "I've Got The Music In Me."
Zoey's Extraordinary Night Out (Episode 6) - 8.7
Max believes that Autumn took their breakup well but, through Zoey, he sees how wrong he is. He turns to Mo, who offers a makeover that impresses Zoey. It also happens to be the night of Simon's engagement party, which Zoey desperately wants to avoid.
Instead, Zoey goes out for a night of drinking with her boss Joan (Lauren Graham). Joan eventually ends up bringing them to the party anyway. It goes poorly as Simon's fiancée accuses Zoey of sleeping with him in front of everyone. Then, Zoey gets a call that her dad is injured and Max steps up in a huge way to be there for her.
Zoey's Extraordinary Silence (Episode 9) - 8.8
It's interesting to see this episode ranked so high. It's great but it doesn't primarily deal with one of the show's central characters. Instead, Zoey ends up helping Howie reconnect with his daughter, who he is overprotective towards due to the fact that she's deaf.
The other main storyline deals with Emily wanting to get intimate with David again and Zoey uncomfortably helping them. The big development comes right at the end when Simon breaks up with his fiancée for good through song.
Zoey's Extraordinary Glitch (Episode 8) - 9.3
With stress at an all-time high, Zoey receives news that her father only has a few weeks left to live. This causes something of a break in Zoey's mind and she begins to be the one singing, not those around her. While making a big presentation at work, she bursts into song and only gets saved because Max jumps in to help her.
Zoey also sings songs to both Simon and Max, revealing her feelings to each of them. It only further complicates things. The real kicker comes later when Zoey finally faces her dad and tearfully sings "How Do I Live" to him as the episode wraps. Jane Levy gives an incredible performance that left viewers in just as many tears as she had.
Zoey's Extraordinary Dad (Episode 12) - 9.6
It looks like Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist saved their best for last. Zoey wakes up and sings about a bad feeling that she has. She spends the whole episode dreading something but things keep turning out well. Mo gets back with Eddie and Zoey finally hooks up with Max.
It all crashes down when she gets a phone call that her dad has no more time left. That leads to heartfelt, emotional goodbye songs from Maggie, David, and Emily. When it comes time for Zoey's goodbye, no music plays, as she just silently dances with her father until he's gone. The season ends with a seven-minute single-take musical number after the funeral that broke hearts everywhere.