A truly clever sitcom with amazing character development can sometimes feel tough to find. There are some recent sitcoms that stand out for having great characters, like Life In Pieces and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. But it can sometimes feel like a typical sitcom is about lessons and characters who have been seen a million times before.
Superstore premiered in 2015 and ended after six seasons in 2021, and anyone who hasn't seen it should definitely run to their living room and check out every single episode. The story of employees working at a Cloud 9 superstore is not only funny, but the main characters are given a lot of depth, real life scenarios, and development.
Superstore succeeds in creating a strong connection between its main characters and by the series finale "All Sales Final," fans can see that the Cloud 9 characters have become a family. While the first few seasons do focus on Amy, the fact that the show still feels as hilarious and smart as ever once she moves to California at the end of season 5 says something about how well-crafted every character is. Unlike sitcoms with bad or boring first seasons, season 1 of Superstore is just as funny as the rest of the show, and each episode focuses on how well the characters work together while showing fans their distinct storylines and problems.
While each episode follows the typical sitcom episode format, and it's not an interesting dark TV comedy, Superstore has something intelligent to say about how tough, boring, and unsatisfying working in retail can be. The characters try to find fun and joy in their daily routines, joking around and having a good time with each other in the break room during meetings or while working their shifts. The sitcom is right to focus on Amy a lot at the beginning as she's trying to get a promotion and make more money so she can support her daughter Emma (Isabella Day) while wondering if her future is really in retail. Amy's problems and thoughts and dilemmas, along with her love story with Jonah (Ben Feldman), hold the show together while many episodes also focus on the other characters.
Superstore does a great job with two diverse characters who have the best storylines on the show. When fans learn that Mateo (Nico Santos) is undocumented and that if the highers up learn that he has been working at Cloud 9, he will lose his job and his life as he knows it is over. Mateo wants to stay in the United States and he has been building a life for himself, and fans love his kind, funny personality and want things to work out for him. This is a heartbreaking but important storyline that isn't often seen on sitcoms that are focusing on getting as many laughs and lessons into a half hour episode. Mateo's relationship with Jeff (Michael Bunin), who works higher up at Cloud 9, is particularly sweet, well-handled, and sad, as they realize that they can't go public unless Mateo's secret is discovered.
Cheyenne (Nichole Sakura) also has a strong place on Superstore. Watching Cheyenne as a young pregnant woman who becomes a mom and who starts getting promoted at the store is really sweet. Cheyenne and Mateo have a close friendship, which results in some hilarious conversations as they like to gossip, and Cheyenne becomes more confident and realizes that she can do well in a management position, even if she was nervous about taking on more reponsibilities.
Superstore also gives Garrett (Colton Dunn) and Glen (Mark McKinney) a lot of character development. At first, Garrett is a sarcastic, sometimes bitter and unhappy Cloud 9 employee who would rather do anything but go to work, and he doesn't seem motivated to try very much. But when he falls for Dina (Lauren Ash), Garrett starts to wonder if he could commit to someone, and they seem to be headed in that direction in the series finale. Glen is also an interesting character because he's very religious and old-fashioned, often confused about the right way to say things that could hurt or offend other people. By the end of Superstore, Glen has learned to be more polite, compassionate, and helpful, and fans have a soft spot for him.
Superstore can be considered an underrated sitcom and there are so many funny episodes, whether the characters are dealing with the frustrating and confusing policies that Cloud 9 head office sets out or Cheyenne's partner Bo (Johnny Pemberton III) is visiting the store. While there are so many sitcoms to choose from, Superstore pays a lot of attention and respect to its main characters, and it's a special show for that reason.