In 2021, the workplace sitcoms Kim's Convenience, Superstore and Brooklyn Nine-Nine all came to an end — and now Blockbuster is here to fill the void. It's not better than any of those predecessors, but it's not worse either, making this a light and frivolous sitcom that goes down very easy.
Blockbuster is set in the present day and is loosely based on the real-life video store in Bend, OR, which, since 2019, has been the only store still keeping the once-dominant chain's brand alive. Randall Park stars as Timmy, the owner and operator of this failing business venture. Melissa Fumero (a.k.a. Amy Santiago from Brooklyn Nine-Nine) plays Eliza, Timmy's high-school crush and current employee who is trying to hold her rocky marriage together after she catches her husband cheating.
As you'd expect with this kind of show, Timmy and Eliza provide the requisite will-they-won't-they romance, while the rest of the Blockbuster staff are a collection of endearing oddballs: Carlos (Tyler Alvarez) is a film nerd and aspiring director, Hannah (Madeleine Arthur) is hopelessly naïve, Connie (Olga Merediz) is the quirky older woman looking to occupy her free time, and Kayla (Kamaia Fairburn) is the disgruntled teen working at the insistence of her dad Percy (J.B. Smoove), who is Timmy's best friend.
Blockbuster was created by Vanessa Ramos, whose past writing credits include — you guessed it — Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Superstore. The show is as hokey as one might expect from those credits: a set that very much feels like a soundstage rather than a real street, contrived conflicts (like an episode when Timmy's parents keep calling him away from work with frivolous requests), and supporting characters who mostly exist as the embodiment of a single personality trait.
It's predictable, but it works. Every episode has at least a couple jokes that made me genuinely laugh out loud, and the friend-zoned romantic chemistry between Timmy and Eliza is the heart of the show. Both Park and Fumero bring earnest poignancy to their roles as people exiting their 30s and finding that their personal and professional lives haven't panned out quite as they planned. That Blockbuster features slightly older main characters than your average sitcom is an effective choice — these older millennials will connect with audiences who grew up on sitcoms like Friends, which also happens to be the same age as people who grew up going to Blockbuster.
There's also an undercurrent of perverse comedy in the fact that Neflix is making a show about the downfall of Blockbuster; essentially, the streaming service is dancing on the grave of the business that it destroyed, and profiting off the legacy it left behind. Blockbuster makes numerous references to the fact that no one wants to rent movies when they have Netflix at home — a running gag that pays off nicely in the finale of this compact 10-episode season.
A show about a dying video store chain is inherently wrapped up in nostalgia — so it's only fitting that Blockbuster doesn't reinvent the format and takes cues from the past.
(Netflix)Blockbuster is set in the present day and is loosely based on the real-life video store in Bend, OR, which, since 2019, has been the only store still keeping the once-dominant chain's brand alive. Randall Park stars as Timmy, the owner and operator of this failing business venture. Melissa Fumero (a.k.a. Amy Santiago from Brooklyn Nine-Nine) plays Eliza, Timmy's high-school crush and current employee who is trying to hold her rocky marriage together after she catches her husband cheating.
As you'd expect with this kind of show, Timmy and Eliza provide the requisite will-they-won't-they romance, while the rest of the Blockbuster staff are a collection of endearing oddballs: Carlos (Tyler Alvarez) is a film nerd and aspiring director, Hannah (Madeleine Arthur) is hopelessly naïve, Connie (Olga Merediz) is the quirky older woman looking to occupy her free time, and Kayla (Kamaia Fairburn) is the disgruntled teen working at the insistence of her dad Percy (J.B. Smoove), who is Timmy's best friend.
Blockbuster was created by Vanessa Ramos, whose past writing credits include — you guessed it — Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Superstore. The show is as hokey as one might expect from those credits: a set that very much feels like a soundstage rather than a real street, contrived conflicts (like an episode when Timmy's parents keep calling him away from work with frivolous requests), and supporting characters who mostly exist as the embodiment of a single personality trait.
It's predictable, but it works. Every episode has at least a couple jokes that made me genuinely laugh out loud, and the friend-zoned romantic chemistry between Timmy and Eliza is the heart of the show. Both Park and Fumero bring earnest poignancy to their roles as people exiting their 30s and finding that their personal and professional lives haven't panned out quite as they planned. That Blockbuster features slightly older main characters than your average sitcom is an effective choice — these older millennials will connect with audiences who grew up on sitcoms like Friends, which also happens to be the same age as people who grew up going to Blockbuster.
There's also an undercurrent of perverse comedy in the fact that Neflix is making a show about the downfall of Blockbuster; essentially, the streaming service is dancing on the grave of the business that it destroyed, and profiting off the legacy it left behind. Blockbuster makes numerous references to the fact that no one wants to rent movies when they have Netflix at home — a running gag that pays off nicely in the finale of this compact 10-episode season.
A show about a dying video store chain is inherently wrapped up in nostalgia — so it's only fitting that Blockbuster doesn't reinvent the format and takes cues from the past.
