Superstore Star, EP Look Ahead to an America Ferrera-less Season 6: Will a New Cloud 9 Hire Replace Amy?
Will Superstore rush to fill the void left by America Ferrera? That’s the million-dollar question heading into the NBC comedy’s sixth season, which is set to kick off with the (delayed) departure of its leading lady… sometime this fall.
“The possibility of bringing in a new character has come up, but we have no specific plans to do that yet,” co-showrunner Jonathan Green told TVLine this spring. “It would really be more as a way to shake up dynamics with our characters, like you might do in Season 6 of a show, rather than specifically replacing Amy.”
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In addition to potentially filling Amy’s position as store manager, the Powers That Be will have to ask themselves what role a hypothetical new hire would play within the group. For instance, would this character become romantically involved with Jonah, who — let’s face it — is unlikely to follow Amy to California?
When asked about the prospect of a new love interest, star and producer Ben Feldman said, “I don’t see our show being like one of those old-fashioned sitcoms that immediately has to hustle some other love interest through the door, right off the top. I think, if anything, it’s going to be organic… I don’t think you’re going to see some new girlfriend that is stunt-cast, and suddenly some quasi-famous actress is coming in and filling the void that America left.”
Feldman also suggested that the show has never been just about Jonah and Amy, and can withstand the potential demise of that relationship.
“When I first read the [pilot] script and talked to [series creator] Justin Spitzer, I said I had just come from [A to Z], a show that was about a couple, and it got cancelled halfway through its first season,” he recalled. “That show lived or died based on their relationship and if it worked out, and I said, ‘I want to be in an ensemble…’ [Superstore] does not depend on any one of us,” or any one relationship, “to carry it.”
At the very least, it sounds like the series will take a beat before any decisions are made. “We don’t feel like we’ve [fully] explored the other characters yet,” Green said, signaling his desire to hone in on existing supporting characters. For now, “it’s exciting to us that we get to see our large ensemble reacting to [Amy’s exit].”
What do you think Superstore fans? Should the NBC comedy bring in someone new to fill the void left by Ferrera, or focus in on its wide net of supporting players?
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