Photo: NBC Universal
8. Superstore
Superstore is perhaps one of the most underrated and underwatched comedies of the network season. It’s a work-place comedy set in a midwestern box store, Cloud 9, that looks suspiciously like Walmart, and it will make you think twice before stepping foot in another megastore.
It stars America Ferrera as Amy, the “bound for better” assistant manager who works and goes to school when she’s not under that blue smock all of us will recognize. Amy heads up a mishmash crew of varied experience, including an innocent teen mom, a pretentious college boy who feels like he’s slumming it, and a super-religious manager who’s a life-long Cloud 9 employee.
It’s from the producers of The Office, so you know they have the quirky co-worker dynamics down pat, but Superstore feels like something new, far from the recycled, stale offerings on other networks. (No offense to Modern Family, though.) It’s smart without being pretentious, and accessible enough to watch with everyone. Seriously. My seven year old really likes it too, although I’ve had a few awkward conversations explaining concepts he might not have been ready to handle. I hate to be cliched about a show that is so very not cliched, but it’s got soul and bite… like a heart with teeth.