Blockbuster Netflix

Blockbuster, starring Randall Park and Melissa Fumero, can't escape the irony of its premise. Read our review of the Netflix comedy here.

Which means that Blockbuster, the show, somehow simultaneously finds itself getting bogged down in unnecessary details surrounding the store’s business model while also totally failing to establish how a store of its size in the year 2022 can continue to employ a half-dozen people — who are even getting health benefits? Creator Vanessa Ramos got her start as a writer on Superstore, and the thematic line between the NBC comedy and Blockbuster is pretty clear, specifically in its focus on how big business affects the little people. But despite acknowledging that aforementioned irony, Blockbuster still proves to be a true miss creatively, never escaping the burden of its flawed premise.

Set in the last operating Blockbuster video rental store, the Netflix comedy stars Randall Park and Melissa Fumero.

It’s certainly agreeable enough for a Blockbuster night, as we ancient millennials used to call evenings spent watching stuff on the couch, but come morning it may well disappear into Netflix’s endless rows of content. Nothing thrills people more than knowing their memory still works,” a character wryly observes at one point — while she’s not wrong about the pull of the past, old formulas do have their limits. It’s that, outside of Carlos, the series does not so far seem to have any particular reason for being set in the last Blockbuster on Earth. More of its jokes land than not, and the ones that don’t slip by quietly on a wave of benign cheeriness. The issue is not that Blockbuster should have featured only film nerds; plenty of people take jobs simply because they’re available rather than because they satisfy some lifelong passion. In fairness, it may yet hone these strengths or find new ones if it scores a season-two renewal; plenty of comedies take a season or more to come into their own. The other characters, by contrast, might have been equally fulfilled or unfulfilled working at Percy’s party-supply store a few doors down. At this point, however, even most of its characters feel like a relatively mild bunch, slotting into tried-and-true archetypes like the ditzy sweetheart (Madeleine Arthur’s Hannah) or the surly teen (Kamaia Fairburn’s Kayla) with few new twists. If you already like Park, Fumero or JB Smoove (who plays Timmy’s fast-talking BFF/landlord Percy), they’re playing very much to type here; if you’re most familiar with Olga Merediz from In the Heights, Blockbuster offers her a chance to show off a much different side as kooky mama hen Connie. Hailing from Superstore and Brooklyn Nine-Nine vet Vanessa Ramos, with Happy Endings‘ David Caspe and Jackie Clarke among its producers, Blockbuster has down pat the well-worn rhythms of a modern workplace sitcom. It takes a human touch to deduce that what he really needs for his broken heart is Under the Tuscan Sun, when he’d never have picked it out for himself. It’s just missing the special something extra it needs to distinguish itself in the Streaming Wars era.

We're all trying to find the guy who did this! blockbuster melissa fumero randall park social featured Image via Netflix. The ...

He also finds himself growing closer to his colleague, Eliza, played by [Melissa Fumero](https://collider.com/tag/melissa-fumero/) of [Brooklyn Nine-Nine](https://collider.com/tag/brooklyn-nine-nine/), whose storyline actually feels like it is trapped in a version of the show [Kevin Can F**k Himself](https://collider.com/kevin-can-fk-himself-season-2-review-annie-murphy/) was skewering. There is a clear intention for another season with many plot threads left dangling, although none are resolved in a sufficiently comedic fashion to leave any lingering sense of interest for more — if you even got that far. Much of this comes down to how all the various side characters that get thrown into the mix aren’t all that developed — and, subsequently, aren’t enjoyable to see run wild. The biggest problem then seems to not be a lack of talent, but a poorly conceived premise that the series remains uncertain about what to really do with. The fact that there is now a sitcom about the store being released through [Netflix](https://collider.com/tag/netflix/), one of the forces that brought down Blockbuster itself, plays as some sort of cosmic bit that proves to be the funniest thing the show has to offer. Smoove](https://collider.com/tag/jb-smoove/), has a daughter he is seeking to reconnect with while she works at the video rental store. Characters struggle to figure out what they want to do with themselves or take part in a will-they-won't-they romance that gets dragged all the way through to little payoff. [canceled-far-too-soon](https://collider.com/rutherford-falls-cancellation-marks-loss-great-comedy-series/) [Rutherford Falls](https://collider.com/rutherford-falls-season-2-review-ed-helms-michael-greyeyes-jana-schmieding-peacock/) gave it new life. There [is a real last Blockbuster](https://bendblockbuster.com/) that is operating in Bend, Oregon after the company itself filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and [subsequently announced it would close the vast majority of its stores in 2013](https://collider.com/blockbuster-video-closes-remaining-stores-ends-mail-service/). [Blockbuster](https://collider.com/tag/blockbuster/), a middling sitcom reliant on a strong cast stuck in a comedy as dead-end as the fictional jobs they’re working, is the truth surrounding it. [Randall Park](https://collider.com/tag/randall-park/), as anyone who has seen the stellar romantic comedy [Always Be My Maybe](https://collider.com/always-be-my-maybe-review-netflix/) knows, can hit all the right comedic notes and does so here. There are some scattered references to various movies and the occasional shot taken at the streamers that now dominate the media landscape — which is again very strange to watch on such a streamer, though this is all rather limited.

Blockbuster relives familiar workplace comedy tropes without leaning into its unique setting, squandering the show's true potential.

However, Blockbuster doesn't come off as a clever meta sitcom with something to say about the new era of cinema and Blockbuster's place in it, and any jabs directed at Netflix itself are mild at best. There's a perfunctory will-they-or-won't-they dynamic between Timmy and employee Eliza Walker (Melissa Fumero), but it's a pale reflection of the similar connection between Fumero and Andy Samberg on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Mayor, and Blockbuster has all the predictable narrative beats of those shows without the clever jokes or memorable characters. [actual last Blockbuster](https://www.cbr.com/last-blockbuster-america-beer/) is located in Bend, Oregon, Blockbuster takes place in suburban Michigan, in a nondescript strip mall that could be located anywhere. That documentary is also streaming on Netflix, and it has more distinctive characters and more genuine affection for movies than the entire season of Blockbuster seems to. Although it's theoretically inspired by the last existing Blockbuster video-rental store, Blockbuster has almost nothing to do with the real-life store depicted in the 2020 documentary The Last Blockbuster.

The show, centred on America's last remaining Blockbuster store, has heaps of potential, but the leading man and the jokes are weak.

It’s bold of Netflix to commission a comedy that depicts itself – along with Amazon, Apple and the rest – as the bad guys. The over-written dialogue is laden with so many nerdy pop-culture in-jokes that it clanks and groans under their weight. The romantic subplot goes around in tedious circles as Timmy and Eliza constantly miscommunicate. It’s created by Vanessa Ramos, a writer for Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the underrated Superstore. Timmy realises that the only way to stay afloat in the streaming age is to remind the local community that small businesses provide something the digital corporations can’t: personal service and human connection. As this 10-parter begins, manager Timmy Yoon (Randall Park) learns that the struggling chain is closing its other remaining branches, leaving his Michigan outlet as the sole survivor.

Following the hilarious but shocking events of the first season finale, will Netflix bring the new comedy series back for another season? Here's what we know so ...

Based on the season 1 finale, there’s so much more story left to tell in the Blockbuster world. Some comedy series in the past have been granted two-season orders, but Blockbuster season 2 isn’t a lock quite yet. Here’s what we know so far about the possibility of Blockbuster season 2 coming to our watch lists.

The Netflix TV series starring Randall Park isn't funny, and doesn't have much to say. Review.

The closest “Blockbuster” gets to saying anything negative about its angel of death is that “the internet sucks” (not Netflix, just the entire internet). After the “tu-dum” references dissipate, there’s a shaky attempt to make the Michigan-set office sitcom an ode to American small business, but that doesn’t stick either. Smoove — can’t summon enough magic to make “Blockbuster” worth sitting through. It’s not that Netflix lost a ton of their licensed TV shows, or that prices have become untenable, or that the irrefutable algorithm only surfaces the same 100-or-so options. [isn’t entirely true](https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/review-blockbusters-demise-had-many-culprits-2021-04-16/).) Acknowledging the awkwardness right out of the gate could have been a good thing. Before the manager can rattle off all the reasons why people get too busy to partake in at-home motion pictures, the shopper cuts him off: “I’ve been watching Netflix.”

Netflix Blockbuster cast: who stars in series with Randall Park, Melissa Fumero, and Madeleine Arthur? Netflix sitcom Blockbuster follows the trials and ...

Percy is Timmy’s best friend and landlord, and also owns a party store which is located in the same strip mall as the Blockbuster. She also played Nikki Genêt in the dystopian series Snowpiercer. Hannah was home-schooled and has a naive view of the world - she also works at the store and is blindly optimistic that everything will be fine. He also played President Kim in the comedy film The Interview, Doctor Stephen Shin in DC movie Aquaman, and voices Pete Doheny in animated series Human Resources. Fumero is best known for playing Amy Santiago in US sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and has voiced Melissa Tarleton in animated Hulu series M.O.D.O.K. As the team try to stay relevant in the world of [streaming](https://www.nationalworld.com/culture/television/amazon-freevee-what-is-new-streaming-service-why-was-imdb-tv-renamed-is-it-free-launch-date-how-to-watch-3671364), the team of misfits rely on their USP, real human interaction.

After her time as a writer on prime time sitcoms like “Superstore” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” Vanessa Ramos strikes out on her own with the new Netflix comedy “ ...

It was just a matter of trying to do that in a satisfying way for the audience, to where it’s like you feel that they are nearly there. And then I ended up with reps who very much understood me and would bring things that were interesting, your “Superstores” or your “Brooklyns” where it’s like you have these great Latinas in the cast, but it’s not their entire identity. Also, in a workplace comedy you get to have fun with the different weird customers that come in and the various forces the employees have to band together against to get through the day. I was very aware that in a perfect world, viewers are diving right into the next episode. So that was a little bit of a challenge — how do you effectively do that in 10? A hallmark of workplace comedies is the workplace romance — and the will-they/won’t-they tension is very much in stock at “Blockbuster.” If Timmy’s first love is movies (and quoting them), his former high school crush Eliza (Melissa Fumero) is a close, deeply suppressed second. And you’re gonna have a great weekend.” And it was a little bit of wish fulfillment for me, from being isolated and running out of things to watch, and there is a dog biting my hair anytime I have like a Zoom call. What I love about workplace comedies is that it feels like you still get the family dynamic, but you have characters of different backgrounds with completely different life experiences that can use the emotional tools in their toolkit to help each other through life. As far as “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” I came in midway through Season 6, so it was very much a well-oiled machine by then. “I kind of just sat down and started thinking, ‘What kind of person would be holding onto the last Blockbuster in this day and age?’ And how it would have to have a deeper meaning — someone who can’t quite let go of the past but in a sort of dreamer way,” Ramos says. At least I got to do it in a way where I have this diverse cast. (Blockbuster went bankrupt in 2010.) The 10-episode sitcom, which also stars Melissa Fumero (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), chronicles what it takes for a small business to succeed as the culture shifts.

The first reviews for Netflix sitcom Blockbuster have just come in. The series stars Randall Park and Melissa Fumero as employees of the last operating ...

[The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/nov/03/blockbuster-review-netflix-sitcom-last-store-rental-film-market) and [The Telegraph](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2022/11/03/blockbuster-review-netflix-owes-video-shop-apology-meta-sitcom/), with the former criticising the show’s lack of energy and the latter saying: “It just isn’t funny.” [Collider](https://collider.com/blockbuster-netflix-review/) criticised the “poorly conceived premise” and wrote: “By the time it all winds down, Blockbuster is ultimately a series you’d likely return to the video store before you actually got around to finishing it.” [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/blockbuster-netflix-randall-park-melissa-fumero-1235252839/)‘s Angie Han said the show was relatively forgettable, saying: “If Blockbuster isn’t doing anything especially wrong, its shortcoming is that it’s also not doing anything impressively right.” The series stars Randall Park and Melissa Fumero as employees of the last operating Blockbuster Video store and is out on Netflix today (November 3).

Netflix got one of its biggest ha-has (read in Nelson Muntz voice) when it started hosting last year a little-seen documentary called “The Last Blockbuster ...

But there was a moment in which I was watching it that I forgot it was on and just went to do some dishes, only to remember that it was still playing. And then every now and then it’ll batch references in a manner that can best be called impressive, like when a single sentence mentions both “Escape Room 2” and “ But here, the employees are a pseudo dysfunctional family who talk about movies a lot (more on that later), and don’t have to worry too much about their store's relevancy.

The last outpost of the world's most famous video rental store gets its own comedy series on Netflix. The ensemble of Netflix's Blockbuster Image via Netflix.

She also featured as a younger version of the late R&B singer Aaliyah in the biopic Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B, as well as on the series Supergirl. Her work includes appearances in the television series The Family, Snowpiercer, and a main role in the series Devil in Ohio. Smoove recently won a 2021 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for his starring role in the comedy mystery series Mapleworth Murders on Quibi. Percy Scott is the owner of the strip mall where the Blockbuster is located. Santiago’s experience in comedic ensembles makes her an excellent fit for her new role as Eliza, and it will be fun to see the comedic chemistry between her and Park, as she seems to be the realist to his optimist. Carlos Herrera is a young adult in his 20s who works at Blockbuster alongside the rest of the crew. He has also appeared in the HBO series Veep as Danny Chung, and in the Netflix animated series Human Resources as the voice of Pete. Her most notable film credits include a role in Tim Burton’s Big Eyes, as well as in the teen romance movie series She was one of the original cast members of the Broadway musical In the Heights as well as its film adaptation. The comedy series Blockbuster is going to be about employees at the last Blockbuster Video in the United States. When faced with the news that they are the last Blockbuster franchise in existence, as well as possible eviction from their location, he must now rally his team of employees to help keep the business afloat. This comes on the heels of Netflix’s documentary The Last Blockbuster, which looked at the history and the workers at the actual last Blockbuster Video franchise in the world.