Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (NBC) (1 Viewer)

[Adam Lenhardt]

Tonight's episode had a lot of zigs and zags.

I understand why Zoey hasn't told Simon about her heartsongs, given what it did to her relationship with Max, but I felt really bad when Simon basically hit the nail on the head and then Mo and Max gaslighted him about it.

I did like the final beat of the episode, which was Zoey at least trying to be proactive about grappling with this huge thing she's dealing with. And I think the biggest surprise for me was her ability to separate that out from her ongoing grief over her father's death.

Emily and Zoey have never been close, so it was really great to see Zoey be there for Emily when nobody else was able to be.

Morgan Taylor Campbell, who has recurred as McKenzie all season, was recently announced as a series regular on the Netflix sci-fi series "The Imperfects". Hard not to be worried about this show's renewal prospects with so many cast members seeking out other opportunities.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I understand why Zoey hasn't told Simon about her heartsongs, given what it did to her relationship with Max, but I felt really bad when Simon basically hit the nail on the head and then Mo and Max gaslighted him about it.

I understand what you're saying, but I don't think they had any choice. That is Zoey's information to reveal at a time she deems appropriate. It would have been a serious betrayal of their friendship with Zoey for Max or Mo to tell Simon.

Morgan Taylor Campbell, who has recurred as McKenzie all season, was recently announced as a series regular on the Netflix sci-fi series "The Imperfects". Hard not to be worried about this show's renewal prospects with so many cast members seeking out other opportunities.

As often happens with a show this unique, the ratings aren't big enough to be one of the network's biggest hits, but they're also not bad enough to automatically doom the show. My understanding is that time-shifted viewing on demand and via DVR is big for the show, although I don't remember where I read that. Unfortunately, I think it will live most of its life on the bubble, but I don't think that means NBC is going to throw it away yet. Mackenzie, to an even greater degree than Emily, is clearly a supporting character, and I can't blame Campbell for wanting to keep her options open.

I'd be worried if Jane Levy, John Clarence Stewart, Alex Newell, Skylar Astin, Mary Steenburgen or Andrew Leeds took something else. But it would probably be easy for any of the others to pop in and out as needed, especially once Canada relaxes their COVID-19 quarantine measures for people entering the country. Lauren Graham was technically recurring last season, but she only missed one or two episodes and was such a big presence that I wouldn't have imagined she would be gone this season. But they made it work.

To be clear here, I absolutely hope that the show is renewed and continues to exist as long as Austin Winsberg wants to keep making it with as much of the ensemble as possible. I'll be sad if it turns out that the show is cancelled. But I've been a fan of bold, unique shows that have lived on the bubble before, and I've gotten to the point where I try to be grateful for them however long we have them. It is kind of amazing that NBC greenlit something this distinctive and fresh in the first place instead of just cloning the Chicago franchise again. So right now I'm trying to eventuate the happy.

"Cheap Thrills" is not something I would have expected Bernadette Peters to sing, but it worked. It's so much fun when the show stretches the cast beyond their expected musical wheelhouse. I didn't know how to feel about Maggie returning to the casino without Deb, though. I hope we're just supposed to be happy that Maggie is reengaging with the world, but I hope this isn't heading in the direction of her becoming a gambling addict or anything.

Alice Lee really brought it tonight with a terrific performance. She's never been bad, so it's not surprising that she's good. But it is especially good when she is given something this substantial to do.

I really liked the surprise twist at the end of the episode. They were clearly setting it up for the audience to think that the patient would be Emily, only to pan over and see Zoey talking to the therapist instead.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I understand what you're saying, but I don't think they had any choice. That is Zoey's information to reveal at a time she deems appropriate. It would have been a serious betrayal of their friendship with Zoey for Max or Mo to tell Simon.

No, totally. But it puts them in a very uncomfortable position as well. The status quo isn't fair to anybody.

I really liked the surprise twist at the end of the episode. They were clearly setting it up for the audience to think that the patient would be Emily, only to pan over and see Zoey talking to the therapist instead.

I saw the twist coming and fully expected it to be Zoey when the camera panned over. But I didn't expect her to jump right into discussing her "superpowers".

 

[Jake Lipson]

The status quo isn't fair to anybody.

Right. I actually feel sympathy for Zoey in this particular situation because it's not like she asked for these powers. This is not a normal thing that normal people in a relationship have to discuss. As you noted last week, her powers were the source of a serious issue for her perusal of a relationship with Max. It feels to me like her hesitancy to tell Simon is a desire to protect their relationship from souring in the same way.

I didn't expect her to jump right into discussing her "superpowers".

I think these two things are very much linked. It would not surprise me if one of the reasons Zoey wants to try therapy is to figure out how to tell Simon about her powers in a way that will be constructive and positive. I applaud her for taking that step.

 

[Matt Hough]

Loved the trio the three men sang in beautiful harmony. Wonderful!

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

That "Don't Stop Me Now" number would have been an incredible achievement even in normal times; amidst the COVID-19 restrictions it felt downright miraculous.

Matchbox Twenty's "Unwell" reconstructed as a soft rock number was also revelatory for me.

I really like that Zoey is getting something out of going to therapy, and that her therapist is able to sift through all of the insanity of her circumstances to zero in on the more mundane things that are really affecting her.

 

[DaveF]

I’m late to the thread. We started watching free on Peacock, and to my surprise caught up and are now Tivo’ing live broadcast. I’d heard about the show from Ted Danson mentioning it on The Good Place podcasts or something. In any case, so far Zoey’s has been really fun, kinda Glee 2.0. It’s not The Good Place or Ted Lasso, but it‘s of a piece with such modern, upbeat, positive shows.

My favorite piece so far was Linkin Park’s “Numb” done as a soft piece. It was revelatory, harkening to the shock of hearing Gary Jules’ reinterpreted “Mad World” for Donnie Darko.

The huge group piece this week of Don’t Stop Me Now was pure delight.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I love the show in general, but this was not my favorite episode. It wasn't bad per se, but last week was so full of big moments setting a lot of track for the finale next week that this was an especially weird time to drop in a flashback episode. The cameos (Mo, Emily) were really on the nose. The songs felt like the writers were forcing themselves to put in songs because the show is a musical even though this episode is before Zoey got her powers; and I really didn't feel like I needed the information provided by this episode. It is a testament to how richly developed these characters are that we don't need to see "origin stories" for them as this episode offered. The show is too good to make a really awful episode and I wouldn't call this bad. But it seems like they just had to fill an extra episode on their season order before getting to the finale and this was the result.

But I'm still looking forward to seeing what happens next week.

 

[Jake Lipson]

The season finale will include cliffhangers and was not designed to wrap the series despite its bubble status:

Zoey’s Playlist Boss: Season 2 Finale Is in ‘No Way’ Intended to Be Series Ender

The fate of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist is still unknown as the NBC musical dramedy awaits word on whether or not it’s been renewed, but one thing is for certain:

tvline.com

 

[Jake Lipson]

Deadline says Zoey might be moving to Peacock:

A co-production between Lionsgate TV and Universal TV, sophomore Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist also is heavily on the bubble with middling linear Live+Same Day ratings and outsized digital footprint. It has a passionate following and recently topped USA Today’s annual Save Our Shows poll for a second consecutive year.

In addition to being a digital phenom, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist also has gotten awards recognition. Last year NBC, Lionsgate TV and Universal TV worked hard to find a business framework to make a renewal on the linear network feasible, including pursuing a full-season streaming pact.

All episodes of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist are available on NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, Peacock, whose premium tier offers next-day episodes of the show.

Things are very much in flux but I hear NBCU is exploring taking the next step and possibly moving Zoey’s to Peacock, something that has been happening more and more, from A.P. Bio to Langdon.

NBC Bubble Show Watch: ‘Good Girls’, ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’, ‘Manifest’ & ‘Debris’

NBC will be the first broadcast network to unveil its fall 2021 schedule this Friday, ahead of the May 17 NBCUniversal virtual upfront presentation. There is one non-bubble series left for the network to pick up, Law & Order: Organized Crime starring Chris Meloni, which likely will get a...

deadline.com

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I love the show in general, but this was not my favorite episode.

The thing that worked the best for me about this week's episode was the contrast between Zoey then and Zoey now. Zoey then was a lot more emotionally open and available, but a lot less emotionally articulate. You really feel the difference those handful of years make between the two time frames.

The cameos (Mo, Emily) were really on the nose.

I didn't have a problem with the Emily one, because presumably that chance encounter is what put the two of them back on each other's radar. Mo being Zoey's Uber driver was a bit too coincidental though.

The songs felt like the writers were forcing themselves to put in songs because the show is a musical even though this episode is before Zoey got her powers

I was actually intrigued by the songs, both by the hints that maybe even before the earthquake in the MRI machine she was a bit more attuned than most to that wavelength and by the idea that Zoey's world was already quite musical but she just didn't appreciate it back then.

I really didn't feel like I needed the information provided by this episode.

That's the biggest argument against this episode; basically the only thing it really accomplished was to put the Zoey-Max ship back in the foreground. It's a tricky thing, too, because Simon and Rose are both really good, desirable people who are easy for the audience to like.

Deadline says Zoey might be moving to Peacock:

Don't love that idea, but it definitely beats an outright cancellation.

 

[Jake Lipson]

It's a tricky thing, too, because Simon and Rose are both really good, desirable people who are easy for the audience to like.

I have no insider information, so this is just a guess; I'm not putting it in spoiler tags because it is 100% hypothetical. But I feel like the show is going to have to resolve the love triangle one way or the other next week. I don't know how much longer this can organically go on.

The thing is that when Zoey started with Simon, she wasn't technically actively with Max at that time. But she is with Simon now. If she wants to go back to Max to prevent him from leaving for New York, that would probably do irreparable damage to her friendship with Simon and I can't say I would blame him if he's pissed. Although he technically works for Zoey and could still appear at Sparq Point, I'm not sure what future Simon would have on the show if his relationship with Zoey ends.

On the other hand, if she chooses Simon and Max goes to New York, I don't see how Max continues on the show. It is set in San Fransisco and it already often feels divided between the Zoey family storylines, the Sparq Point storylines and the Mo/Max restaurant storyline. I don't see how they could actually do a long-term storyline with Max in New York separated so much from the rest of the show. At most he could go for a couple episodes and come back, but it just doesn't make storytelling sense to remove him so far from Zoey's orbit since she still is the center of the show. Also, obviously, by design they can't have heart songs in scenes Zoey isn't in. So there's that to consider as well.

It would not surprise me much if one or the other of the two guys exits the show next year as a series regular in the event of a renewal. I'd love to be wrong about either exit because I really enjoy both Skylar Astin and John Clarence Stewart on the show. But this triangle feels like they've done almost everything they can do with it now. There needs to be a resolution for the show to move forward creatively.

I didn't have a problem with the Emily one, because presumably that chance encounter is what put the two of them back on each other's radar.

Sure, I understood that to be the purpose as well. But it didn't feel like David bumping into Emily really did anything to advance the storyelling. It just felt like they were shoehorning that in because we knew he wasn't going to stick with the other girl. So when I saw that he was with someone other than Emily, I was like, "He's going to bump into Emily at some point in this episode after he gets annoyed with this other girl, isn't he?" And that's exactly what happened. It wasn't bad but was an entirely predictable beat to hit and I don't know that I needed to see their origin story. It would have been just as well for the rest of the episode if Emily had been the girlfriend the whole time.

Also, I know that Danny Michael Davis is the head of a multinational cooperation, but based on what we have seen before on this show it seemed like he didn't know who she was until she sang "Pressure" to him last season, so it was a bit of a retcon for him to be directly involved in her hiring. If he sang to the "pre-hires" on her first day, as shown here, then suddenly pitching him with that song looks a lot less nutty than it did when that episode first aired. Obviously, it was a malfunction of Zoey's glitching powers, but she could have just defended it by saying, "I thought you liked songs since you sang to us on day one." But they obviously hadn't designed this episode until way after that one last season.

Don't love that idea, but it definitely beats an outright cancellation.

I'd rather have it on the network as well, but if it comes to that I would absolutely follow the show there.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I'm hoping that's not the series finale, but if it was it was a solid one.

 

[TJPC]

We have recorded all episodes of this season except for episode 1 which we missed. Still hoping for a re-run before we watch the rest.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Still hoping for a re-run before we watch the rest.

Unfortunately, this show is so low rated in originals that I doubt NBC is going to use air time rerunning it on the network. A renewal is going down to the wire as it is, and reruns aren't practical in the current television landscape, especially for shows with serialized storytelling like this one. You have a better chance of finding it on streaming.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I'm hoping that's not the series finale, but if it was it was a solid one.

I would agree that it would function very well as a series finale -- if not for the final cliffhanger twist. That surprise does such a great job of setting up new stories going forward that it would be a real shame to stop here. I need to see what happens next. Regardless of the ending, this was always going to be a hard cancellation if it goes that way because I love the show and I want to spend more time with these characters in this world. But the ending, in particular, seemed to provide a new spin and new energy for the potential third season which really demands to be explored. Fingers crossed NBC does the right thing and renews this so we can see how that plays out

They also managed to make the flashback episode last week more important retroactively by bringing back around the plot point of

Spoiler

Max declining the Sparq Point job so Zoey could get it.

The whole scene between Zoey and Max after that reveal was beautifully written and acted and one of my favorite parts of the episode.

 

[Jake Lipson]

A conversation with Austin Winsberg and some of the great creative people behind the camera on the show:

 

[Jake Lipson]

It's never a great sign for a show's longevity when series regulars start going out for other shows, but I can see why she'd want to trade in a supporting role for a series lead.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Alice Lee's pilot, the Untitled Sarah Cooper/Cindy Chupack project, was passed over by CBS.

TV Pilots 2021: The Complete Guide

Keep track of all the broadcast pilots that are in contention for the 2021-22 season at ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and The CW.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

This sucks for those people involved in this project. But it eliminates a potential headache for Zoey's because Lee will be available to them when NBC ultimately does the right thing and renews the show either on the network or at Peacock.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’ Canceled By NBC After 2 Seasons; Series Won’t Move To Peacock, Will Be Shopped Elsewhere

The cast of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist may have performed their last number. NBC has opted not to give a third-season renewal to the show.

deadline.com

Canceled, no Peacock.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I was just coming In here to post the same thing.

Lionsgate is going to shop it around to other places, but that seems like a long shot to me.

A lot of people get mad about ever having watched a show when something they like gets cancelled. I am not one of those people. I am really happy that we had the show on the air for as long as we did and I don't regret a second I spent watching it. It brought me so much joy, particularly airing when it did with respect to the pandemic when I wasn't abler to leave my house. This show was a highlight of my week every single week that it was on.

But the cancellation hurts because the finale was so good and set up so many interesting new creative directions the story could go in during a third season.

I certainly hope Lionsgate will be able to find it a home.

If they don't, it was a great ride anyway.