Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
#1
DVD Talk God
Thread Starter
Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
Randall Park as Timmy Yoon, Melissa Fumero as Eliza Walker, Tyler Alvarez as Carlos Herrera, Madeleine Arthur as Hannah Hadman, Olga Merediz as Connie Serrano, JB Smoove as Percy Scott, and Kamaia Fairburn as Kayla Scott.
Logline: Timmy Yoon (Randall Park) Is an analog dreamer living in a 5G world. And after learning he is operating the last Blockbuster Video in America, Timmy and his staff employees (including his long-time crush, Eliza (Melissa Fumero) fight to stay relevant. The only way to succeed is to remind their community that they provide something big corporations can't: human connection.
Produced by: Blockbuster is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group. The series is created by Vanessa Ramos (Superstore, Brooklyn Nine-Nine) with David Caspe (Happy Endings, Black Monday) and Jackie Clarke (Superstore, Happy Endings) also serving as writers/executive producers. John Davis and John Fox also executive produce for Davis Entertainment (Jungle Cruise).
Character Descriptions:
Series Regulars:
Randall Park as TIMMY: He's a big dreamer whose love of movies makes it easy for him to recommend exactly what his regulars need, even when they don't know they need it. He's worked at Blockbuster since he was a teen and honestly wouldn't have it any other way.
Melissa Fumero as ELIZA: A dedicated mother whose marriage to her high school sweetheart is on the rocks. She left Harvard after one semester to start a family and now works at Blockbuster alongside Timmy (Randall Park) as his trusty number two... and maybe more.
Olga Merediz as CONNIE: She works at Blockbuster to make friends, not money. She's the unintentionally blunt mother figure to not just the employees, but many of the Blockbuster regulars.
Tyler Alvarez as CARLOS: As a first-generation son of immigrants, he learned English by watching movies, and they quickly became his love language. He dreams of being a filmmaker, but can't help but feel like he owes it to his parents to live the American life they planned for him.
Madeleine Arthur as HANNAH: She's genuinely sweet, a little naive, yet undeniably charming. She lost her mom at a young age but is surrounded by family at Blockbuster. Financially savvy to a fault, the staff is helping her learn the importance of self-care.
Recurring Guest Stars:
Kamaia Fairburn as KAYLA: Kayla is Percy's smart and sometimes scary teen daughter. She's not super open to the idea of taking orders from anyone, which can make her working at Blockbuster complicated for Timmy
JB Smoove as PERCY: As the strip mall and party store owner, Percy sees himself as "the man with the plan." He's the fast-talking, stylish, over-confident other half of the best friend duo of Timmy and Percy, who can't seem to stay away from Blockbuster, especially with his daughter working there.
Logline: Timmy Yoon (Randall Park) Is an analog dreamer living in a 5G world. And after learning he is operating the last Blockbuster Video in America, Timmy and his staff employees (including his long-time crush, Eliza (Melissa Fumero) fight to stay relevant. The only way to succeed is to remind their community that they provide something big corporations can't: human connection.
Produced by: Blockbuster is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group. The series is created by Vanessa Ramos (Superstore, Brooklyn Nine-Nine) with David Caspe (Happy Endings, Black Monday) and Jackie Clarke (Superstore, Happy Endings) also serving as writers/executive producers. John Davis and John Fox also executive produce for Davis Entertainment (Jungle Cruise).
Character Descriptions:
Series Regulars:
Randall Park as TIMMY: He's a big dreamer whose love of movies makes it easy for him to recommend exactly what his regulars need, even when they don't know they need it. He's worked at Blockbuster since he was a teen and honestly wouldn't have it any other way.
Melissa Fumero as ELIZA: A dedicated mother whose marriage to her high school sweetheart is on the rocks. She left Harvard after one semester to start a family and now works at Blockbuster alongside Timmy (Randall Park) as his trusty number two... and maybe more.
Olga Merediz as CONNIE: She works at Blockbuster to make friends, not money. She's the unintentionally blunt mother figure to not just the employees, but many of the Blockbuster regulars.
Tyler Alvarez as CARLOS: As a first-generation son of immigrants, he learned English by watching movies, and they quickly became his love language. He dreams of being a filmmaker, but can't help but feel like he owes it to his parents to live the American life they planned for him.
Madeleine Arthur as HANNAH: She's genuinely sweet, a little naive, yet undeniably charming. She lost her mom at a young age but is surrounded by family at Blockbuster. Financially savvy to a fault, the staff is helping her learn the importance of self-care.
Recurring Guest Stars:
Kamaia Fairburn as KAYLA: Kayla is Percy's smart and sometimes scary teen daughter. She's not super open to the idea of taking orders from anyone, which can make her working at Blockbuster complicated for Timmy
JB Smoove as PERCY: As the strip mall and party store owner, Percy sees himself as "the man with the plan." He's the fast-talking, stylish, over-confident other half of the best friend duo of Timmy and Percy, who can't seem to stay away from Blockbuster, especially with his daughter working there.
This is a 30 minute comedy about the last Blockbuster video in America.
#2
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
LOVE Melissa Fumero. She was great in Brooklyn 99.
Will definitely watch.
Will definitely watch.
The following users liked this post:
B.A. (08-29-22)
#3
DVD Talk God
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
Mildly ironic that the show is airing on the service that basically doomed Blockbuster.
The following 2 users liked this post by Deftones:
DJariya (08-28-22),
majorjoe23 (08-28-22)
#4
DVD Talk Reviewer & TOAT Winner
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
And that Blockbuster turned down a chance to buy. I don't see how they can sustain a show with this concept, but I'll check it out. Big thing will be whether they try to show Blockbuster as something good that should have stayed around, or as a joke.
#5
#6
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
I like both Park and Fumero but this is a premise that seems like it will be funny for all of about 5 minutes.
Of course we’ve been making obsolete media jokes on DVDTalk for 20+ years, so who knows.
Of course we’ve been making obsolete media jokes on DVDTalk for 20+ years, so who knows.
The following 3 users liked this post by GoldenJCJ:
#7
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
It’s clearly looking to be a workplace comedy. Unless they’re idiots, they’re not going to make jokes every ten seconds about being obsolete, but use that as a unique framing device.
#8
DVD Talk Reviewer & TOAT Winner
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
And I just have to add that in the 90s, there was a porno titled with some sex-related take on the name Blockbuster Video and took place at a video store. Sadly I never rented it and is probably very hard to find now. The humor though was that Blockbuster didn't carry porn.
If this show ends up like I think it will, I'll be pointing out all the mistakes or inaccuracies in it, provided I still have access to Netflix by then. I'll also keep in mind that they still had to license the name Blockbuster for this, and they were approved.
If this show ends up like I think it will, I'll be pointing out all the mistakes or inaccuracies in it, provided I still have access to Netflix by then. I'll also keep in mind that they still had to license the name Blockbuster for this, and they were approved.
#10
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
I wonder if John Oliver's shenanigans will be part of the show. This might be worth a watch.
The following users liked this post:
John Pannozzi (10-13-22)
#11
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
I'm considering a Blockbuster employee costume for this upcoming Halloween. Decisions....
#12
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
The following users liked this post:
John Pannozzi (10-13-22)
#13
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
#14
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
I have great memories about going to Blockbuster with my parents. I'll give this a look. =)
#15
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
This looks like a completely fictionalized version of life working at the last Blockbuster (and I did watch the documentary on the last BB, and thought it was good), but I love the cast so I am in.
#16
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
Saw the trailer today and had assumed this was a movie. Surprised to see it's actually a show.
The following 2 users liked this post by dsa_shea:
JeremyM (11-02-22),
John Pannozzi (10-13-22)
#18
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
Looks like Superstore in a Blockbuster. I'll give it a shot.
The following users liked this post:
whotony (11-04-22)
#19
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
It may have been better if it was just set during Blockbuster's height of popularity, but we'll see, I guess.
#20
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
From the writers of Superstore and B99.. so based on that, I'll give it a shot. However, I didn't find the trailer all the funny.
#21
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
I like both Park and Fumero so I’ll check it out but that trailer didn’t do much for me.
#24
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
I agree. I assume the creators made a conscious choice to set it in modern times rather than in early-to-mid-90s. Maybe budgetary reasons? Or maybe they just thought the idea of a video store in current times was inherently hilarious.
I like both Park and Fumero so I’ll check it out but that trailer didn’t do much for me.
I like both Park and Fumero so I’ll check it out but that trailer didn’t do much for me.
There's nothing funny about Blockbuster in the 90s. But today? I expect a lot jokes about how the home viewing business model has completely passed Blockbuster by, jokes that you couldn't make in the 90s. Like I'm sure there will be something about someone coming in the store to try to rent Stranger Things or something else only available on streaming . If this all happened in the 90s, the response would be either "right there in New Releases" or "Sorry, it's out", but now you get an immediate joke to make about it. And if there's one thing comedy writers like, it's a low-hanging fruit.
#25
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Blockbuster (Netflix) -- S: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero -- 11/3/22
Hey Stranger Things is available on media (in cool vhs like boxes). Of course it sold so poorly that every Target was clearancing them out.
And I thought the joke was that Netflix is making a show about how they put Blockbuster (mostly) out of business.
And I thought the joke was that Netflix is making a show about how they put Blockbuster (mostly) out of business.
The following users liked this post:
John Pannozzi (10-13-22)