America Ferrera returns to television as the star and producer in NBC’s mid-season replacement "Superstore," a workplace comedy. The make-up of the cast is reminiscent of "The Office’s" employees which is no accident since Justin Spitzer, the co-executive producer and writer from "The Office’" is now serving as "Superstore’s" executive producer. Ferrera spoke about her return to television at a Los Angeles press conference with the cast and executive producer on the NBC/ Universal backlot.
America Ferrera first broke out in Real Women Have Curves. Her second big break came in her breakout role in “Ugly Betty” which earned her a Golden Globe, Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award. Since going off the air, Ferrera has largely stuck to films (End of Watch), including lending her vocal talents to the DreamWork’s How To Train Your Dragon franchise and producing films through her own production company.
What made this the right time for America Ferrera to come back to the small screen?
“It wasn't really about the time, it was just about the material. I wasn't necessarily in the market for, you know, something to come back with. But they sent me the script, and, you know, first and foremost, it's Justin's writing and his execution of this world. It's funny; it's smart; it's relevant.”
Ferrera’s “Superstore” co-stars include Ben Feldman (“Mad Men”, Colton Dunn (“Key and Peele”), Mark McKinney (“Kids in the Hall”), Lauren Ash and Nico Santos. The NBC comedy centers around Ferrera’s by-the-book employee, Amy who holds the employees at the super-sized megastore together. Ben Feldman’s character Jonah arrives and creates havoc for Amy and the fun-loving employees.
The diverse casting was a huge draw for Ferrera as well.
“When I saw how Justin was casting this show, it was a huge draw for me. None of the characters were written specifically any race or ethnicity. The only one was Nico's character, who was written Mexican, and they cast a Filipino.”
Ferrera says she grew up watching working-class comedies, and rarely did the casting reflect real life, but “Superstore” offered something different.
“I felt like now is a great, great time to give voice to the American working class. So for all of those reasons, and so much more, this really snuck up on me and stole my heart.”
On Monday, November 30th, "Superstore" will preview two episodes behind "The Voice." "Superstore" officially debuts on Monday, January 4th at 8:00 p.m.
