GOOD GIRLS and SUPERSTORE Bosses on the Upcoming Quasi-Crossover

The worlds of NBC’s GOOD GIRLS and SUPERSTORE collide starting this week.

GOOD GIRLS’ Beth (Christina Hendricks), Ruby (Retta), and Annie (Mae Whitman)—who have found themselves taking drastic (criminal) steps to provide for their families—visit a Detroit-based Cloud 9 for a pivotal, ongoing, job in Monday’s episode of the drama. (Cloud 9 is the big-box chain store where the NBC comedy is set; the SUPERSTORE location is in St. Louis.)

Cloud 9 has appeared outside of SUPERSTORE in the past (it popped up on THE MINDY PROJECT), but this quasi-crossover has a special connection: SUPERSTORE creator Justin Spitzer and GOOD GIRLS creator Jenna Bans are married.

“Creatively we needed a big box store—several actually—for a big plot point within the show,” Bans explains. “I think it actually started as a joke between me and Justin while we were cleaning up one night after our kids had gone to bed. Then a couple days later, I said, ‘Wait, what if we did use Cloud 9!?’”

Plus, there are additional off-screen ties: “[SUPERSTORE’s] America [Ferrera] is friends with Retta and [SUPERSTORE’s] Ben [Feldman] is close with Christina Hendricks,” Bans says. “So the idea that both shows were in the same universe, as different as they are, made us laugh.“

And with both series airing on the same network (and from the same studio), it made the quasi-crossover easier. “I never exactly knew where putting Cloud 9 on THE MINDY PROJECT came from—whether it was the studio or Mindy [Kaling] directly,” Spitzer says. “But they did it and it was cool. So we knew it was a possibility. And Jenna’s show needs a number of stores, so it made sense. [Cloud 9] doesn’t feel like it’s a complete fictional name. And it’s easier to use that than it is to use Target or Walmart. We thought it would be fun.”

Though SUPERSTORE films in Los Angeles and GOOD GIRLS films in Atlanta, the comedy team sent items (wardrobe and signs) over to make it look a bit more authentic. And this is just the first step, Spitzer jokes: “That’s the end game: to start a chain [on-screen]. It’s a fun crossover!”

But how did the couple’s collaboration go? “He would probably say I just do what I want!” Bans jokes. “I did show him a shot of our version of Cloud 9 and he complained it looked too much like a Costco. And I basically said, ‘I hear you, but we shot it yesterday, so too late!’”

“That’s the funny thing: with anyone else, I feel like I could have ground rules,” Spitzer adds with a laugh. “With her, I have less ability to do that. But it looks really cool.”

GOOD GIRLS, Mondays, 10/9c, NBC
SUPERSTORE, Thursdays, 8/7c, NBC

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