SUPERSTORE: Justin Spitzer Teases a Visit to ‘Target’

SUPERSTORE is going to a brave new world in Thursday’s episode: Target.

“We’re going to find out that somebody takes a job at Target,” SUPERSTORE creator Justin Spitzer teases. “That drives Glenn crazy. For him, it feels like a betrayal. There’s a conversation early on [about] how the person who works there, now [Target will]  know all our secrets. [He thinks] it would be like if someone on a football team went to an opposing football team.”

Outside of visiting a real-world location, the episode also marks an unexpected first for the series—product placement. “People on Twitter and various comments online think our show is all product placement; that we’re a sellout and will whore ourselves out for any product,” Spitzer says with a laugh. “I think we’ve never actually done it before. We’ve always been happy to, as long as it doesn’t feel like a commercial. We do have that ability with the show [due to the products in the background] but this is the one that finally worked out, which was a surprise for us. If you asked me what I thought the last company that would want to do product placement on our show was, it was Target.”

The experience ended up being surprisingly simple for the producers. “They were great and had almost no demands,” Spitzer says. “We have our characters go to the store, but I don’t think it ever sounds like we’re shilling for them. The only request they had at all on the script was at one point we referred to a manager, and we had to have a character say, ‘At Target they call it a Team Lead.’ If everyone was that cool about it, product placement would be a lot easier. And I don’t think it feels wedged in. It’s cool getting to see an actual Target in our show.”

Showcasing a real-life big box store also gave Spitzer a renewed appreciate for how the NBC comedy team crafted their Cloud 9. “Target feels nicer, because that’s the point,” he says. “But watching it, I was re-impressed with how our production designers and set dressers make a soundstage look like a real place.”

Check out some photos from the episode!

SUPERSTORE, Thursdays, 8/7c, NBC

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