The SUPERSTORE Cast Previews a Tribute to Linda Porter’s Myrtle

SUPERSTORE says goodbye to Myrtle (Linda Porter) on the Thursday, January 16 episode, as the comedy pays tribute to Porter, who passed away in September. 

“First and foremost, it was surreal,” Ben Feldman (Jonah) admits.  “It is a very rare position for actors, writers, and directors to be paying tribute to a character the died [who was] also played by your friend, the actor, who also died. It’s a surreal thing…It felt respectful and cathartic.”

“It’s been a huge loss, obviously, to the SUPERSTORE family,” adds Lauren Ash (Dina). “She was such a bright light for us. Her positivity was so contagious—you couldn’t help but smile when you talked to Linda; she radiated joy. I’m really glad that we’re giving her that tribute.”

Nico Santos (Mateo) and Kaliko Kauahi (Sandra) both praised Porter’s ability to energize the set and keep everyone on their toes. “She would just be throwing out these improv stuff and crack us all up, and we’d be like, ‘Where did that come from?'” Santos says. “Myrtle’s perspective, and the type of character that she was, was such a unique part of the show. And it’s just going to be missed. She is missed.”

“You could feel the shift in the energy, because every crew member was so happy to see her and she was so happy to be there—and game for anything,” Kauahi adds. “[Like] running with a torch! We became such good friends over the course of the show.”

But with Myrtle’s passing, the Cloud 9 employees are stunned to discover she left Jonah money. “For no particular reason!” Feldman insists. “Less alarming and more just just very confusing.”

Elsewhere, Dina is finally reunited with her father (played by BREAKING BAD’s Dean Norris). “The only thing that we really know about him is that he abandoned her in a gas station when she was a child—which was a line I improvised,” Ash teases. “She’s alluded to him a couple of times, because we’ve been planting the seed that this was probably going to happen. But we don’t know a lot about him, and there’s going to be a lot of questions answered. There’s a lot of context being given for why Dina is the way she is.”

“It was like such a joy to film,” Ash adds. “We get to see a different side of Dina, which is always exciting to me. And Dean Norris was unbelievable; such an amazing actor. It was a true joy and I really felt like we did something that was really interesting and really different.”

And up to some new tricks of their own are Mateo and Cheyenne (Nichole Bloom), who fall into a pyramid scheme. “I’m just happy that whenever they pair up Cheyenne and Mateo, it’s always a fan favorite combination,” Santos says. “And working with Nichole is amazing, because we just get to be so silly together.”

SUPERSTORE, Thursdays, 8/7c, NBC

RELATED:

• SUPERSTORE Bosses Dissect Cloud 9’s Big Union Move
• SUPERSTORE Adds Dean Norris as Dina’s Father
• SUPERSTORE Cast, Creative Team Mourns Linda Porter
• SUPERSTORE Bosses on the Delicate Balancing Act of the Season 5 Premiere
• SUPERSTORE Creator Explains the Show’s Unconventional Original Title
• SUPERSTORE’s Nico Santos Reflects on the ‘Difficult,’ ‘Triggering’ Season 4 Finale
• Inside SUPERSTORE’s Cloud 9 Pop-Up at Comic-Con
• On the Set of SUPERSTORE: Check Out Props and Costumes from the Comedy’s History
• SUPERSTORE: Colton Dunn Crashes Ben Feldman’s Interview

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