SUPERSTORE at Comic-Con: Live-Blog

SUPERSTORE is making its Comic-Con debut with series stars America Ferrera, Ben Feldman, Mark McKinney, Lauren Ash, Colton Dunn, Nico Santos, Nichole Bloom, Kaliko Kauahi, and executive producers Justin Spitzer, Gabe Miller and Jonathan Green participating in a panel. Follow along for a live-blog (starting at 5:30 PM PT)…

5:38 PM: “Crazy people!” Ferrera says of her first Con experience. “In a good way,” Feldman adds.

5:39 PM: “It’s something that Justin and I had been talking about since day 1,” Ferrera says of Amy’s promotion. “One of the things that was compelling about playing this role off of playing Betty Suarez…is Amy doesn’t care if you don’t like her. It’s so liberating as a female character. She started in a place of trying to survive. A certain cute little panda man came into her life…and all of a sudden ideas of wanting more from her life started to pop up…it is Jonah who encourages her to start thinking about what it could have been.”

5:41 PM: “It was brilliant to justify it,” McKinney says of Glenn stepping down. “It was really sweet.”

“We got to the end of season 3, and we had been remarkably static in terms of characters’ lives changing,” Spitzer says. At the end of 3 they decided 4 was a “time of change.” “It injects new fuel into the writers’ room.”

“We get to see Amy be surprised at how hard it can be to be the manager,” Green says. He points out the flip side was Glenn trying to fit in.

5:43 PM: “For some reason, that’s kind of my wheelhouse,” Feldman says of “Quinceañera.”

“We also approached it as his hero move,” Spitzer says of Jonah sacrificing his dignity for Emma. “I don’t know if he’s had a more heroic moment in the series.”

5:44 PM: What is the couple name for Jonah/Amy? The audience is split.

But what’s next for them? Feldman jokes more sex tapes. Ferrera says she loves by the end of the season, Jonah and Amy were on the opposite end of the spectrum about the union. “These are two people with very different life circumstances,” Ferrera points out.

“I think there’s still a lot more to learn about Jonah,” Feldman says. He thinks they’ll probably explore more of Jonah’s privilege.

5:48 PM: “We’re running out of people to get pregnant,” Miller jokes.

5:49 PM: “I think t’s beautiful she got to get him back in the only way back it would hurt him,” Ash says of Dina getting revenge for her birds. Ash says Dunn was worried about filming the scene with the real flames. But there may not be hope for Dina/Garrett, because Ash says there is still a lot of rage there.

“The thing is, their relationship has always been contentious,” Dunn says. “Love can defeat anything.”

Ash says there was one take in “Lovebirds” post-where Dina just sat for two minutes, silently eating a sandwich.

5:52 PM: “For me, I didn’t think I could be more in awe of this group of people,” Ferrera says. “But when you get behind the camera and watch the cast…you’re so grateful the script is so funny, but then you think it’s your job as a director to make it work…it’s such an incredible joy to sit back and watch these cast members kills it…it feels like such a privilege.”

Feldman jokes that Ferrera calls the actors by their characters’ names. She says she’s only done it once; Ash says it’s been a couple of times.

5:56 PM: “It’s extremely personal,” Santos says. He was an immigrant and notes it was very triggering for him; Ferrera, Ash, and Bloom were emotional during the table read. “It was a really tough week to film.”

“I’m here, so that’s a good sign,” Santos jokes.

“This season, the last few seasons we’ve been exploring life as an undocumented person,” Miller says. Green adds the deportation process “drags out a while.”

“I think it’s boring to write preachy stuff,” Spitzer says. “We always limit ourselves…we don’t say we have to explore all things of it…we never want to teach a lesson.”

6:02 PM: Yes, the show is inclusive, but Spitzer “The fact our cast is this diverse is what allows us to tell these stories,” Ferrera says.

6:04 PM: “It would be nice if she was good at one thing,” Bloom says. But she’ll have a big birthday party this season, she teases.

6:05 PM: “I’m sure she’ll be part of the team that tries to get Mateo back,” Kauahi says. Carol is the nemesis “I deserve,” she jokes.

6:07: Lightning round! The cast has been asking for a musical episode since the pilot episode. Spitzer joked at the time they would do it in season 4, never thinking it would happen.

How are the name tags picked? Often the writers pick, but there are other special occasions.

Where is the dog that Glenn bought for Amy? “He’s at home with the baby we never see,” Ferrera jokes.

Will Dina have a love interest? “SUPERNATURAL is ending, those boys need work!” Ash jokes.

6:14 PM: “I usually have my phone at the ready,” Ferrera says of being at stores and seeing weird stuff. But nothing has made it in the show.

6:15 PM: “He said, ‘It’s a show about people who work in a show and things happen,’” Ferrera recalls of her first call with Spitzer after the pilot. “And every episode they have,” he adds.

“Every week, I read something in a script where I’m like, ‘That’s cool, but it’s never going to make the air,’” Feldman says. He says when he read the pilot script, it was Bo’s screaming in the pilot that got him invested.

6:19 PM: A fan asked Ash to say the “Elias, wash your hands with soap,” for his husband. She did!

6:20 PM: Green says they’ll be touching on Marcus’ homelessness next season, but they’re coy about what it is.

6:21 PM: Filming CRAZY RICH ASIANS was the first time Santos returned to the Philippines since he left. He does want to go back to visit.

6:22 PM: “We take that seriously,” Spitzer says of getting expert advice. “We’ll see the employees continue that push,” Miller says of the union. “It’ll create some conflicts for her.”

Ferrera notes it’s “moving” to her how different the fans are of the show; it’s creating a space where people can co-exist, even when they don’t agree with everything.

6:24 PM: At one point, Spitzer considered calling it Cloud 8: one step away from heaven. But the comedy from the store comes from it being the straight man, so he “went for the low-hanging fruit.”

6:27 PM: Sandra was described as a “sad sack, plain Jane,” in the original script. “The writers and producers are open,” which is how Kauahi got the shot.

6:28 PM: They had a real tattoo artist on set to help Bloom do the scene with Marcus. It inspired her to think about getting her own art tattooed.

6:29 PM: Dunn is bummed about the shoes being gone. He ends his comment with a joke about Feldman’s outfit.

6:30 PM: And we’re done!

SUPERSTORE, Season Premiere, Thursday, September 26, 8/7c, NBC

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• The SUPERSTORE Cast Teases ‘Quinceañera’
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