SUPERSTORE: Lauren Ash Reflects on Writing ‘Gender Reveal’

SUPERSTORE‘s excellent third season made major moves on-screen and off, as several cast members took on expanded roles beyond their characters: America Ferrera (Amy) helmed her second episode of the series; Ben Feldman (Jonah) made his directorial debut; and Lauren Ash (Dina) wrote her first installment of the NBC comedy, “Gender Reveal.”

Ash—whose Dina was at the center of the episode’s botched gender reveal—looks back at penning her first episode for SUPERSTORE, and how her own background as a writer/improv performer assisted the process.

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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.”

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SUPERSTORE: Justin Spitzer on the Amy-Jonah Kiss Fallout, Mateo’s Revealed Secret, and More

SUPERSTORE, one of the best comedies currently on television, threw grenades into multiple relationships in last week’s episode.

In “Safety Training,” Amy’s (America Ferrera) attempt to befriend Kelly (Kelly Stables)—AKA Jonah’s (Ben Feldman) new girlfriend—backfired when she took credit for Kelly improperly hanging signs and was forced into safety training. To get Amy out of it, Dina (Lauren Ash) planned on playing footage of Kelly’s work mistake…and instead played a mishmash of footage which included Amy and Jonah’s kiss during last season’s tornado.

Meanwhile, Mateo (Nico Santos) was injured by a falling sign, which helped out. After he kept turning down corporate’s offer for injury compensation, finally Jeff (Michael Bunin), his ex/the store’s distract manager, insisted on giving him money. But Mateo finally admitted he was undocumented and his inability to share that with Jeff was the real reason they broke up.

So where does the show go next? SUPERSTORE creator Justin Spitzer shared a few teases about what’s in store. Read more