Production Has Started on Blockbuster Video Sitcom From Netflix

By Russ Burlingame

On Monday, production started on Blockbuster, Netflix's upcoming workplace comedy set in a fictionalized version of the last Blockbuster Video on the planet. Hailing from Universal Television, Blockbuster is being described as a 10-episode, single-camera workplace comedy that "explores what it takes – and, more specifically, who it takes – for a small business to succeed against all odds." In the context of the series, the last Blockbuster is in "a dying strip mall in a dying town." Series creator Vanessa Ramos shared a photo of the show's first clapboard Monday on social media, confirming that the series has gone into production.

The clapboard also uses the iconic Blockbuster "ticket" logo. It is not yet clear whether that will be the official title treatment for the series, but it seems likely.

The series will star Randall Park as Timmy, the manager of the Blockbuster store who has to handle a cast of misfits and weirdos -- on both sides of the cash register. Melissa Fumero from Brooklyn Nine-Nine recently joined the cast as Eliza, a dedicated mother whose marriage to her high school sweetheart is on the rocks. She left Harvard after one semester to start a family and now works at Blockbuster alongside Timmy (Park) as his trusty Number 2 – and maybe more.

There actually is one Blockbuster Video still in business, in Bend, Oregon. Like most Blockbuster stores, it's in a stand-alone building rather than a strip mall, and the staff and customers seem fairly normal, if the 2020 documentary The Last Blockbuster is any indication. That movie was a big hit on Netflix when it arrived there last spring.

You can see the Instagram post in question below.

The series is created by Vanessa Ramos, with David Caspe and Jackie Clarke on board as writers/executive producers. Payman Benz will direct and co-executive produce four episodes, including the pilot.

The move reunites Fumero with Ramos, who served as a writer-producer on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Benz also directed some episodes of that series. In addition to Blockbuster and Brookly Nine-Nine, fans may recognize Fumero as the voice of Melissa on Marvel's animated series M.O.D.O.K. for Hulu.

The management missteps that led to Blockbuster's demise -- the most well-known, but certainly not the only one, was the decision to pass on an opportunity to buy Netflix early in its lifespan -- are enumerated not only in The Last Blockbuster but also in Built to Fail: The Inside Story of Blockbuster's Inevitable Bust, a new book out this week from longtime franchise owner Alan Payne, who appears in The Last Blockbuster. Payne is sharply critical of the parade of executives who followed after the retirement of longtime Blockbuster chief H. Wayne Huizenga, who bought Blockbuster shortly after it was founded and built it up into an entertainment juggernaut, then cashed out when it was at the apex of its power and value.

No word yet on an official release date, but keep your eye on ComicBook for updates.

Is the Blockbuster sitcom something you're excited to see? Leave a comment below, or hit up @russburlingame on Twitter to talk all things comics, and ask about his collection of Blockbuster Video paraphernalia. There's a lot of it.

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