Superstore: 15 Things We Learned from the Cast at San Diego Comic-Con

Superstore has made its mark on television as one of the latest in a long line of exceptional NBC workplace comedies. Thanks to this diverse cast of oddballs, the megastore experience has never been more bearable than with the Cloud 9 team.

At San Diego Comic-Con in July, the cast and executive producers of Superstore stopped by to celebrate their very first comic-con panel with fans.

They discussed what to expect for Season 5, including the slow burn of Mateo’s deportation storyline and Amy’s ongoing struggle with unionizing the store. The panel also dived into the show’s longest-running gags with fascinating behind the scenes facts and stories from the set.

The cast attending the convention included America Ferrera (Amy), Ben Feldman (Jonah), Nico Santos (Mateo), Lauren Ash (Dina), Mark McKinney (Glenn), Nichole Bloom (Cheyenne), Colton Dunn (Garrett), and Kaliko Kauahi (Sandra). Executive producers Justin Spitzer, Jonathan Green, and Gabe Miller also attended.

1. Call Me by Your Name

For us, the characters of Superstore can feel incredibly real and human to the point that it becomes difficult to remember these are actors playing our favourite retail workers. And you’re not alone. Apparently, Ferrera has been known to mix fact with fiction herself when talking to other cast members.

“She’s been calling me Jonah for years. By the way that’s actually not a joke, America calls all of us by our character names,” confessed Feldman to Ferrera’s audible dismay.

“That’s not true. I did that one time,” Ferrera retorted.

However, Ash claimed this was not an isolated incident for the actress.

“It was twice. It was Season 1 and you said ‘Does anybody else ever call you Dinah?’ and I said, ‘Well, my name is Lauren, not Dina, so I don’t know,'” Ash recalled.

“It was early on. I was just that committed to my character,” defended Ferrera.

2. Mateo’s Deportation

Viewers everywhere cried out in despair as Mateo was carted off by ICE on the Season 4 finale of Superstore. Despite fans knowing about Mateo’s illegal immigrant status early on in the series, it was still a surprise to see the comedy go all-in on such a controversial issue facing America right now.

For Santos, his personal connections to this issue made portraying Mateo’s deportation that much more emotional.

“It’s extremely personal. I’m an immigrant. I’m from the Philippines. I moved to this country when I was 16 and I think any immigrant who comes to this country also knows somebody who is undocumented. Members of my family were undocumented at some point in their lives, so doing this storyline was very personal, touching and triggering,” explained Santos.

Given the context of the episode, it’s no surprise to hear the emotional toll Mateo’s storyline had taken on the cast from the table reading to filming.

“Justin had told me that’s where the finale was going to go and when we read the finale at the table read I was just taken aback. I closed the script, looked over and Lauren and America were just like a puddle,” Santos recalled.

That scene where Mateo was in the van and I can just see the entire Cloud 9 family look at me in shock. I remember doing a few takes where they had me say, ‘It’s going to be alright. I’m going to be okay,’ and people were just like sobbing. It was a really tough week to film.”

Santos was quick to point out to worried fans that his presence at the panel had to be worth some comfort.

“Well, I’m here, so that’s a good sign,” he teased.

Executive producers Miller and Green assured fans that Mateo would still very much be present on the show despite his current situation. However, in an attempt to make this issue feel as realistic as possible, the deportation storyline will continue to linger throughout this next season. This is not just a 2 or 3 episode story arc.

“Mateo is still on the show. The last few seasons we’ve been exploring lives of undocumented immigrants and now we’ll be exploring what it’s like going through the deportation process,” assured Miller.

“It can drag out for a while. The reality of it is this doesn’t happen right away. There’s a lot of uncertainty but you’re living with this and trying to go about your daily life,” said Green.

“Thankfully I can pull off orange so it’s gonna be fine,” Santos joked.

In a topical age of television where everyone is trying to make an important point and sometimes simply to benefit their agendas rather than the audience, Superstore’s portrayal of current issues feels genuine. Show creator, Spitzer explained that despite being known for tackling these issues, limitations still have to be taken.

“It’s boring to write preachy stuff and its boring to watch it as well. We realize that we’ve become known for doing some of these social issue shows but we’ve always limited ourselves. We never want to teach a lesson. So it just comes from a place of what’s real,” Spitzer admitted.

Spitzer also touched on why being funny and important cannot go hand in hand on a show like Superstore.

“When we do introduce the idea, it’s sparing. It’s introducing the idea and then it’s having fun with it, having lots of different people that have different attitudes about it,” he explained.

“It’s going for the comedy, not going for something that’s important because the moment you try to be funny and important at the same time one of them has to give. But you hope you can do both by concentrating on the comedy and having this going on in the background,” he explained.

3. Sandra

Sandra may have struggled to win over her co-workers, but Kauahi has had no trouble catching the attention of the Superstore fandom.

Coming off the cusp of a promotion to series regular, Kauahi is certainly feeling the love and rightfully so. This past season saw her meek character stand up to her arch-nemesis, Carol, and win back Jerry in a grand proposal.

And according to Kauahi, that iconic proposal wasn’t even planned!

“I found out when I watched the episode that the proposal was kept. It wasn’t in the script and Justin comes up to us while we’re shooting and goes, ‘Why don’t we do one where Jerry proposes’,” Kauahi recalled.

“At the end of Season 3, we had Jerry propose to Sandra and then cut it. So I asked for another take where he asks to marry her and they were like ‘Every year, you’re just going to cut this proposal, aren’t you?”. So at that point, I’m like no, now I’m going to keep it in,” said Spitzer.

Sandra’s admiration for Jerry hasn’t come without its consequences. Sandra’s co-worker Carol has never been able to forgive her for stealing Jerry (twice) and leaving her for dead during a nasty tornado. While it looks like Carol’s violent revenge schemes have finally been thwarted with the proposal, Kauahi isn’t so sure this is the last we’ve heard from Carol.

“You can’t keep Carol down. I mean she is a formidable nemesis. She’s the nemesis I deserve and it’s not over,” Kauahi teased.

Sandra may be a prominent representation of native Hawaiians on the show but Kauahi explained that ethnicity was never a deciding factor in her casting or in the character’s backstory.

“It wasn’t written specifically for any ethnicity. All it said was sad-sack plain Jane and I was like, ‘What time do I show up, I’m ready’. It wasn’t revealed that I was Hawaiian until Season 3 — I mean obviously my face but my last name wasn’t revealed until Season 3,” said Kauahi.

“I just think the writers and producers are open to all people and characters and I happened to be Hawaiian so they incorporated that into the story.”

4. Jonah and Amy

Everyone’s favourite workplace couple continues to go strong and Feldman and Ferrera can assure that a change in dynamic isn’t going to stop these two from doing what they do best this season.

“I mean there’s going to be a lot more of the sex videos,” confessed Feldman.

“The season open to Season 5 is just 23 minutes of sex,” joked Ferrera.

Not everything will be smooth sailing for Amy and Jonah as they find themselves on opposite sides of unionization. It does, however, force these two characters to face the issue at the core of their relationship.

“I loved that towards the end of this season we kind of got back to some of the original dynamics of Amy and Jonah. Which is ultimately they’re on different sides ideologically about life and morals and values. They’ve been moving closer together with this relationship but this idea about the union that’s coming at a time where Amy has some upward mobility in her life brings back that dynamic from the pilot,” Ferrera explained.

“These are two people with very different life circumstances. I kind of like when Amy and Jonah hate each other more than when they like each other. So I’m hoping I get to hate him more next season.”

“I think there’s still a lot more to learn about Jonah. He comes from a place of privilege and we haven’t fully explored that. Hopefully, we do and find out what led him to choose this group of misfits,” stated Feldman.

As for whether or not there will be babies in this couple’s future, Miller and Green admitted that might be one pregnancy too many for the workplace comedy.

“We’re running out of people to get pregnant,” admitted Green.

“And we’ve done a lot of pregnancies,” remarked Miller.

Despite being a full-fledged couple now, Amy and Jonah have yet to get an official ship name from fans. While there might have been a divide amongst the fandom, many preferred the combination Jamy to Simosa. Feldman, on the other hand, stuck by Simosa as the more sophisticated of the ship names.

“Jamy is easier but I feel like Simosa is a little more interesting. It’s a food and not someone’s name,” Feldman defended.

5. Justice for the Birds

One of the most bizarre, cringy, and loveable moments to come out of Season 4 was when Garrett accidentally set all of Dina’s birds loose and instead of coming clean, he decided to sleep with her instead. Of course, Dina eventually found out and retaliated by taking away the one thing Garrett loved most, his sneakers.

During the panel, Ash happily recalled Dunn’s reaction to that explosive scene.

“I think it’s beautiful that she got to get him back in the only actual way that would hurt him,” said Ash. 

“Remember how scared you were of those burning shoes? It was a real fire and I just remember Colton, who’s always impossibly cool under all circumstance was like, ‘How close do we really need to be though? Could I be another foot back? Why are we so close to the flames?’ It was amazing to watch.”

Whether you’re devastated over the loss of Dina’s birds or Garrett’s shoes, know that you’re not alone. Ash and Dunn are mourning as well.

“I really enjoyed wearing the shoes. So it was sad to see them all burn and now I have to wear the same shoes every episode. But one of the fun things we do with fan interactions is before each episode of shooting I would post two pictures of pairs of shoes and I let people who follow me on Instagram vote on which shoes I would wear that episode,” said Dunn.

“Thankfully, I still have all the pictures on my Instagram, so you can go check it out.”

And if you wondered how much the net worth of all those sneakers Dina burned was, Ash had a great answer.

“Not as much as the lives of those birds,” she remarked.

Dunn is aware of just how wrong Garrett’s recent actions have been and he expressed that when addressing the audience on the incident. However, he was optimistic that Dina and Garrett’s bizarre relationship could still overcome this setback.

“Murdering birds and then sleeping with the person whose birds you just murdered the same night is not cool. Hashtag not cool. The thing is their relationship has always been contentious, so I feel like love can defeat everything,” stated Dunn.

“I don’t think that spark is gone between Garrett and Dina. There’s defiantly a spark — in his shoes.”

As for the iconic “Lovebirds” episode, Ash says there were some pretty amazing outtakes that transpired from Dina and Garrett’s post-sex scene.

“Mark directed that episode and he let me do a take where for a good two minutes I just ate the sandwich in silence. It’s streaming on Hulu. It’s a web series now called Dina’s Food,” Ash joked.

6. Celebrating Cheyenne

The cast couldn’t say much about what will happen this season on Superstore, but Bloom was able to tease a small milestone we can expect Cheyenne to celebrate this season.

“I do hear that I’m going to have a big birthday party this season. So that should be exciting,” teased Bloom.

“Spoiler! Cheyenne has a birthday,” Dunn remarked.

However, Ferrera was skeptical of this information.

“Can we get confirmation about whether or not Cheyenne is having a birthday party this season? Where did you hear this Nicole?” asked Ferrera.

Bloom continued on to explained she had only heard rumours onset and none of the producers chose to comment on the matter, so take that as you may. Regardless, if there is a birthday party for Cheyenne expect it to be just as eventful as Emma’s Quinceanera was.

When asked if Bloom had followed in Cheyenne’s footsteps and taken up tattooing terrible hats on her co-workers, the actress admitted tattooing is a hobby she would like to get into.

“Ya I hope so. They had a real tattoo artist on set that day to show me how to make it look convincing. I was inspired and I kind of want to get my own tattoo — I’m good at art actually so I think it could work,” Bloom admitted.

“So if you want a tattoo hit me up — DM me.”

We know who won’t be hitting her up for his next tattoo. Marcus is probably still going to therapy for her last one.

7. A Musical Episode

Musical episodes were once sparse, only showing up in the odd show here and there. But as the demand to see our favorite characters break out into song and dance for no reason grew, so did the desire to fulfill their requests. The Flash, Supergirl, and Riverdale are the latest to cave to the craze with their own memorable musical numbers.

So naturally, Superstore would find itself next on everyone’s list — including the cast’s.

“We have asked for this!” exclaimed Ash.

“We have begged for this!” confirmed Santos.

Spitzer was aware of how badly certain cast members wanted a musical episode and did admit he had agreed to the idea with the notion the show would be cancelled long before a musical episode could happen.

“Since the pilot, you’ve asked and I believe I said Season 4 not believing that we’d ever actually get there,” admitted Spitzer.

“Yeah, no definitely. I don’t know how to write music.”

Spitzer may still be undecided when it comes to doing a Superstore musical, but Ash and Santos have already made up their minds.

“We sing so much between takes that it feels like it would be a disservice not to share it with people,” said Ash.

“They can just piece together all the blooper reels of a scene between takes,” Santos added.

8. Amy’s Nametags

One of the signature gags of Superstore revolves around Amy and her work nametag, which sports a different name every episode. Green and Ferrera talked about the origin of those names and how fan requests have been fulfilled when one too many glasses of wine are involved.

“Generally it’s the writer of the particular episode who gets to pick the name. Every once in a while there’s a cast member that has a special request they want to put on the name tag,” Green explained.

“Every now and then when we’ve had a glass of wine or two, we promise a fan in the audience that we’ll use their name and we did — I did and it was Dwendyna,” confessed Ferrera.

Despite the gag running for nearly five seasons now, Ferrera said she still sees a number of viewers contacting her asking for an explanation.

“Just for the record, so many people tweet every week asking why Amy has a different name tag every episode? Every week somebody asks. So once and for all, here at Comic-Con, I just want to say Amy doesn’t wear her name on her nametag because she doesn’t like strangers using her name like they know her,” explained Ferrera for hopefully the last time.

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