Superstore: America Ferrera to Exit After 5 Seasons
It’s a sad day for fans of Superstore.
Star and executive producer America Ferrera will be exiting the series at the end of the current season. Her last appearance as store manager, Amy Sosa, will be the Season 5 finale which airs Thursday, April 16th at 8/7c.
“The last five years on Superstore have been some of the most rewarding, enriching and enjoyable years of my career,” Ferrera said in a statement obtained by TV Line.
“Producing, directing and acting with this wonderful cast and crew has given me opportunities to grow as a person and storyteller. I’m so grateful to my partners at NBC and Universal Television for the support and belief they have always placed in the show, and I’m most thankful to the brilliant [series creator] Justin Spitzer for creating the funny, smart and relevant world of Superstore and inviting me to be a part of it. As I start the next chapter for my family and career, I wish only the best, and much continued success, to my beloved Superstore family.”
Ferrera’s representatives declined to comment on the actress’s reasons to leave the series before the end of her contract. Deadline deducts from her statement that Ferrera wants to spend more time with her family. Ferrera had her first child in 2018 while on Superstore and is expecting her second child later this year.
“America’s immeasurable contributions to Superstore, both in front of and behind the camera as well as an ambassador for the show, can’t possibly be quantified. We feel so fortunate to call her both a colleague and friend,” said Lisa Katz and Tracey Pakosta, Co-Presidents, Scripted Programming, NBC Entertainment in a statement obtained by Deadline.
Pearlena Igbokwe, President of Universal Television also said “America is a force of nature who not only pours her heart and soul into acting and producing on Superstore but into the many causes and initiatives she supports. Over the last five seasons, she has earned our gratitude and respect.”
There is no word yet as to what Amy’s exit storyline will be, but the series has dropped hints and planted several seeds that suggest Ferrera’s character could be poised to move up the Cloud 9 corporate ladder, leaving Store 1217 behind.
Season 5 has seen Sosa soften her anti-corporate stance while her boyfriend, Jonah (Ben Feldman) remains committed to starting a workers union.
This comes at the end of the fifth season, the first without the series creator Justin Spitzer at the helm. Spitzer departed at the end of last season to focus on development.
Executive Producers Gabe Miller and Jonathan Green took over show running at the start of Season 5 and NBC brass has been happy with the creative development following the showrunner transition.
Superstore was recently renewed for a sixth season, which will begin with the series 100th episode. The milestone will now double as the first in the post-Amy era.
The single-camera comedy has brought NBC unbridled success. The show shares top honors among NBC comedy series with The Good Place averaging a 1.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 3.8 million viewers overall in Live+7 Day Neilsen’s. The season premiere alone saw 3.4 in the 18-49 demo and 7.5 million viewers when all viewing platforms were counted.
The series also continues to be one of NBC’s strongest digital performers with 50% of its Live+35 day coming from digital sources. This ranks it among NBC’s most-watched digital series so far, tying with The Good Place for strongest performing digital series so far this season.
Superstore is also one of the most-watched programs on Hulu alongside Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Superstore airs Thursdays at 8/7c on NBC.
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Lauren Busser
Lauren Busser is an Associate Editor at Tell-Tale TV. She is a writer of fiction and nonfiction whose work has appeared in Bitch Media, Popshot Quarterly, Brain Mill Press Voices, and The Hartford Courant.