Netflix has announced that it is launching a new sitcom that is set in the last Blockbuster store, starring Randall Park. Blockbuster, the series, is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, and studio-based Davis Entertainment. The irony of this all, for people who don’t know, Netflix originated as an underdog movie rental upstart that was almost crushed by then-dominant giant Blockbuster Video. Netflix co-founders Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings actually tried selling the company to Blockbuster for $50 million in 2000 but were rejected. They both vowed to take Blockbuster down, and Hastings went on to build Netflix into one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world, while Blockbuster ceased operations in 2014. According to Deadline, this will start as a ten episode season, that takes place in the last Blockbuster Video in America, and will explore what it takes, and who it takes, for a small business to succeed against all odds.
The show was originally created by Vanessa Ramos (Superstore and Brooklyn Nine-Nine), with David Caspe and Jackie Clarke ((Superstore, Happy Endings). Uni TV’s head of comedy Jim Donnelly, who is helping to develop the show, stated: “We’re so happy to be strolling the aisles of a Blockbuster once again, with Vanessa, David, and Jackie leading the way. “We’re also thrilled to be continuing our partnership with Netflix, where we never have to worry about late fees.”
“To say getting to make a show about a place I love, with my friends Jackie and David, and Randall Park as our star is a dream come true, somehow feels like an understatement,” Vanessa Ramos said in a statement Wednesday. “I could not be more grateful to Jim [Donnelly] and Megan [Macmillan] at Universal for supporting this project since day one and Tracey, Andy [Weil], and the whole team at Netflix for being on board with so many weird jokes.”
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