Superstore bosses: Pandemic delay helped us refine how we wrote America Ferrera's exit

TVLine

"The Amy and Jonah story is pretty close to what it was originally, the main difference being that months have now passed in between the decision to move to California together and this episode, when Amy is finally getting to move," says co-showrunner Gabe Miller  "And so, over that time, (we have) the additional pressures of pandemic life and Amy having to work two jobs at once, not seeing Jonah as often anymore even though they’re living together. All of those pressures sort of add up and expose some cracks in their relationship. Without the pandemic, and without those months in between, we still would’ve gotten to the same place (of Amy and Jonah breaking up), but it wouldn’t have been for all of the same reasons." Do they feel Superstore benefitted from the changes? "Yeah," says Miller. "It allowed us some time within the show for pressures to build, and (for) that emotional distance (to build between Amy and Jonah), where they realized they weren’t necessarily on the same page. So, yeah, in a way, prolonging things probably helped to make it feel a little more believable, we think." Fellow co-showrunner Jonathan Green adds: "Right. Also, I think the experience of going through this pandemic has made a lot of people sort of take stock and reevaluate their priorities, and think about the future and what they really want. And I think it’s had that effect on Amy as well."

ALSO:

• Superstore bosses are grateful America Ferrera agreed to return for two episodes: "We didn't know how easy an ask it would be because she was supposed to be done with us last season," says co-showrunner Jonathan Green. "Even getting her for one, we were excited to have her back for the premiere, but the second we asked, she was on board and understood the idea behind that. I think part of it was that it would allow her to be part of the 100th episode, too, which is a real milestone for the show. We were thrilled to have her back and be part of that."
• Superstore bosses wanted their milestone 100th episode to breathe: “There were versions we talked about where the whole episode would have been one goodbye after another,” says Green. “Ultimately the goodbye video was a great way to get out a lot of that stuff without it having to be Amy going through her day with one person after another saying goodbye. I think part of finding that balance was, as comedy writers, at times pulling back on our natural impulse that when something is genuine or sincere you want to undercut it with comedy. There were really nice moments and we thought we should put in a joke after it, but at times, for this one, we need to let the moment breathe.”
• Superstore wanted Ferrera's Amy to have a nice goodbye, but that was hard to do: “It was going to be heartbreaking, no matter what," says Owen Ellickson, who wrote the episode.