From spontaneous songs to heartfelt proposals, "Superstore" is full of unscripted gems. Join us as we explore the best improvised moments that made it into the show, as confirmed by the cast and crew. These off-the-cuff additions showcase the talent and chemistry of the ensemble, adding extra laughs and heart to an already beloved series.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00The finger of the devil is poking through the foam.
00:02Cry, Ezekiel, cry, cry it out.
00:05And the slide to hell goes all the way down.
00:08Cry, Ezekiel, cry, cry it out.
00:10Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:14for the best improvised moments on NBC's Superstore.
00:18I pray for you, Dina.
00:19I pray for you too, Glenn.
00:20I'm praying right now.
00:21You're praying so hard.
00:23I'm praying harder than you. I know how.
00:24While there is no doubt a wealth of ad-libbed lines
00:28and spontaneous ideas that made the final cut,
00:31we'll only be including ones confirmed
00:33by the Superstore cast and crew.
00:36Number five, the cold open.
00:38In many interviews, the cast of Superstore
00:41shared how welcome improvisation was on set.
00:44With ad-libbing legends like Garrett's Colton Dunn on screen,
00:48the producers would have been remissed
00:50to decline any on-the-spot ideas after all.
00:53Gotta round up those doggies, yee-haw.
00:56That's the saddest yee-haw I've ever heard.
00:58Yeah, I bailed on it.
01:00During a chat at the Paley Center in 2019,
01:03America Ferreira, who plays Amy,
01:06revealed that in the episode screened for the audience,
01:09the cold open was actually supposed to end in a different way.
01:12We were crunched for time,
01:14and we ultimately ended up on Marcus clapping at Sandra,
01:19which wasn't on the page.
01:20That was just something that we did on the day.
01:22And then it's like, oh, that's where you cut
01:24to the Superstore song.
01:25On the page, the ending required more of a setup
01:28they didn't have time for.
01:30So instead, we got Marcus's little show of encouragement
01:34to Sandra after her speech,
01:36a reaction that is both perfectly in-character for Marcus
01:39and a cute way to end the scene.
01:42Managers can't give us polygraph tests.
01:44I wasn't planning on giving anyone a polygraph test.
01:46Well, good.
01:47Because we ain't taking one, Amy.
01:50Stay strong, people.
01:52Woo!
01:53Clap, clap, clap, clap.
01:56Number 4.
01:57Ice Cream Soothes All
01:59Um, I don't know.
02:01I'll say something mean about Beyoncé.
02:03I'd rather be deported.
02:05Mateo's undocumented status was introduced early on in the show,
02:09and by the season four finale, it had come to a head.
02:13With talk of forming a union ramping up in the store,
02:16corporate tries to slow down the momentum
02:18by running background checks and sending in ice.
02:22At the same time, free ice cream is offered to employees,
02:26also with the goal of slowing down union momentum.
02:29All of our associates are getting free ice cream.
02:31So if you're wondering why everything's sticky,
02:33that's one of the reasons.
02:35Mateo, Cheyenne, and a few others are eating during their shift
02:39when Amy bursts onto the scene,
02:41announcing immigration is coming.
02:43Mateo!
02:45Mateo!
02:46Ice is coming!
02:47Isn't it winter is coming?
02:49And not a moment too soon.
02:51The agents come through the door seconds later,
02:53leaving Mateo to flee in a panic.
02:56Of course, it wouldn't be Superstore without a little levity,
02:59and Cheyenne's actress closes out the scene
03:02by ad-libbing an adorable offer.
03:04Wake up. Wake up.
03:06I gotta go.
03:11Dude, do you want your ice cream, Mateo?
03:13Number 3. Jerry Proposes
03:16Also confirmed to be a spur-of-the-moment decision
03:18in the Season 4 finale was Jerry's proposal.
03:21Thank you for coming.
03:22Of course. I'm always gonna be here for you.
03:26You're the best.
03:27You're the best.
03:29No, you are the best.
03:31As revealed at a Comic-Con panel in 2019,
03:34Jerry was actually set to propose at the end of Season 3,
03:37but it was ultimately cut.
03:39When the end of Season 4 came around,
03:41the plot point wasn't in the script at all.
03:44But Justin Spitzer, the creator of the show,
03:47asked for a take during shooting.
03:49So everyone knows now?
03:51Everyone knows.
03:53Do you want to get married?
03:58Okay.
04:00According to Sandra's actress, Kaliko Kawaii,
04:03she was surprised to see that the big scene
04:05had actually made it in the second time around.
04:08Yeah, I found out when I actually watched the episode
04:12that that was kept.
04:13Justin just came up to us.
04:14It wasn't in the script,
04:16and he came up to us while we were shooting and was like,
04:17ah, why don't we do one where you derp at poses?
04:22Despite the short notice,
04:23the end product was not only incredibly true to the characters,
04:27but also a sweet, gentle moment during a sequence
04:30that's otherwise full of chaos and distress.
04:33Number 2.
04:34Cry, Ezekiel, Cry.
04:40This little light of mine.
04:44What am I supposed to do about this?
04:45I'll get the battering ram.
04:47We have a battering ram?
04:48Better to have it and not need it,
04:49than need it and not have it.
04:50Glenn has many, and we do mean many quirks,
04:54not least of which is bursting into song.
04:57We don't know exactly how much of it
04:58was courtesy of actor Mark McKinney,
05:00but it's been said that he improvised
05:02quite a bit of Glenn's songs,
05:04including Cry, Ezekiel, Cry.
05:07The performance comes in the cold open
05:08of the season two episode, Spokesman Scandal.
05:11The spokesman for the big box retail store chain,
05:14Kyle the Cloud 9 Cloud,
05:16is revealed to be a deranged serial killer.
05:19The broadcast is being played in the store,
05:22so Amy and Glenn try their best to shut it off,
05:24only to end up increasing the volume for all to hear.
05:28This prompts Glenn into leading a spontaneous chorus
05:31in an attempt to drown out
05:33the horrific details of the news report.
05:35It's not working.
05:36We're gonna have to drown this out.
05:39Everybody sing, okay?
05:41Down in the valley where Ezekiel wept,
05:43Cry, Ezekiel, cry.
05:45According to a tweet put out by America Ferrera,
05:48this was entirely thought up by Mark McKinney,
05:51and it took at least five takes to get it.
05:53Thankfully, the actors were able to get through it,
05:56and it made for the best musical moment
05:58in the entire show.
05:59Eric, give me a beat or something.
06:02Okay, the finger of the devil
06:04is poking through the foam.
06:06Cry, Ezekiel, cry, cry it out.
06:09Before we continue,
06:10be sure to subscribe to our channel
06:11and ring the bell to get notified
06:13about our latest videos.
06:14You'll have the option to be notified
06:16for occasional videos or all of them.
06:18If you're on your phone,
06:19make sure you go into your settings
06:21and switch on notifications.
06:24Number one, Dina's dad.
06:27Look, my dad, scum of the earth,
06:29human equivalent of a band-aid and a salad,
06:31left me 23 years ago.
06:33He deserves to suffer.
06:34Dina's rocky backstory with her dad
06:37actually became canon thanks to some ad-libbing
06:40from Lauren Ashe all the way back in season one.
06:42Just trust me.
06:44It's just ever since my dad left me
06:45at that gas station, it's so hard to trust.
06:47Okay, here we go.
06:48It might have started as a funny throwaway line,
06:50but the writers kept building upon it
06:52with little tidbits here and there,
06:54until finally, we got to meet Dina's dad in season five.
06:58The episode centers on Myrtle's passing,
07:01which gets Dina thinking about death
07:03and revenge, we guess.
07:05Really been making me think about my dad.
07:06Aw.
07:07Yeah, maybe you should reconnect
07:08before it's too late.
07:09Oh God, no.
07:11I want him to feel this kind of regret.
07:12I want to cause him the pain that he caused me.
07:15I started smiling before I heard what you said.
07:18She has Sandra call up her dad
07:20and tell her his daughter's passed away.
07:22Despite the choice he made all those years ago,
07:25Dina's dad makes the drive up to her work
07:27to seek out some more information.
07:29It's a sweet reunion.
07:31And for a while, Dina's super happy to have him back,
07:34until he makes it clear
07:36he really hasn't changed all that much.
07:38Seeing you today, I'm starting to think
07:41maybe it was a good thing that I left.
07:44Otherwise, you wouldn't be the strong woman you are today.
07:46Breaking Bad fans will recognize Dean Norris in the role,
07:50which makes his appearance that much cooler.
07:52And to think, all that from a little Lauren Ashe improv
07:56way back in the ninth ever episode.
07:59Yeah, it's all part of the job.
08:00I mean, you can be super proud if you want,
08:01but that's your call.
08:02What's your favorite Superstore moment
08:04you think might've been improvised?
08:06Let us know in the comments.
08:08Could I take a couple pins?
08:09Sure.
08:17Hello?
08:19Hi, Lori.
08:20Do you agree with our picks?
08:22Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo,
08:24and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell
08:26to be notified about our latest videos.