My Journey Into Falling In Love With Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist
NBC rolled out this year a brand new music series called Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. The show follows Zoey Clarke, a computer coder in San Francisco, who gains the supernatural ability to hear people’s inner thoughts as big musical numbers. If anyone knows me, they know I’m a little bit of a television connoisseur. Especially when it comes to musical series. I was big into glee, SMASH, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. If you’re looking for a show during this time of social distancing, catch up on this certified fresh mega-hit, and fall in love as I did with Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.
First, There’s Hesitancy…
To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I was going to watch this series. So many musical shows either start out really good then the writing takes a nose dive to hell, or the music doesn’t really communicate the story. One night, I had a wicked case of insomnia and I remembered hearing Mandy Moore (one of my all-time favorite choreographers) was producing and choreographing a new show. I loaded up the NBC app, hit play and I was never the same.
Love at First Pilot
Pilots are hard. You’re having to deliver a lot of exposition without losing your audience. The first episode did not lose me for a second. The brilliant cinematography, the writing balance of comedy and drama, and the high concept all had me sold. I was an instant fan.
Catching Feels
Watching this show feels like an old school crush. You can’t wait for the next chance you get to talk with them, or in this case, watch the newest episode. You find yourself CONSTANTLY talking about them, and each time you see them you get butterflies in your stomach. Every Sunday, I find more reasons why I enjoy this show. From the intelligent character development that most TV shows neglect. To the seamless integration of musical numbers into the story, and the choreography that translates emotions into movement. I quickly went from “Oh, I like this show,” to “Oh, I LOVE this show.”
I’m Gonna Be (A Fan For Life)
Something I really enjoy is live-tweeting with the cast and crew. It’s been exciting not only hearing the behind the scenes anecdotes but also really connecting with a loving community. Speaking of the cast… THEY ARE GENIUS. Jane Levy’s impeccable comedic timing and her abundance of empathy make Zoey so personable. Skylar Astin’s Max is not only delightfully charming but seeing him gain more confidence and ambition each week is heart-warming. Plus that voice, holy smokes. I dare you not to cry at his ballad version of “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”. Lauren Graham brings a level of Boss Ass Bitch to Joan that no one else could play that role. I love how she doesn’t make Joan the one-dimensional “dragon boss lady” we typically see. You see that she has struggles and obstacles like everyone else.
What keeps me coming back is the amount of pathos and depth of the subject matters. They tackled topics like suicide, ailing parents and women in a predominantly male workplace. It reminds me of how Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was a lot more nuanced than a musical show. They tackled things like feminist issues, mental health, and masculinity. There’s a plethora of heart and never a shortage of soul.
If you’re tired of watching hours of Love Is Blind or looking for something uplifting during these challenging and chaotic times, do yourself a favor and watch Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist you’ll come for the catchy tunes, but stay around for the tear-filled feels.
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist airs on NBC Sunday Nights at 9/8c. You Can Catch Up on Hulu or The NBC App.