‘Blockbuster’ is a workplace comedy in the vein of Superstore, ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’, and ‘The Office‘ that follows the staff of a Blockbuster who find out the company is going under. The ensemble cast is led by Randall Park and Melissa Fumero, which sounds like a match made in TV heaven to me.
No, the sitcom isn’t set in the past during Blockbuster’s heyday. It’s set in present day and takes place at the last Blockbuster store in the country. The actual last Blockbuster store is in Bend, Oregon. This is just a TMI if you ever wanted to know. Thank me later!
Read More: New Shows And Films To Watch On Netflix, Disney+ And Amazon Prime Video In November
What’s ‘Blockbuster’ About?
Netflix’s ‘Blockbuster‘ show, a modern sitcom set in the world’s last existing Blockbuster video rental store, is actually an incredibly ironic production that relates to both companies’ varied histories. It stars Shortcomings director Randall Park as a hapless and frazzled manager.
The series revolves around the misadventures of the store’s various employees struggling to keep a doomed business afloat. However, while the eventual fate of the Blockbuster business is an interesting footnote in entertainment history, the fact that the show is hosted on Netflix is an ironic and somewhat cruel twist of fate.
Read More: “It’s Unrealistic At This Point”: Why Viewers Are Divided Over Netflix Series, ‘Inside Man’?
Why The Comedy Series Is Ironic That It Is Streaming On Netflix?
The central irony at the heart of Netflix’s ‘Blockbuster‘ show stems from Blockbuster’s missed opportunity to acquire Netflix when the company was in its infancy. Back in 2000, Netflix co-founders Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings offered Blockbuster CEO John Antioco the opportunity to buy them out for $50 million.
According to Randolph’s book ‘That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea‘, the pair’s request caused Antioco to “struggle not to laugh” and they were turned down. However, over two decades later, Blockbuster has been reduced to a single store in Bend, Oregon, whereas Netflix’s slick streaming service is one of the world’s biggest brands, raking in an estimated $30bn per year. Had Blockbuster accepted the offer, entertainment history could have been very different.
In 2020, Netflix also acquired the rights to stream the documentary film ‘The Last Blockbuster‘, which both tells the story of the company’s downfall and examines the employees of the titular store in Oregon. Coupled with the fictionalized sitcom retelling, it’s clear that the company is not quite content with having hounded Blockbuster out of business. Netflix’s ‘Blockbuster‘ comedy show may be a light-hearted romp. Yet, behind it is a decades-long rivalry that, in many ways, has defined the modern entertainment industry.
Netflix making a TV show about blockbuster is straight up bullying. It’s like if a meteor directed Jurassic Park.
— EIon Musk (parody) (@samlymatters) November 3, 2022
I’m screaming at how Netflix really created a show around the demise of Blockbuster when Netflix are the exact cause of it 😂 #Blockbuster
— taylor (@TheAfterParty) November 3, 2022
Netflix making a series about Blockbuster is mad. It’d be like Macbeth making a wacky sitcom about King Duncan.
— the Joe Griffin (@theJoeGriffin) November 3, 2022
Read More: Top 5 Stand-Up Comedians Who Would Crack You Up On Netflix
