A series on the last remaining Blockbuster video store is in the works at Netflix, with WandaVision star Randall Park leading the show.
Netflix has ordered a new sitcom on the last remaining Blockbuster Video store, which will be the star by WandaVision Randall Park. Blockbuster, the once popular video and DVD rental store, opened in 1985 and grew steadily throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. The business peaked in 2004 with more of 9,000 stores and nearly 85,000 employees worldwide.
With growing competition from companies like Netflix, previously a mail order DVD company, Redbox’s automated DVD rental kiosks, and growing pressure from the 2008 financial crisis, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy. in 2010. After several years of financial struggle, most of the remaining Blockbuster stores were closed in 2014, with only a few private franchise stores remaining in various locations around the world. Now there is only one Blockbuster store left. The store is located in Bend, Oregon, which Netflix made a documentary on in 2020.
According to Deadline, a new series based on the latest Blockbuster store is in the works at Netflix. The series will follow a tight-knit group of employees working on the world’s last remaining Blockbuster video. The series, Blockbuster, received a 10-episode series order and will feature Randall Park, best known for The interview, always be my maybe, fresh off and, more recently, WandaVision. The series is said to explore how the last Blockbuster employees are keeping their small businesses afloat against all odds.
The one-camera project was originally set for NBC and is created by Vanessa Ramos, who has worked on hit sit-coms before. Hypermarket and Brooklyn nine-nine. David Caspe and Jackie Clarke, who worked on Hypermarket and Happy endings, are also screenwriters and executive producers of the series. John Davis and John Fox are also executive producers for Davis Entertainment. The show will use authentic Blockbuster logos and uniforms and feature an ensemble cast, but no other cast has been announced yet. Netflix Comedy Director Tracey Pakosta said the series will focus on “the story of a group of dedicated colleagues with a lot of heart.“
It’s certainly ironic that Netflix, once Blockbuster’s biggest competitor, is creating a series that seeks to capitalize on the nostalgia people feel for the now defunct video rental store. However, given this central irony and the cast of a beloved comic actor like Park, the series has the potential to be a hit. There is a whole generation of audiences who have grown up with Blockbuster as a big part of their lives and, if the series can capture the magic of wandering the DVD shelves of a Blockbuster store on a Friday night or getting one. Tarantino’s obscure movie recommendation-loving front desk employee, he’s sure to find a passionate fan base. While Park has been confirmed as the series leader, the release date of Block breaker remains a mystery for now.
Source: deadline
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