Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist is sticking around to deliver more laughter, heartwarming moments, and unforgettable musical numbers! As Deadline reports, it was announced on Thursday that NBC had officially renewed the show for its sophomore season, which will have 13 episodes.
Deadline mentions that Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist was considered to be "the strongest contender among NBC's bubble shows this season." The musical series also has quite a devoted fanbase, which helped it top USA Today's annual "Save Our Shows" poll with a record-breaking number of votes!
NBC "thrilled" for Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist to make a return
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist was a breakout success for NBC, which is why the network was hopeful they could see it continue! According to Deadline, the show's avid online following and cross-platform viewership has made it "one of NBC’s strongest digital performers."
While its live viewership numbers in the first season were relatively modest, the show became something of a phenomenon with digital streaming. Deadline shares that "NBC, Lionsgate TV, and Universal TV had been trying to find a business framework to make a renewal on the linear network feasible, including possibly pursuing a full-season streaming pact."
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"We were overwhelmed by the number of people who fell in love with Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and how much joy it brought to everyone," Lisa Katz and Tracey Pakosta, Co-Presidents of Scripted Programming at NBC Entertainment, said in a statement. "We’re thrilled to bring it back and can’t wait to see how Zoey’s journey continues."
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist: here's what the show's about!
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist stars Jane Levy as "Zoey Clarke," a socially awkward computer programmer living in San Francisco. After a freak accident involving an MRI machine, "Zoey" discovers that she's able to hear people's innermost thoughts in the form of popular songs!
While she's hesitant to embrace her new power at first, "Zoey" soon realizes that she's been given a unique opportunity to help people. As a result, she becomes more emotionally attuned to the lives of those around her— including her neighbor "Mo" (Alex Newell) and her dad "Mitch" (Peter Gallagher), who has a rare neurodegenerative disease.
The show also stars Skylar Astin as "Max," John Clarence Stewart as "Simon," and Mary Steenburgen as "Maggie." As well, Lauren Graham is credited as a special guest star, recurring in the role of "Joan."
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Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist season 2 to deal with "moving on"
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist's creator, Austin Winsberg, has shared some of his hopes for the show's second season! "There’s a lot more I want to do with Mo in Season 2," Winsberg told Deadline following the season 1 finale.
"I want to get into a work situation with Mo. I think we haven’t done a deep enough dive yet into Max’s (Astin) backstory, so there’s a whole story thread I want to do with Max and his father in particular. He referenced his dad a couple times in the season."
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Following the season 1 finale, there's also the question of how the "Clarke family" will move forward following their loss. "The big part of it, especially for the family and for Zoey," Winsberg said, "is how do we move on and how do we move on after a tragedy and what does moving on look like and how do we rebound and come back from it?”
As Deadline mentions, all episodes of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist will be available on NBCUniversal's new streaming platform, Peacock!