A long, long time ago, when streaming became the predominant form of entertainment, video stores shuttered across the globe. Soon, the place you used to go every Friday night to buy Sour Patch Kids and rent Gwyneth Paltrow’s most memorable rom-com multiverse movie, Sliding Doors, had turned into a Chipotle, never to be heard from again. But one stayed in business, against all odds. 

In Blockbuster Season 1, the staff at the video-rental franchise’s last store on Earth try to keep their beloved shop open as their corporate competitors’ booming streaming services dominate the market. The nicecore single-cam sitcom — created by writer-producer Vanessa Ramos (Superstore, Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and written by Happy Endings alums David Caspe and Jackie Clarke — stars WandaVision’s Randall Park, SAG nominee Melissa Fumero and comedian JB Smoove.

The release date 

Blockbuster is streaming on Netflix Nov. 3 — no VCR required.

The trailer

Watch the Blockbuster trailer below.

‘Blockbuster’ Trailer

The cast

Blockbuster stars Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat), Melissa Fumero (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and JB Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm). To read more about the cast, visit this guide. 

The plot

Park stars as Timmy, a struggling video store manager who loves his job, customers and movies. But his livelihood is threatened when he gets a call from the store’s corporate overlords telling him that all the franchise locations have closed — except his. To survive amid the changing media landscape, Timmy and his staff must make significant sacrifices to keep their business and community thriving. 

The setting

While the actual last Blockbuster store was located in Bend, Oregon, the sitcom is set in fictional small town Michigan.

Want more?

The series was inspired in part by the true story of the world’s last Blockbuster, which you can learn more about in the documentary The Last Blockbuster.