A comedy will tell how the last blockbuster store that exists in the US survives

There was a time when being a Blockbuster partner was super top. It broke into the United States in 1985 and swept away all the small video clubs, and then expanded around the world: Australia, Mexico, Germany, Peru, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Japan and Israel among other countries.

The key to the chain was its large number of copies of each film and the possibility of returning them in a mailbox without the need for the store to be open. Payment was made in advance and there was the possibility of renting the titles for 24 or 48 hours. The shops were spacious; the vendors were attentive and young. Blockbuster reached 5,600 points of operation in the United States alone and more than 9,000 in total.

And now there's only one left.

Business began to decline with the arrival of Netflix, which was initially a subscription club that sent movies by mail, and died out with the consolidation of streaming platforms. Due to a bad business decision, in 2000 Blockbuster rejected the possibility of buying Netflix for $50 million. This is how the then-fledgling company ended up devouring the giant, and now that it also produces content it will tell the story of the video club network.

In the format of a comedy, the project that will begin filming in June will follow the lives of the employees who today work in the last standing store of Blockbuster, located in Bend, Oregon. This creation by Vanessa Ramos (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Crashing) will feature 10 episodes of 30 minutes.

“This is the story of a group of dedicated co-workers, with a lot of heart,” Tracey Pakosta, head of comedy at Netflix, told Deadline. Randall Park (Wandavision) will play Timmy, one of the six central characters, a dreamer and movie lover. He will be joined by Melissa Fumero (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) as Eliza, a 40-year-old mother who is in crisis with her marriage: she left her studies at Harvard to start a family, and now works at Blockbuster. Olga Merediz (In the Heights) joins this story as Connie, who continues to be an employee of the store less for the salary than for the friends she has made there.

The others chosen as co-stars are Tyler Alvarez (I Never Have I Ever) as Carlos, Madeleine Arthur (To All The Boys I've Love Before) as Hannah and JB Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm) as Percy, the owner of a shopping center whose daughter works at the latest Blockbuster. Among the rest of the cast is Kamaia Fairburn (Overlord and the Underwoods) in the role of Kayla.

All of them will try to rescue from oblivion this last DVD shop that survives by the spirit of its workers, given the meager income it generates. The series managed to acquire the rights to wear the Blockbuster logo and employee uniforms.

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