Blockbuster is filled with quirky friendships and emotionally touching scenes

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Unfortunately, Blockbuster will not be continuing with season two on Netflix.

I have a list of TV shows and movies that I want to rewatch buried within my Notes app. Some films are more recent, such as Wednesday. I have already watched it twice and am eagerly excited to view it a third time. Others are a bit older, like The Hunger Games; I must have seen this movie at least five times, but apparently, that is still not enough for me.

If you looked at the list, you would be confused as to why all of these vastly different TV shows and movies are sitting under the same category. Though, they all have one thing in common: they are all greatly loved by me. Blockbuster—the Netflix show released Nov. 3, 2022—has recently made my list.

Blockbuster is a comedy centered around Timmy Yoon, portrayed by Randall Park, who owns and works at the last Blockbuster store in America. Along with his co-workers—notably his second in command, Eliza Walker, portrayed by Melissa Fumero—Timmy struggles and fights to keep his now small business afloat. 

I won’t lie, my original draw to this show was because I saw that Fumero had a prominent role in it. I adored her work when she was Amy Santiago in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and I was not disappointed by her performance in Blockbuster either. Vanessa Ramos wrote both Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Blockbuster. This fact contributes to the similarly-crafted humor and overall feel of the two shows. 

Although Fumero was the reason I began to watch it, she was not the only reason I continued. 

All the actors work flawlessly together on screen to weave a story that is both amusing and emotionally touching.

All the actors work flawlessly together on screen to weave a story that is both amusing and emotionally touching. One onscreen friendship that particularly warmed me was between Hannah (Madeleine Arthur) and Quentin (Tyler Alvarez). Hannah and Quentin are employees at Blockbuster who have been working together for a while. Their banter is hilarious and intelligent. Though the writers easily could have, nothing romantic seems to be between them. This platonic relationship is a refreshing switch from the forced romance we are normally subjected to seeing onscreen. Instead, they have an innocent, supportive friendship that is a constant highlight of the show.

One of the only parts of Blockbuster I didn’t particularly enjoy was the relationship between Timmy and Eliza. Timmy had been crushing on Eliza since they worked together in high school. Now that they are again working together, old feelings have resurfaced. I don’t mind that Timmy likes Eliza; I was rooting for them to communicate and get together for the entirety of the ten episodes. However, what I dislike is the awkwardness that, realistically, wouldn’t be there. Some scenes made me cringe when I could have been fawning over how cute they would be together. 

Quality shows on Netflix have been getting exceedingly more difficult to find. Though I don’t expect Blockbuster to obtain any awards that actually mean something, it has been awarded a spot on my “to rewatch” list—which is exceptionally scarce. Considering that once something is on my list, it is seldom for me to take it off, no matter how many times I have priorly seen it. Blockbuster has just received one of the hardest-to-come-by honors that I could ever bestow.