Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist has been cancelled after two seasons by NBC. The jukebox musical series aired its final episode last month.
Series producer Lionsgate had been in talks to try and move the show over to Universal’s Peacock streamer after NBC decided to pass on a third season, but apparently a deal could not be made.
Lionsgate has stated that it plans to shop the series to other outlets.
A rather unique spin on musicals, Jane Levy stars as the titular Zoey, a young software programmer who, after an accident involving an ipod, an MRI and an earthquake, discovers that she can see people’s inner thoughts and feelings being expressed by them as song and dance numbers. In other words, the metatextual conceit of musicals becomes the an actual part of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist‘s textual narrative. Zoey soon finds herself using this new insight into her friends and co-workers to try and help them with their individual personal problems while also dealing with her own family’s struggles dealing with a father suffering from a terminal neurological disorder.
The series was a a breakout hit for the network in its first season, with episodes averaging a seven-day viewing figure of 3.1 million viewers between those watching its live airing and those catching up with it via a variety of digital platforms or via DVR within that first week, making Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist the only one of the network’s freshman series to get a second season pick up last year. However, the Hollywood Reporter is stating that season two’s ratings were down by 14 percent, leading to NBC dropping the boom.
Not going to lie, this one hurts a bit. When I first heard about the premise of the show, I rolled my eyes a bit. But then I tuned in for the first episode and was charmed by what it had to offer. Also, the storyline about her father slowly dying was something that I found relatable as both my elderly parents are dealing with end-of-life health issues. As the first season continued, I found myself enjoying the show on the whole more and more, as well as becoming more invested in the Zoey-Father storyline in particular and I think that it helped me process some of my own feelings about what was happening with my parents.
