After I finished "The Office" last semester, there was a huge void in my life. As the credits rolled on the final episode of the funniest and heartwarming show I had ever seen, I cried like a little baby (thought it may have had something to do with the fact that I'd been to the dentist for a cavity and still had a little Novocaine in my veins). It was heartbreaking. For a long time, I couldn't find a comparable way to occupy my free time. I started and finished "Parks and Recreation," got up-to-speed on "Jane the Virgin," but nothing could fill up the spaces in the binge watching part of my heart that the Dunder Mifflin gang filled.
That all changed last week when I started (and finished without realizing it... oops) NBC's "Superstore." It was created by Justin Spitzer, who wrote some episodes of and co-produced "The Office." It's a workplace comedy, too, with similar tropes and characters: an apparent budding workplace romance (I see you, Amy and Jonah), an authoritarian assistant manager, and a blundering manager with a big heart and no real managing skills -- not to mention a sketchy old man who has probably killed some people, a sassy Black man, and a homosexual minority.
My only complaint right now is that the show is so new, there aren't enough gifs to accompany the moments I had in mind when writing this list.
So, without further ado, here's a recap of the funny and heartwarming life lessons I've learned from binge-watching "Superstore."
1. Love can come in many shapes and sizes.
Even a butchy woman who takes her job too seriously can mourn the death of a bird and long for a baby of her own -- and fall in love with a subordinate.
2. Stay true to yourself -- even if it means losing sales and breaking a co-workers' ankle.
3. Don't take yourself too seriously -- even if your work-flirt is relentlessly terrorizing you with a look-alike mannequin.
4. It's important to choose your battles -- even if you swear you saw that lady shoplift.
5. Sometimes working in sales is about more than just making a dollar -- even if you were promised a $100 bonus.
6. The best husbands and fathers come from the most unlikely places -- and just might have unsuccessful rapping careers and crappy mustaches.
7. Everyone has a story, and even the people you work with can turn out to be your best friends.
8. Dating your co-workers is a terrible idea -- even if it's just "strongly discouraged."
9. Never fail to see the beauty of everyday moments -- even if those everyday moments involve flash mobs with loaded guns.
"Superstore" is one of the best television comedies I've seen in a really long time. Season one just concluded, and I can't wait to see what the future of the show has in store (no pun intended).
