Zooey’s Extraordinary Playlist returns to NBC for a second season. If you have not watched the first season, you must in order to follow the storylines. With that said, you should definitely watch the first season. Warning: If you haven’t watched yet, the following review contains major spoilers. I wouldn’t say they are show ruingly bad, but they give enough away that you shouldn’t continue if you don’t like a story preview.
Initially, Zoey could be easily dismissed as a Crazy Ex-Girlfriend knockoff mixed with Glee‘s rampaging of the Billboard charts. However, that’s not close to the reality. It may be COVID cabin fever setting it, but Zooey’s is a refreshing taste of Broadway during a time when live events are cancelled for at least another 6 months.
In Season 2, Zooey’s family copes with the lost of her father. Zooey’s not handling it well and has missed six weeks of work. When she finally returns, Zooey finds her normal routine too much. On her first day back, Zooey gets a major promotion and finds that life moved on without her. Not only does work and her family overwhelm Zooey, but so do her friends, with two men desperately wanting to be her boyfriend. Her friend Mo dismissed Zooey’s stress load due to what Mo calls “Champagne Problems.” While Mo has real problems making the rent, Zooey’s problems are equally real, even if they are better problems to have under normal circumstances.
One major surprise is that, despite dying in the season finale, Zoey’s dad returns via videos recorded before his death. The videos are hard to watch, but it’s nice to see Peter Gallagher return in some form.
Season 2 shows Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist finally hitting its stride. The songs are fun. The actors have learned how to play off each other better. And the show mastered its balance of drama and comedy; albeit it leans toward quirky drama than laugh out loud comedy to the point that calling it a comedy drama or dramedy is misleading.
In a world where an ever increasing number of shows keep adding the pandemic as a plotline or have their actors wear masks while going about their characters everyday lives, it’s nice to have a show grounded in reality, ignore the pandemic and indulge in some sense of normalcy. Granted, a show where a woman can hear other people’s internal soundtracks doesn’t have both feet firmly on the ground. Either way, Zooey’s is a nice, if not always happy, escape.
Zooey’s Extraordinary Playlist Season 2 is now Streaming on Peacock & airs Tuesdays on NBC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olXfRErNblY
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