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The season finale of Superstore airs on April 23 on NBC. Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, production for Season 5 of Superstore ended early. As a result, “California Part 1” will serve as the new season finale. Superstore is already renewed for Season 6, but some fans might be wondering how the coronavirus will affect production of the show going forward.

America Ferrera
America Ferrera as Amy | Tina Thorpe/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Production for ‘Superstore’ shut down

On March 13, America Ferrera, who plays Amy Sosa in Superstore, posted a farewell video to the season on Instagram.

“So today is unexpectedly my last day shooting on Superstore for the season. We’re shutting down production,” she said in an Instagram story. “I’m about to go shoot my last scene. None of my cast members are here, and this is not how we expected to be ending the season.”

Ferrera added, “I assume [this] means we’ll be coming back when things clear up to finish Amy’s storyline.”

Because production shut down before filming for season 5 of Superstore completed, the season has one fewer episode than originally planned.

What industry experts think about TV shows beginning production

Superstore typically receives a fall premiere date in September, but because of the coronavirus, it’s unclear if that is possible. In March 2020, The Hollywood Reporter spoke to industry experts about what the coronavirus outbreak means for TV shows going forward.

According to the publication, “For series that will be renewed, or in some cases already scored early pickups, the outstanding episodes will likely be ‘rolled’ to the 2020-21 season, whenever that begins.”

This means that the original finale planned for the fifth season could possibly act as the premiere for season 6 of Superstore.

“Multiple insiders say that should production resume mid-May, Premiere Week — starting Sept. 21 — would likely still happen, though new shows could be delayed,” reported The Hollywood Reporter. “And if production is delayed beyond May? ‘January may become the new September if we lose three months of production,’ says one veteran exec. Should that happen, that would likely mean fewer new series and a reduction in the number of episodes ordered.”

Based off of this, if production is able to resume sometime in May, new seasons of TV shows like Superstore would still premiere in the fall. However, if production is delayed to keep everyone safe, shows could be pushed back to a mid-season premiere in January 2021.

America Ferrera will return for season 6

On Feb. 28, Ferrera announced she planned to leave Superstore after season 5 in an Instagram post.

Her Instagram post read:

“The last five years on Superstore have been some of the most rewarding, enriching and enjoyable years of my career. Producing, directing and acting with this wonderful cast and crew has given me opportunities to grow as a person and storyteller. I’m so grateful to my partners at NBC and Universal Television for the support and belief they have always placed in the show, and I’m most thankful to the brilliant Justin Spitzer for creating the funny, smart and relevant world of Superstore and inviting me to be a part of it. As I start the next chapter for my family and career, I wish only the best, and much continued success, to my beloved Superstore family.”

However, the actress will now return whenever production of Superstore resumes to complete Amy’s character arc.

“[America] has every intention to come back,” Ferrera’s co-star Ben Feldman told TVLine. “She wants to see a proper send-off for Amy, so my guess is that’ll be worked into next season. Of course, she’s pregnant, so we’ll have to figure it out. Then it just becomes a scheduling thing.”

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