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NBC announced among several series premieres and changes that the show, as expected, will go on a short hiatus after this coming Tuesday and return in March, this time on Sundays at 9pm starting March 28 http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2021/02/04/nbcs-law-and-order-organized-crime-hits-the-streets-thursday-april-1-as-part-of-historic-crossover-with-law-and-order-svu-208415/20210204nbc02/

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Some quotes from Jane Levy, including a musical number tease: https://deadline.com/2021/02/zoeys-extraordinary-playlist-lead-jane-levy-golden-globe-nomination-pandemic-1234686966/

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“We have really poured our hearts into this project and it seems that it’s resonating and damn, that’s cool,” Levy said.

Levy is up for the annual ceremony’s [Golden Globes] best actress in a TV musical or comedy series and will race for the prize against Lily Collins, Kaley Cuoco, Elle Fanning and Catherine O’Hara. The actress, who sings and dances in the NBC comedy from Austin Winsberg, said she feels that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has not only impacted how viewers resonate with the series, but her sense of responsibility uplift and relate to her audience. With stressors of the coronavirus pandemic and economic instability, Levy said she wants to work harder in showing “Zoey’s heart and her grief and her joy.”

“I think that through the joy and through the singing and dancing, we open windows into the harder parts of life and we gently walk into those areas with our hearts open,” she said. “Our show is about what brings us together and how we can lean forward with our hearts and listen to one another.”

While Levy didn’t share too many details about what’s yet to come in new episodes of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist season 2, she said that she’s currently filming a

Spoiler

musical number set in a dinosaur museum. She added that while she’s not the one performing the number, “someone very cute” will show off their singing chops in the future episode.

 

 

Interview with Alice Lee: https://www.etonline.com/zoeys-extraordinary-playlist-star-alice-lee-steps-out-of-the-shadows-in-season-2-exclusive-159869

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What are you looking forward to this season that you hope to explore down the line? 

I'm definitely excited for her because there's going to be a bit more of an emotional journey for her in the second half, which we're about to shoot now. As I go in depth a little more with Emily, that'll be really cool. And also, I love having a sister come into the season right now. Love another Asian sis up in here. 

I loved when Jenna came into the picture because she just is the complete opposite from Emily.

I feel like I'm more Jenna than I am Emily. I also I knew Jee [Young Han], the girl who plays my sister. We were already friends from L.A., isn't that great? I knew her from New York actually from years ago. And in L.A. we would see each other at auditions. And then we slowly became friends and hung out, and then she told me she got this and it's like, "Wow, universe!" We bonded. She actually lived above me while we were here in Vancouver. So while she was quarantining, we'd say hi on the balcony and hang out on the balcony and while she was here, she'd make Korean food and we'd work out together. 

 

Preview for 2.06: 'John Clarence Stewart Says Simon Has Hard Decisions Ahead'

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Having been recently (and unexpectedly) promoted to spokesman for the tech company SPRQ Point, “The questions that Simon had of ‘Why me?’ are getting answered,” Stewart says. In the February 2 episode, he learns that the struggling company’s facial-recognition software on its Chirp watch has trouble identifying people of color — a public relations nightmare.

Simon, who is Black, faces a difficult choice: “Will he shield the company with his face and his words, or hold the company accountable in public? What does it look like to actually bring about change that’s not cosmetic, that actually shifts the needle?”

The fallout from his decision dominates the February 9 episode, which features music from Black artists as his friend and boss, Zoey Clarke (Jane Levy), sees people’s inner thoughts revealed via song-and-dance numbers.

“We’re a snowball running downhill really fast,” Stewart says of the growing office tension, which honors the employees’ unique experiences in the workplace and confronts their blind spots. “It’s a really beautiful thing to watch these characters navigate this avalanche.”

 

Another preview article at People.com: (excerpts)

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"'Black Man in a White World' is my favorite song that I've performed on Zoey's. In fact, it's the highlight of my career thus far," Stewart tells PEOPLE. "The process was collaborative and we all felt a shared sense of responsibility and duty to tell the potentially triggering truth. For me in particular, this song/dance is both personal and spiritual. It embodies at times, my traumatic experience moving through the world as a Black man, and echoes the experience of many Black and brown people navigating white spaces on the regular."

...

Each of the four songs featured in the episode were originally sung by Black artists, and are performed in the show by people of color to illustrate the different effects of systemic racism and biases.

Longer interviews with John Clarence Stewart:

'How 'Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist' Candidly Addresses Racial Bias'

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Shaped by Black creatives -- writer Zora Bikangaga, director Anya Adams and choreographer Luther Brown -- the episode focuses on the aftermath of Simon's comments and further explores the consequences through difficult, painful conversations about systemic racism in the tech industry and in America, and the damaging effects of virtue signaling. The idea for the hour came last summer when creator Austin Winsberg and the writers discussed a multi-episode arc for Simon. "My immediate response was just an immense amount of weight of responsibility that we have to tell the truth, and to do it right," Stewart tells ET. "And the understanding that I'm a Black man and I didn't want to tell a story that was inauthentic in any way, shape or form." 

Stewart and Bikangaga connected once the episodes were locked, having very real discussions about their real-life experiences operating through the world as Black men "in white spaces," the actor recalls. "We got these really frank conversations that found their way into the script, found their way into the dialogue," the actor shared. "One of the things we also talked about was making sure that everything's earned, making sure that we don't shy away from the idea of characters having blind spots, specifically white characters in the episode like our titular character Zoey and [SPRQ Point CEO] Danny Michael Davis, and learning. Fortunately, Austin didn't shy away from that."

"Everybody felt an immense amount of responsibility to make sure that all of the characters were [truthful] and that Zoey ends the episode in a different place than she begins. Yes, Simon is moving through this and he is learning the cost of standing up, the cost of responsibility, what it's like to fully embody and fully embrace his Blackness in a white space, with all the costs that come with that," he explains. "We're following her through her journey, learning what allies should be, learning what it is to be really close friends with Black people and without intentionally meaning to harm, but blind spots causing debris and affecting the people that she cared about in ways she did not know. We have the opportunity to have these conversations that are layered and intricate and vulnerable in ways that I'm proud we had in mind. Everybody was game for it and that's a beautiful thing."

'John Clarence Stewart talks tackling systemic racism on Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist'

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Stewart says that sometimes "there's a cost of relationships" as well, "because we have relational contracts with people based on who they've shown us of themselves, and then when someone shows up with all of who they are, they have to renegotiate the emotional and relational contract they have, and that can cause a lot of dissonance in many places, let alone a workplace. So you see Simon moving through that."

That will lead Simon to having honest conversations with Zoey (Jane Levy) after she brushed off his concerns about the Chirp issue in last week's episode. "They've shared love, they've shared friendship, they've shared loss, as I have white people in my life that are really close friends that have seen me through some of the darkest and most difficult periods of my life," Stewart says. "And yet still, there have been blind spots that they've had that have caused wounds and hurt. We'll find what it looks like for Simon to show up fully in all spaces, including his most personal friendships."

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist creator Austin Winsberg told Stewart that the show would be tackling issues of race in between seasons 1 and 2, and the actor felt a deeply personal connection to what Simon's journey would look like. "I found out about this episode like three to four weeks after George Floyd was killed," Stewart says. "There was this really big responsibility that I felt, and I made sure to communicate that, and it made me feel vulnerable to do so. In a lot of ways, I haven't always taken up space as a Black man in white spaces in my work. I'm very much like Simon: I go to work, I get my job done, and I go home. But when it came to this story line, I felt this great amount of desire to make sure that we told the truth."

 

There's going to be a special on youtube after tonight's episode:

Another article with quotes about tonight's episode from Stewart and the showrunner at TVLine; this one mentions Tobin:

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“Then as time went on, it was important for me that all of the people of color — Kapil [Talwalkar], Alex [Newell] — that we had the nuance of our voices in this storytelling,” Stewart continues. Even going back to the conversation between Simon, Tatiana and Mo in Episode 5, the Black trio are “not a monolith. Not everyone agrees, not everybody’s on the same page. Mo’s experience in the world, being Black and queer, is different than Simon’s experience in the world, being Black and [cisgender]. It’s different than Tatiana’s experience in the world.”

In giving voice to various BIPOC characters, Talwalkar’s Tobin “also has to deal with racism at SPRQPoint as an Indian-American man and has developed his own unique coping mechanisms in order to ‘fit in’ and assimilate,” Winsberg previews. “In talking to Kapil about it — and another writer on our show, Karan Sunil — we realized that there is an entire ‘first gen’ point of view that we could also bring into the story that might help explain some of why Tobin is the way that he is. This not only added depth, resonance and context for the character but also became the key piece of the entire story.”

 

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Valentines from the cast:

 

A few 'post mortem' interviews about the "...Reckoning" episode:

'John Clarence Stewart Talks Simon's Big Song Number and Repairing His Friendship With Zoey'

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“Moving forward in the season, we get to see Simon moving through the implementation of what has been happening at SPRQPoint,” actor John Clarence Stewart, who plays Simon, tells TVLine. “The leadership position changes in a way, and we get to see him doing the work of the thing, which I think is really important. … My hope is that, as we move forward, we’re still moving through what we’ve excavated in [Episode] 6, because the truth is, and I think we all know this, transformation is not born in a moment. Transformation is a process that happens over time, and process isn’t something to run away from. It’s something to be acknowledged and honored.”

 

‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’ Team Talks Tackling Systemic Racism in Tech

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“I drew on a lot of experience for Tobin and I relate a lot to Tobin,” Bikangaga says. “There are ways that first-gens differentiate ourselves to assimilate, to differentiate and to say we’re ‘the model minority.’ And all that does is condone and reinforce an environment of racism. And so, a lot of non-Black people of color have been stepping up to call that out. And I felt we had to acknowledge that because, as a person of color, if I watch the show I’m always going to be thinking about it.”

It was also important to keep Zoey in these on-screen conversations, not just because she is the titular character, but also because “we thought it would be more of an opportunity to show her blind spots and experience a reckoning in her own friendships and relationships through this event that happens at work,” Bikangaga says.

 

'John Clarence Stewart Breaks Down Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist's Racial Reckoning'

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How did having Luther working on Episode 6 shape the dance moves that you did?

Stewart: He brought with him all of his experiences moving in the world as a dancer and a choreographer. And it's just a given that he's a Black man. And with that intersection, it opens up the space in a lot of different ways. I saw that with "No More Drama." I saw that even with "Tracks of My Tears," and specifically when we got to "Tightrope," which is the embodiment of Black joy. These movements are the echo to the church, callbacks to large groups of people in praise and worship, and stuff like that... [Luther] brought these ideas into the space as he was sharing the choreography with us. And all of these Black bodies in the space understood what that was. This physical language, [which] is a shared physical language, deepens and gets to the truth of what we're trying to communicate.

 

'Kapil Talwalkar on Music, BIPOC Representation & Tackling Systemic Racism...' (video)

 

Edited by Trini
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A new original song in the next episode! ''Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist' Debuts Its First Original Song: Listen to It Here First'

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“We’ve always wanted to do original songs on the show. It’s just been a question of when and what works with our conceit,” says Austin Winsberg, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’s creator and show runner. Winsberg wrote “Crimson Love” with show writer Lindsey Rosin and the show’s executive music producer Harvey Mason Jr.

“Zoey theoretically has all the songs in the world downloaded in her brain. So it’s been a bit challenging trying to figure out how to organically fit something original in there,” Winsberg continues. “When we came up with the idea of a band in the show -- and more specifically, a band writing their own song for Zoey -- it felt like the perfect way to do something original.”

“There’s a funny element that would only be achieved by writing it,” Mason says. “Austin came up with some very clever lyrics. No one knows the arc of the characters better than Austin.”

 

Showrunner preview of tomorrow's episode: https://tvline.com/2021/04/02/zoeys-extraordinary-playlist-spoilers-season-2-episode-8-birthday/

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“Zoey is not somebody who typically enjoys her birthday. Zoey’s not somebody who usually likes a lot of attention on herself,” showrunner Austin Winsberg tells TVLine. “But her mom feels like, because it’s her 30th birthday and because of Dad’s belief that it’s always important to celebrate the big moments, that they should celebrate her 30th birthday… It’s sort of about Zoey being able to try to enjoy herself and try to have a good time, and there are a few things that get in the way of that.”

 

'Zoey's Playlist Boss Talks Love Triangle Twist:'  -- His answer to 'Hey, didn't you end the triangle?' is essentially, 'Well, they changed their minds and wanted to explore other options'. And the way he explains Zoey's decisions is not actually what Zoey expresses in the show itself, so I don't know how he expects the audience to 'get' her choices.

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Since I cancelled my hulu subscription, I 100% did not realize this show had come back. I felt like I was getting bombarded with hulu ads for it before, during, and after watching the first season. I do think there was also some online press (Buzzfeed, Broadway outlets, etc.) but there's no website or people I actively follow talking about this show so I had no idea that the second season had even premiered let alone that so many episodes were out.

1 hour ago, funnygirl said:

Wonderful news for Alice Lee (Emily), but could this be a sign that the end of Zoey is near? 

No, it means nothing with regards to ZEP. If you sign a contract as a lead on a show, then you are tied to it (legally the show takes precedence over other projects) but if you are recurring, then you have the option of doing other projects or even leaving. There have been instances where cast members specifically chose to remain recurring rather than being a series regular so that they had the option to do other projects. Chris Noth notably chose to remain recurring for the entire seven seasons of The Good Wife which allowed him to shoot several other projects during the show's run. Connor Paolo was offered a contract to be bumped up to series regular on Gossip Girl but he turned it down for the same reason and ended up leaving the show when he was cast on Revenge.

Emily is a secondary character so as much as I like her, the show will be fine if she leaves. There have been many shows where a character continues to exist off screen and only shows up occasionally onscreen. Since she's gone back to work and they have a baby, they could have Emily remain in the show's universe and have David say she's working late, prepping for a big case, or staying home with the baby to keep her off screen and have her pop in for big family events once or twice a season where her absence would be noticeable (although on blackish, they've had things like weddings where there were family members missing without so much as a cursory "Rhonda's in the other room" explanation).

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'Jane Levy and the Cast of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist Share Their Favorite Musical Numbers'; plus a few teases.

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The NBC dramedy will surpass 100 in the episode, "Zoey's Extraordinary Mystery," in which Zoey (Jane Levy) finds that her musical powers are all messed up. Instead of hearing people expressing their own feelings through song, she finds that they're expressing other people's feelings. The heart songs are all a mess, and she's got to figure out whose song is whose. It results in some truly incredible performances, not unlike the incredible performances the show has given us in every episode so far. 

 

 

9 hours ago, ciubecca98 said:
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There's a song for almost every single main character, though some are more meaningful than others. One performance in particular, featuring Zoey's current crush Simon (John Clarence Stewart), is maybe one of the funniest things that has ever happened on the show. It involves a viral hit, a lot of hand gestures and some rolling on the floor, and it's Levy's favorite of the episode. 

"I think I was so shocked, like I was in a true state of disbelief that I didn't really have to do anything," she says of her part in the song, which is mostly to stand there and look completely bewildered. "We shot that late at night after a really long day, and everybody was exhausted. And then that song happened, and everybody was in the best mood. And if anyone can pull that song off, it's John Stewart apparently." 

The best part of the whole thing, Levy says, is that Stewart had never heard the song before. 

Sounds hilarious! But why would that be someone's heart song, though?

7 hours ago, funnygirl said:

Nah. It all depends on her contract - if we get a season 3 and that show gets picked up, she might get downgraded to guest star. She could also be written off. Or whatever her agent and the producers/network negotiated

1 hour ago, bros402 said:
9 hours ago, funnygirl said:

Wonderful news for Alice Lee (Emily), but could this be a sign that the end of Zoey is near? 

Nah. It all depends on her contract - if we get a season 3 and that show gets picked up, she might get downgraded to guest star. She could also be written off. Or whatever her agent and the producers/network negotiated

And depending upon shooting schedules, her role in ZEP might not significantly change. 
But is ZEP still “on the bubble” anyway?

49 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

And depending upon shooting schedules, her role in ZEP might not significantly change. 
But is ZEP still “on the bubble” anyway?

unfortunately it is true what I have read, the ratings are not encouraging

at worst I hope at least in a reduction of episodes to give us a conclusion

Edited by ciubecca98
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8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

And depending upon shooting schedules, her role in ZEP might not significantly change. 
But is ZEP still “on the bubble” anyway?

The show started out strong. It wasn’t getting amazing ratings but was up a good amount from the first season. Then the break and night change caused a huge drop. The DVR numbers were really strong with the first season but I haven’t seen anything on those this season. I could see it going either way but it’s a lot harder to judge now that live ratings are a less important factor than they used to be. 

New character for the last few episodes: https://tvline.com/2021/04/12/zoeys-extraordinary-playlist-oscar-nunez-cast-therapist-season-2/

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Oscar Nunez will appear in multiple episodes of the NBC musical dramedy as Zoey’s therapist Dr. Tesoro, TVLine has learned exclusively.

Nunez’s character is described as a warm yet slightly sarcastic man who will help Zoey navigate her grief, powers and relationships. And for once, Zoey is able to tell someone about her special abilities without any consequences.

“She’s going to realize that perhaps she needs more help than she realized, and that’s going to send her into therapy,” showrunner Austin Winsberg tells TVLine, adding that Dr. Tesoro “triggers a major storyline” that is the central focus of an entire episode.

 

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On 3/11/2021 at 6:59 PM, possibilities said:

When they said that Maximo has some fire safety issues to deal with, I started thinking about a crossover episode with Station 19 or 9-1-1. I want to see the firefighters sing!

Station 19, please!  Okieriete Onaodowan (Dean Miller) was the original Hercules Mulligan/James Madison in Hamilton on Broadway.  It would be amazing to hear him sing again in ZEP!

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I read an article that Oscar Nunez (from The Office) will be a recurring character for the rest of S2 as Zoey's therapist. The article indicates that Zoey will tell him about he heart songs very early in their sessions. This probably should have been a plot element some time in S1, but at latest in early S2. Doing so would have given S2 some actual forward momentum on the serious topic of mental health. 

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18 minutes ago, D Angel said:

Ho letto un articolo in cui Oscar Nunez (da  The Office ) sarà un personaggio ricorrente per il resto di S2 come terapeuta di Zoey. L'articolo indica che Zoey gli parlerà delle sue canzoni del cuore molto presto nelle loro sessioni. Questo probabilmente avrebbe dovuto essere un elemento della trama un po 'di tempo in S1, ma al più tardi all'inizio di S2. Ciò avrebbe dato a S2 un vero slancio in avanti sul serio argomento della salute mentale. 

yes I think it will arrive in the eleventh episode, they will have inserted it now to have more things to show in the next season hoping it will be there or that the writers already knew something about the renewal🤞🙏

Maggie and Deb (Bernadette Peters) clip here: https://www.playbill.com/article/watch-bernadette-peters-returns-to-zoeys-extraordinary-playlist-for-a-girls-night-out

 

Interview with Alice Lee (Emily) previewing the next episode at TVLine:

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TVLINE | Zoey makes it her mission to help Emily out this week. Initially, how does Emily feel about Zoey trying to reach out to her? Is she receptive?

I don’t think Emily is receptive at all. Emily’s definitely just trying to brush it off every time, because Zoey really wants to talk and have a heart-to-heart, but Emily’s just on a totally different page. She just wants to rage or forget about it, really. It’s a funny dynamic, and I feel like we haven’t really seen a lot of Zoey and Emily together and their dynamic. It was really fun working with her during those scenes.

 

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Another interview with Alice Lee at EW: 'Alice Lee talks tackling 'heavy' postpartum depression arc'

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Lee found out about Emily's postpartum depression about a month before the episodes were written, and she admits she was "anxious and nervous" about having to portray that arc. "I wanted to do it justice," she says. "It's such a delicate topic and I say delicate but I don't think it should even be like this fragile topic, it should be talked about. There shouldn't be a stigma about it and women shouldn't feel ashamed to be depressed."

But because she's not a mother, she was careful to make sure she portrayed Emily's struggles authentically. "I wanted to do it right for all the moms out there," she says before quickly adding, "Oh my God, this is making me emotional, sorry. I love kids, and I definitely want to have a kid one day. And I talked to some moms, but I can only imagine having a baby and feeling like you don't love the baby or like feeling like you're not enough. I can't even imagine how sad that must be. I just tapped into that, and that feeling like you're not enough. I feel like we've all felt like that in different ways. It was heavy stuff, but because I'm not a mom, that was the scariest for me. I haven't had that experience."

 

And another at TV Insider:

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You had quite the emotional song at the end of last week’s episode, and in this week’s, you have another one. What can you preview about this week’s song and what it says about where Emily’s head is at?

Yeah, it’s another emotional one. It’s different in its vibe. It’s a lot more raw. It’s really cool because I just feel like see another side of Emily that you haven’t seen and it’s a type of song that I haven’t sung yet. Dancing in the location was very fun.

 

Edited by Trini
On 4/11/2021 at 12:29 PM, Dani said:

The show started out strong. It wasn’t getting amazing ratings but was up a good amount from the first season. Then the break and night change caused a huge drop. The DVR numbers were really strong with the first season but I haven’t seen anything on those this season. I could see it going either way but it’s a lot harder to judge now that live ratings are a less important factor than they used to be. 

In the DVR numbers, for the first 2 episodes of the season, the 18-49 demo was 0.2 vs 0.3 in the first season, while the viewers were down more, 0.81 and 0.71 vs 0.99 for the Season 1 finale. The overnight viewers at the beginning of this season were actually better than the beginning of last season, but have fallen below last season for the last few episodes. And yes, the drop seems to coincide with the nearly 7 weeks off and change to Sundays. Why do networks continue to mess with their shows' schedules like that?

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41 minutes ago, DanaK said:

In the DVR numbers, for the first 2 episodes of the season, the 18-49 demo was 0.2 vs 0.3 in the first season, while the viewers were down more, 0.81 and 0.71 vs 0.99 for the Season 1 finale. The overnight viewers at the beginning of this season were actually better than the beginning of last season, but have fallen below last season for the last few episodes. And yes, the drop seems to coincide with the nearly 7 weeks off and change to Sundays. Why do networks continue to mess with their shows' schedules like that?

we must hope that they take into account the decline due to the change of day and that they also give us the third season !!!

13 hours ago, DanaK said:

this was already known .... but there is no news on what will happen

an article in which due to the lower ratings of NBC he considers it likely to be canceled

on reddit there are those who commented on the news like this..
I think we were in the same spot with Zoey’s at this time last year. The NBC higher-ups love it, so if they take it off network they might move it to Peacock

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/greys-anatomy-9-1-1-renew-cancel-networks-1234958740/

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‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’ celebrates S.F.’s Bay to Breakers race in new episode:

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While “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” is largely filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, creator Austin Winsberg says he wanted to incorporate the race into the show’s story line to pay homage to one of San Francisco’s most popular events.

“We are always trying to have some degree of authenticity,” Winsberg told The Chronicle during a recent phone interview. “We have several people in the (show’s) writing room who participated in Bay to Breakers at one point or knew about it. We loved the opportunity to go big.”

Bay to Breakers isn’t just any old race. Founded in 1912, the annual event typically falls on the third Sunday of May. Participants dress up in inventive costumes to run the citywide 7.46-mile course, starting a few blocks from the Embarcadero and finishing at the Great Highway along the Pacific coast.

The race’s organizers called the decision to work with the show a “no brainer” in an email to The Chronicle. The goal was to make every detail “as authentic as possible,” says Cory Michel, senior operations manager for the Capstone Event Group, the organization that manages the race.

“They really wanted to make it as authentic as possible, including understanding things like how the bib system worked … [and] this year’s “run wild” theme,” Michel explains, adding that the Bay to Breakers team is thrilled to be a part of the episode.

More info on how they incorporated details about the race at the link. Also pictures!

MER8ec880d2a4bbd81cfd942598bcedd_zoey0501-1024x681.jpg

 

Apparently it's International Dance Day, featurette with choreographer Mandy Moore about the dances on the show:

'Choreographer Mandy Moore Talks Her Process on Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist'

 

Also she's directing this Sunday's episode!

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'A Day in the Life: This Is What It’s Like to Direct a TV Show in the Middle of a Pandemic'

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Ahead of her May 2 directorial debut, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist producer and choreographer Mandy Moore (nope, not that one) shares her whole song-and-dance routine with E! News.

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Producer and choreographer on NBC charmer Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist since its January 2020 debut (the titular Zoey hears people's inner desires in the form of pop songs, thus the need for Moore's specific set of skills), she finally decided to listen to the colleagues that had told her choreographers make the best directors.

"Now having been through the process of directing, I would agree with that," she tells E! News of helming the drama's May 2 return. "Because so many of the things in my skill set, you know, things like decision-making and coaching and leading a team and being communicative in a space and staging and kind of intuitive emotional movement, all that stuff is what I do as a choreographer."

Her new routine required an ability to think on her feet ("You really feel like you're shot out of a cannon," she said of the jam-packed 12-hour shoots on their Vancouver set), multitask like a pro and use a lot of highlighters. (More on that later.) She walks E! through every step. 

 

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At EW: 'Mandy Moore talks directing her first episode'

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How did you approach directing this episode?

 

Basically, I was just like, "I need to turn it up a notch. I've already worked 14 hours a day creating everything dance-wise for the show!" [Laughs] When moving from choreography to directing, with choreography I'm thinking about a certain scene that maybe is a minute-and-a-half in length and I'm thinking very much along the same lines as a director when I'm creating those. But when you direct, you're obviously thinking of 42 minutes. The workload just expands. And once I realized that so much of my skill set as a choreographer was in line with what I would have to do as a director, it didn't seem as overwhelming. The way you block a dance is very similar to the way that you block the scene. It's all tempo and timing and emotion and narrative and feel. It was nice that it transitioned pretty well.

It does feel like, as the choreographer, you're already directing so much in every episode so it makes sense you would be able to take over as director so smoothly.

Yeah! A lot of people say choreographers make for really great directors. And now being through the process, I can understand the correlation. It is really similar. You're physicalizing something that's on the page. And it's what you do as a director, you try to visually represent what you read on the page. Working so closely with Austin, he and I are two peas in a pod anyway. So it's really nice to feel like he trusts my vision. He and I are really honest with one another, keep each other in check with things, and it was just so nice to feel like I was in the right place, doing the right stuff.

 

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