Superstore – the workplace comedy set in the world of retail is a real treat

Ugly Betty star America Ferrera returns to TV in Superstore, created by one of the team behind hit American sitcom The Office.

The stars of OSN’s new comedy Superstore, front row, from left, Colton Dunn as Garrett, Ben Feldman as Jonah, and America Ferrera as Amy. Getty Images

If medieval poet Dante Alighieri was alive today to ­reimagine a modern journey through the afterlife, he would have no qualms describing Superstore as an inner circle of Hell. Fortunately, it is also a ­divine comedy.

This new workplace sitcom – which begins on Friday, September 2, on OSN First Comedy – makes light of the many dark torments endured by the hapless employees of Cloud 9, a fictional big-box megastore in St Louis, Missouri.

Wearing their company-­issue blue smocks, the workers – from summer hires to ­committed-for-life managers – gamely try to cling to their sanity in the face of a relentless daily grind of bargain hunters, the ­lunacy of door-busting sales and sleep-inducing training sessions that could knock out a rhino.

"Everybody's a very crazy character – people you love, people who are fun to watch," says America Ferrera, the former star of Ugly Betty, who returns to TV here as Amy Dubanowski, a store associate and floor supervisor.

“She’s a veteran of this life, so she’s not surprised by very much.”

The series “is about their relationships and the inner workings of what it’s like to work in a place like this ... it peels back the curtain on that world”, she says.

The first episode begins with a newcomer, Jonah, joining the ranks of the employees.

“Jonah comes into Cloud 9,” says Ferrera, 32. “[But] Amy’s been here for 10 years and he’s sort of fresh blood and very idealistic and confident – and just new in a way that’s annoying to Amy, because she’s been here since she was 19.

“She’s not too keen on fresh, idealistic, young blood coming and challenging the way things are done.”

This thorn-in-her-side is played by Ben Feldman, 36, best known as guardian angel Fred in Drop Dead Diva, and troubled copywriter Michael on Mad Men.

“I’m a little snobby but clumsy,” he says of his new role, “a funny combination of bright, intelligent ... and just a complete idiot.

“Everything is seen through the lens of his first day – at least, in my narcissistic world, the ­entire show is about Jonah’s first day at work.”

“[Our] relationship thrives on opposites attracting. For every step we take forward, we take two steps back in our relationship,” says ­Ferrera.

"I had promised myself that I wouldn't be in a comedy if I can help it," says Feldman of his plans before Superstore came along.

“Not because of anything ­other than I just don’t think I’m as ­funny as most of the people that are on comedies – and I’m continually proved correct every single day that I show up to work here.”

The co-stars giving Feldman this inferiority complex include: Lauren Ash (Super Fun Night) as assistant manager Dina, who has a strong connection with her pet birds, but is out of touch with people; Colton Dunn (Key & Peele) as Garrett, a wheelchair-bound associate who pulls pranks out of boredom; and Mark McKinney (The Kids in The Hall) as Glenn, the socially ­awkward store ­manager who foists his religious beliefs on the workplace.

The show has been a learning curve for series creator and executive producer Justin Spitzer, who previously produced and served as a writer for seven years on another workplace comedy, the American version of the more desk-bound The Office.

As The Office proved in its early episodes, getting a TV comedy right can be tricky and requires a lot of fine tuning, as sometimes the flaws only become apparent once production starts.

Superstore also appears a bit clunky in its early episodes – but it is well worth sticking with the first season until it finds its feet. In the United States, where the first season was broadcast on NBC, early reviews were ­mediocre, praising the show's talented cast, but criticising the thin, formulaic writing.

But as the 11-episode first ­season progressed, the reviews grew more positive, and by the finale, The Los Angeles Times was describing the show as "one of TV's best new comedies". After a shaky start, it was renewed for a second season.

Ferrera, who won a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award for her breakthrough role on Ugly Betty (2006-2010), praises Superstore for its diversity.

“It’s the first role I’ve ever been offered in my career that wasn’t written Latino,” she says.

“I was so taken by how this script hadn’t been written with the characters’ ethnicity ­predetermined. They cast the best people for the roles.”

• Superstore begins at 7pm ­on Friday, September 2, on OSN First Comedy