Do you miss Glee?
Or Crazy Ex-Girlfriend? Or Smash? Gilmore Girls? Suburgatory? And maybe just a smidge of Silicon Valley, but you always wished Silicon Valley had more singing and was run by Lauren Graham? If so, you desperately need to watch Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.
A sneak peek premieres tonight on NBC, before the full season premieres in February, and it’s a joyful piece of television that is worth your time and attention.
After an event that isn’t important (yet), Zoey (Jane Levy), a programmer whose headphones are usually blasting podcasts, finds herself able to hear people’s innermost feelings through song. That includes her coworker (Skylar Astin), who sings about how he’s in love with her, and her boss (Lauren Graham), who sings about her marriage.
This also includes her parents, played by Mary Steenburgen and Peter Gallagher, who sing their struggles to keep their marriage alive. Zoey’s naturally very annoyed by this at first, but after some advice from her neighbor (a delightful Alex Newell), she starts to have a little more fun with it.
The show features popular music of all kinds, and musical numbers ranging from one person singing alone to an entire chorus of people all singing together. Back at NBC’s Upfront presentation last year, Jane Levy told us she signed on for the musical aspect, even though she does not consider herself a singer.
“I am not a professional singer or dancer…but I have so much admiration for my castmates. They are so wildly talented to watch, people who can sing, use their instruments like that, it’s like mind blowing. It’s very hard to be the least talented person and be the lead of the show, but just wait ’til you hear the songs come out of their mouths.”
Levy says part of the draw was also the themes of the show, especially the idea of empathy and “this young woman really understanding and feeling for other people’s experiences.”
Trust us and trust Levy, it’s a good time.
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist premieres tonight at 10 p.m. on NBC.
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