Vanessa Ramos on Netflix's 'Blockbuster'

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

NPR

Society & Culture

4.7 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 29 November 2022

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Vanessa Ramos is a television writer. She's written for shows like Superstore, Bordertown, Crashing and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Her latest show is called Blockbuster on Netflix. It's a sitcom set at the very last franchise location of Blockbuster, and the employees who try to keep the store alive. We talk with Vanessa about creating the new sitcom, and her own memories of Blockbuster, and what VHS tapes were most important to her. Plus, how she got her start in comedy and what it was like to be in the writers room for Comedy Central Roasts.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is a production of MaximumFun.org and is distributed by NPR.
0:22.4	It's Bullseye, I'm Jesse Thorn.
0:24.5	Vanessa Ramos is my first guest this week.
0:27.3	She's a television writer, she's written for shows like Superstore, Bordertown, Crashing
0:32.5	and Brooklyn 9.9.
0:34.2	Now she has her own show, Blockbuster, on Netflix.
0:38.2	As you might have guessed from the title, Blockbuster is about the once great video rental
0:42.3	chain of that name.
0:44.8	It's a sitcom set at the very last franchise location of the store.
0:50.8	The show stars Randall Park and Melissa Fumaro in Leeds with a great supporting turn
0:55.8	from JB Smooth.
0:57.8	Park and Fumaro played Timmy and Eliza.
1:01.0	Timmy has worked at Blockbusters since, well probably since the last time, you set foot
1:06.1	in a Blockbuster.
1:07.6	He seems happy enough, but you know he's also the long time manager of a Blockbuster.
1:14.3	Eliza worked with Timmy back in the day, went to college, had a kid, but then fell on
1:19.7	hard times and now she's back.
1:22.2	He's thrilled to have her there since he kind of has a thing for her.
1:26.4	Eliza, she's not so happy about the whole situation.
1:30.9	Here's a little bit from Blockbusters' pilot.
1:33.3	The employees of the store have just found out that theirs has become the last remaining
1:38.4	Blockbuster in the world.
	...

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