“Superstore” has really, truly closed its doors. “Bo & Cheyenne,” the spinoff from writers and exec producers Bridget Kyle and Vicky Luu that would have focused on Johnny Pemberton and Nichole Sakura’s characters from the mothership series, is not moving forward, a source close to the project has confirmed to Variety.
Cleveland.com first broke the news on Friday.
“Unfortunately, yesterday NBC notified us that they’re not going forward with the ‘Superstore’ spinoff,” Kyle, a Cleveland native, told the site. “So, it will just have to live on in our hearts and on my hard drive.”
News of the spinoff development first landed in December. “Superstore” creator Justin Spitzer would have executive produced the series via The Spitzer Holding Company alongside Ruben Fleischer and David Bernad of The District; Universal Television would have been the studio, where Spitzer has an overall deal. Luu and Kyle had been with “Superstore” since Season 2 and previously wrote for Fox’s “The Grinder” and NBC’s “Marry Me.”
“Bo & Cheyenne” would have seen the couple balancing “their big dreams with the harsh realities of being a blue-collar family in America.” Sakura was a series regular on “Superstore” for all six seasons, while Pemberton recurred as Sakura’s boyfriend-turned-husband and father to their child, Harmonica.
“Superstore” aired its series finale on Thursday following its cancellation, with star America Ferrera returning to the show earlier than expected for its two-part ending after initially leaving the show after its 100th episode.
Of her character growth, Sakura told Variety that she was “so thrilled” when Cheyenne began climbing the ranks from sales associate to floor supervisor.
“I’ve always wanted her to be a strong woman,” she said. “She started out as a 17-year-old pregnant teenager and it honestly feels like my own journey going through the seasons of the show — starting out as a younger cast member, and finding my place and finding my own strength, and really just sinking into that and feeling into it.”