In mid-July, the Emmy Awards nominations were unveiled. While much of the attention was on programs such as Ted Lasso and The Crown, NBC’s recently canceled Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist also earned a few Emmy nominations. Even though the show was canceled earlier this year, it still garnered five Emmy nominations.
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist was nominated for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series (for actor Bernadette Peters), Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming (the show was nominated twice in the category for two different routines), Outstanding Music Direction, and Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. Austin Winsberg, the showrunner for Zoey’s, responded to the show’s Emmy nominations on Twitter. He wrote that he was “very grateful” that the show received some Emmys love. Winsberg added, “So proud of our cast and crew for all their brilliant work in impossible conditions.”
Very grateful for all the @TheEmmys noms today. So proud of our cast and crew for all their brilliant work in impossible conditions. @jcolburnlevy @thealexnewell @stewart_iii @SkylarAstin @MarySteenburgen https://t.co/Q1qJlzUWH0
— Austin Winsberg (@austinwinsberg) July 14, 2021
Three weeks after NBC aired the Season 2 finale of Zoey’s, the network announced that they pulled the plug on the series. There was some speculation that the show would find another home on a different network or streaming service. More specifically, there was talk that the show would find a home on NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock. However, in June, those negotiations fell through. Still, the show, and Winsberg in particular, didn’t give up hope that Zoey’s would live to see another day.
“There is too much love and goodwill and the fan base is incredible,” Winsberg wrote about the show’s future. He added that the “more fan support we can throw behind it – the better.” Revival talks hit a snag in July, as it was reported that the options for the cast, which includes Jane Levy and Skylar Astin, expired. They were not extended. This would mean that Lionsgate Television, the lead studio behind Zoey’s, would need to make new deals with the cast if the show does continue in some form.
Fans received some incredibly good news in early August about the future of Zoey’s. Deadline reported that Lionsgate Television is nearing a deal with Roku to develop a Zoey’s holiday movie for its streaming channel. It’s understood that this deal is still being finalized. The publication noted that if this possible revival movie is successful, Roku could consider ordering another season of the series.
