Much like the first, the second season of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist is infectious from the very start. It has been while since I’ve been able to turn off my brain and just enjoy a network TV show but this one makes it easy, especially if you have any affinity at all for musicals.
Zoey is a young woman who discovers one day that she has the ability to hear people’s inner most thoughts as full musical compositions of multi-generational popular songs. In season two, while processing grief, she returns to work to find the dynamics have shifted. Zoey’s musical powers continue to complicate her and expand her worldview as she copes with a tragedy and rediscovers the joys of life through the power of song and dance and season 2 finds a way to turn up the notch on the already creative choreographies.
Easily one of the most entertaining shows on television. Part of what makes it great is the way it manages to tackle a wide range of topics delivering some kind of message to people of different walks and lifestyles. It very much takes the sitcom approach but lengthens it and adds musical numbers to it.
Jane Levy is a delight and she manages to stretch herself in ways we have yet to see from her, showing her dynamic range as an actor and saying “Why yes, I can do more than slay in horror films”! The rest of the cast is great and you can tell vocal musical ability was very important when casting because most have incredible range and have proven so in other films. Like in the real world, however, some of the actors are not musically gifted but they hold their own well enough for you to get through their numbers and internalize what their songs are all about.
If you walk into this expecting a musical sitcom I find it difficult to believe you won’t enjoy it, keeping in mind that it is a network TV show. If you allow it to do its thing it is a show that manages to make you feel everything from joy–to nostalgia–to sorrow and when you get down to it what’s more important than that? 8/10
Born in Puerto Rico but raised in a combination of the island, Boston and upstate New York. This guy’s accent shifts depending on his mood, as does his sense of style. If you don’t understand him sometimes, don’t feel bad, neither do we.
Having studied film in Florida, with a focus on writing and directing, and having worked on many projects of all sizes and scope, Raul has a well rounded understanding of cinema. He is also a huge fan of American Football and believes Tom Brady to be the indisputable G.O.A.T.
