‘Superstore’ Proves It Has the Best Ensemble on TV With Its Scary Good Halloween Episode

Read my words: Superstore has the funniest ensemble on television, period. I fully admit we’re blessed with a lot of solid comedy squads in primetime right now, and you could make arguments in favor of the Good Place team or even a family like The Conners. But in terms of laughs per minute and laughs per character, no show comes close to touching Superstore’s large cast. This is the biggest, funniest cast since The Office, and they are at the height of their power in tonight’s Halloween episode.

For the uninitiated, Superstore is a workplace sitcom set in a big box store (kinda like a Walmart but with a Best Buy vibe) in the Midwest. It regularly addresses issues that many of working-class Americans face (insurance woes, citizenship, single-parenting and childcare). It regularly makes those issues relatable and, most importantly, funny. In fact, Superstore is the rare sitcom to actually get funnier every single season. We’re just a month into Season 4 and I think I can safely say that this is the funniest the show’s ever been–and that’s all because of the show’s finely-tuned ensemble.

Tonight’s episode, “Costume Competition,” fires up that machine and lets it do its thang, cranking out joke after joke with speed and precision. There are three plots in tonight’s episode (I’m keeping this spoiler-free, BTW, so as to not ruin any gags) and all three are among the best the show’s ever produced. In the A-plot, Amy (America Ferrera) and Mateo (Nico Santos) begrudgingly team-up to take out the competition in a Halloween costume contest. Elsewhere, Garrett (Colton Dunn) goes to war against a novelty Halloween jam, a Superstore original song that will 100% get stuck in your head (it is currently stuck in my head, but I’m not complaining?). And popping up between those unfolding plots, hapless store manager Glenn (Mark McKinney) is stalked by an unlikely threat, one that had me in laughing fits both times I watched this screener.

But what really makes Superstore special is the larger world the show’s built over the course of 58 previous episodes. Like The Office, Superstore has a deep bench of loonies that they can call on to knock a joke outta the park. The rest of the series regulars all shine in tonight’s episode, particularly the always blunt Dina (Lauren Ash), and the clueless and cute Cheyenne (Nichole Bloom). But the secret MVPs of this and pretty much every Superstore are Kelly Schumann’s thirsty AF Justine and Kaliko Kauahi’s sympathetic yet hella intense Sandra. Justine’s eager-for-approval boasts regularly earn the biggest guffaws in my house, that is until Sandra launches into one of her legit Oscar-worthy monologues. These are two recurring players that more than deserve to be regulars.

This season, Superstore’s totally realized that it comes alive when a dozen or more of their regulars and extended cast are crammed in the breakroom, bickering back and forth looking for a solution to a peculiar problem. In last week’s thoroughly ridiculous “Toxic Workplace,” the Cloud 9 employees all tried to resolve a contentious love triangle between Sandra, the malicious Carol (Irene White), and average customer Jerry (Chris Grace). Their solution? Flip a coin! And, believably channeling Meryl Streep, Sandra says goodbye to her man… forever. “Costume Competition” features another series-best breakroom breakdown, one that drives up Jonah’s (Ben Feldman) awkwardness to new hilarious heights.

Tonight’s plots put the entire cast through another comedy wringer as unexpected character pairs bounce off each other, resulting in a costume contest runway show that is unlike any I’ve seen on TV (and I’ve seen a lot of Halloween episodes). Even pairing Amy and Mateo as competitive partners proves to be brilliant, and these two rarely get storylines together. It shows just how strong Superstore and every single character is that no matter who you pit against each other, the audience wins.

Do yourself a favor and watch Superstore tonight. It’s the show that gives comedy fans the biggest bang for their buck.

Stream Superstore on Hulu