Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’ On NBC, Where A Woman Hears People Sing Their Inner Thoughts

Do you hear music in your head? A tune that’s so stuck in there you have to listen to it to get it out? Or maybe a song that rolls around in your brain pan that coincides with your mood? Now imagine that you’re hearing the songs in everybody else’s head. That’s the idea behind a charming new series on NBC. Read on for more…

ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: We see a woman wake up in the morning, awakened by her neighbor wailing “Angel Of The Morning.”

The Gist: Zoey Clarke (Jane Levy) is tired of hearing her DJ neighbor Mo (Alex Newell) belting out tunes early in the morning, and she’s already stressed out about her day. She’s a coder at a San Francisco-based lifestyle app company, and she and her buddy Max (Skylar Astin) are up for a managerial position that will be chosen by their tough and mercurial boss Joan (Lauren Graham). In addition, her father Mitch (Peter Gallagher) is suffering from a degenerative neurological disease that has left him unable to talk or move all that much; caring for him has stressed out her mother Maggie (Mary Steenburgen). All of this is giving her a headache; given what’s been going on with Mitch, Maggie tells her daughter to get an MRI.

During the MRI, the technician loads a playlist to help Zoey relax. But a sudden earthquake somehow makes the MRI machine load every playlist the computer can access into her brain. When she comes out, she starts to hear the inner thoughts of strangers via song. One woman sings “All By Myself”, and an entire group sing and dance to the Beatles’ “Help!”

Of course, Zoey has no idea what’s going on, so she goes to Mo for help, figuring her creative mind might be able to grasp what’s happening. Mo isn’t sure whether Zoey has this insight or she’s slowly going mad, but she’s willing to help. During a late night, while her team tries to quash a critical bug in their smartwatch app, she hears supposedly happy-go-lucky executive Simon (John Clarence Stewart) singing Tears For Fears’ “Mad Love”; Mo confirms for her that the song means he’s hurting big time.

Zoey starts to see how she can use this new ability; she befriends Simon and leads him to confide in her that he’s still reeling from his father’s suicide a few months prior. They form a quick bond, which Zoey feels equally excited and guilty about, especially when she meets Simon’s fiance. But she also gets some insight into how her father Mitch is processing, when he sings “True Colors” to her.

Our Take: There are a couple of ways that Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist can go. It could get burdened by massive song-and-dance numbers interrupting what executive producer Austin Winsberg has set up as a pretty decent story about Zoey, her workplace, and her family. Or he can use Zoey’s ability as more of a garnish, peppering in the songs as she comes across people that she is supposed to connect with. The pilot led me to believe that Winsberg (Paul Feig is also an EP, while Mandy Moore serves as a producer and choreographer) is going to spend a few episodes trying to figure that balance out. But, due to the presence of the always-charming Levy and the rest of the excellent cast, it’ll be fun to see this show find its way.

It all has to do with what the rules of this show’s “game” are. We’re not sure because Zoey’s not sure, so we’re going to go along for the ride with her. It’s obvious she’ll hear people’s inner thoughts when they’re thinking something other than what they’re communicating, which is why we didn’t see Mo or Maggie sing in the first episode; they’re showing their true feelings. What the group numbers mean is anyone’s guess. Could all of the people in that first number think they need “Help!” Not sure. That’s where the rules of the game are going to be less clear.

But if there’s any cast that can handle a far-out concept like this, it’s this one. It’s the right combination of people who can sing while handling some potentially heavy drama as well as nailing the funny stuff. Astin has been in this position before, brought in for his comedy as well as his singing and dancing chops. Graham can sing, too, though right now as the hard-ass Joan, she’s playing refreshingly against type. But you don’t put Lauren Graham in a series to have her just be the hard-ass boss, so we look forward to seeing what part she plays in Zoey’s story in future episodes.

If this show was debuting, say, 20 years ago on the old WB network, Graham would have been perfect as Zoey. But Levy is now entering the same goofy/funny territory that Graham covered during her Gilmore Girls years, and her ability to underplay some of her reactions to this strangeness and overplay others — she’s genuinely shocked when nice-guy rival Lief (Michael Thomas Grant) sings “All I Do Is Win” — will be crucial for this show to work.

Sex and Skin: Nothing.

Parting Shot: After getting the promotion — she figured out why the bug was happening, and rallied the group to fix it — she thanks Max for being so supportive. That’s when he starts singing and dancing to “I Think I Love You.” Gulp.

Sleeper Star: Alex Newell is going to be Zoey’s — and this series’ — secret weapon. Mo is a DJ with a wide and deep knowledge of music, so she’ll be Zoey’s funny guide to interpreting what these songs mean. And she says funny things like “This is the first thing I find remotely interesting about you.”

Most Pilot-y Line: Why were almost all the songs in the first episode, except for “All I Do Is Win,” over 30 years old? At least Zoey doesn’t recognize all the songs, but it’ll help to have more modern music in the episodes as we go along.

Our Call: STREAM IT. While there’s potential for Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist to collapse under its own premise, but we’re hoping this show can figure itself out, mainly because of its cast and the potentially interesting directions Zoey’s story can go.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company.com, RollingStone.com, Billboard and elsewhere.

Stream Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist On NBC.com