There’s nothing more American than a big-box chain store like Cloud 9, the home base for the NBC sitcom “Superstore.” Whereas other workplace sitcoms like “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation” focus on white collar workers, “Superstore” put the spotlight on the minimum wage workers who keep our shelves stocked and their many delightful customers.
But it’s not just the cast of “Superstore” who walk the aisles of this big-box chain, as Cloud 9 has appeared in more sitcoms than you might think. Like the time Mindy Kaling’s character was traveling through Texas on Hulu’s “The Mindy Project” and stopped by Cloud 9 to pick up some supplies. Meanwhile “Good Girls” on NBC had its characters visit a local Cloud 9. Lastly, Cloud 9 makes a “blink-or-you’ll-miss-it” cameo on “Kenan,” also on NBC, with a pair of Cloud 9 shopping bags appearing in Kenan’s daughter’s bedroom.
None of these appearances featured any of the characters from “Superstore” itself because they aren’t actually crossovers. Rather, these Cloud 9 locations are placed in as Easter eggs, appearing in these fictional worlds just as there are countless Wal-Marts and Targets in reality.
There’s a practical reason for Cloud 9’s appearances across these sitcoms
So are these Cloud 9 appearances made to be fun moments for devoted sitcom fans, or do they hint at the existence of a greater shared universe? The answer is a little of both, because all series mentioned were produced by Universal Television.
Shooting “Superstore” in an actual big-box shop like Wal-Mart would require coming in late at night after hours when there are no real shoppers on the floor. That time and expense would make creating the sitcom pretty much impossible — even though the pilot episode of “Superstore” was, in fact, shot in a real-life Kmart. So a Cloud 9 store was built on a few soundstages on the Universal Studios Hollywood lot that served as the “Superstore” headquarters for the entirety of its production. As an added benefit, when other Universal productions needed to send their characters out shopping, this Cloud 9 location and its props were ready and waiting.
“Superstore” came to an end after six seasons in 2021, but at least we’ll always have the memories of Cloud 9 and the handful of shows it appeared in.