This Is the Most Unlikely NBC Sitcom to Get a Zulu-Language Adaptation

For reasons known only to the power players of the Sub-Saharan African TV markets, Justin Spitzer’s six-season NBC sitcom Superstore is getting a Zulu-language remake. I guess something about America Ferreira must have clicked with South Africans.

While Superstore may not have reached the zeitgeist-defining heights of other NBC comedies like The Office (U.S.) or Parks and Recreation, the comedy about a Walmart-equivalent megastore and its diverse and delightful employees was a worthwhile take on the workplace comedy genre that resonated with big-box retail workers across America. Superstore ran from 2015 to 2021 to critical and audience acclaim before sailing off into the sunset with a COVID-centered final season that remains one of the few and best examples of TV writers pulling off a pandemic storyline that doesn’t completely suck.

Since its finale in 2021, the Superstore extended universe has seen a failed attempt at a spin-off series, an adaptation for Mexican TV called Supertitlán that flopped after one season and, now, an upcoming remake in Zulu by the South African video on demand service Showmax. No one should be surprised that Cloud 9 would outsource its employees’ jobs overseas.

To address the most obvious question about such an unusual cultural export, yes, South Africa has Walmart — or at least, a Walmart subsidiary. The second largest distributor of consumer goods in the “rainbow nation” is Massmart, a retail and wholesale chain that Walmart acquired in 2011. And, since South Africa has apparently followed the American model for massive, mass-production, low-paying retail stores, it only makes sense for them to also copy our best satire on the big-box model.

So, hey, maybe Superstore will be a big hit in South Africa. After all, the comedy cultural exchange has led to some spectacularly successful international adaptations, not the least of which is the aforementioned American remake of The Office. TV-makers across the world have been sharing ideas and IPs for decades, and, in an increasingly globalized world, maybe Zulu Superstore can become as big a hit in South Africa as the Russian adaptation of Everybody Loves Raymond was for the motherland.

“We’re on Cloud 9,” said Nicola van Niekerk, Executive Head of Programming at Showmax’s South Africa-based parent MultiChoice in a statement for Deadline. “I laughed my way through every episode of Superstore and can’t wait to see how the funny and loveable characters are reimagined in our complex country.”  

Of course, like every sitcom remake, adaptation and localization before it, Zulu Superstore will have some big shoes to fill in the casting department. I only have one question for whichever South African actor takes over the role of Glenn: What’s the biggest dog you’ve ever seen and why?