It’s official! Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist is back for a feature-length holiday movie, Roku announced Wednesday. The film, which picks up immediately where the season 2 finale left off, will debut on the Roku Channel during the holiday season.
The entire Zoey’s Playlist cast, including Jane Levy, Skylar Astin, Alex Newell, John Clarence Stewart, Andrew Leeds, Alice Lee, Michael Thomas Grant, Kapil Talwalkar, David St. Louis, Mary Steenburgen, Peter Gallagher, and Bernadette Peters, will return to wrap up the story.
“I am so extremely grateful to The Roku Channel for helping us get Zoey to sing again. I can’t think of a more appropriate time to hear someone’s heart song than the holidays. And Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas will be an opportunity to provide the fans and new viewers alike a chance to all tap their toes and get in the holiday mood,” creator Austin Winsberg said in a statement, “This show has always been about empathy, compassion and the triumph of the human spirit. The Roku Channel has sure lifted mine and I hope that our film can have the same effect on viewers everywhere…”
The original story below.
The music lives on!
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist is nearing a deal for a wrap-up holiday movie on Roku, two months after NBC canceled the music dramedy following a two-season run, ET has learned.
The deal for the film, which would premiere over the holidays, is currently being finalized and the core cast — including star Jane Levy — is in advanced negotiations to return for the swan song.
Roku and Lionsgate TV declined to comment.
NBC canceled the series on June 9 and talks with its sister streaming service, Peacock, failed to materialize for a shortened third season.
When asked about the possibility of a third season in May, creator Austin Winsberg was “cautiously optimistic” about the show’s chances. “We have a very passionate fanbase and it’s nice to read articles where we’re in talks for award consideration. It certainly feels like we have a nice momentum, but we still don’t know,” he told ET at the time. “We still don’t have clarity about whether we’re going to come back or not. I know we have a lot of internal support at NBC and my fingers are crossed that it’ll happen.”
The news of a holiday wrap-up comes three months after the season 2 finale, which ended on an intriguing twist: Zoey was no longer the only person with the ability to hear people’s innermost heart songs, as Max miraculously received the superpower too.
“From the beginning, I was always interested in the idea of Max getting the powers. We had really planted seeds in season 1, but really, especially throughout season 2, about the inequality in Zoey and Max’s relationship. About the fact that she has a window into his brain and into his heart and his heart songs, that he just doesn’t have into her. And the relationship was always going to be imbalanced and unfair,” Winsberg explained.
“I believe that for any relationships in life to be successful, there needs to be some kind of equality in the relationship. From a perspective of wanting Max and Zoey to work, and wanting them to work going forward, I felt like it would be interesting and important for Max to get the powers and to get that ability, to see what Zoey goes through and to understand that, and to have empathy for that and to realize that struggles, the challenges and the benefits of that,” he continued. “On top of that, just from a romantic comedy point of view, to be able to have this idea that people can be in a relationship and both know exactly what the other person is thinking at the same time, felt like a ripe area for romantic comedy going forward. I felt like it’s opened up a lot of story threads, but even more than that, it’s vital for their relationship to succeed that he needed to get the power.”
