In a modern world in which home viewing entertainment is dominated by what you find available on streaming platforms, there are still many times when I do miss the days of physically renting movies from a store. Ironically, a streaming platform is where movie lovers can now relive that lost era with the new Netflix original TV show, Blockbuster.
Created by former Brooklyn Nine-Nine writer Vanessa Ramos, the workplace sitcom — one of Netflix’s biggest November TV show releases — stars Randall Park as the manager of what he discovers is the last remaining location of the titular video rental store chain in the United States. Let’s take a look at what the funny series' lead actor, as well as the rest of the Blockbuster cast, are also known for in our breakdown below.
Randall Park (Timmy Yoon)
Leading the Blockbuster cast as Timmy Yoon — a movie lover who has worked at the video store since his teens — is Randall Park, who last led a sitcom when Fresh Off the Boat was still on the air and previously starred in a Netflix original with the recent rom-com favorite Always Be My Maybe, which he also co-wrote.
The comedian is also known for a few comic book adaptations — including (so far) two MCU movies (Ant-Man and the Wasp and its highly anticipated upcoming sequel), a Marvel TV show (WandaVision), and two DC movies (Aquaman and its upcoming sequel). Park also portrayed a fictional version of Kim Jong-un in 2014’s The Interview (one of many Seth Rogen movies in his filmography) and plays a fictional version himself on Young Rock.
Melissa Fumero (Eliza Walker)
As Harvard dropout and dedicated mother Eliza Walker, we have Melissa Fumero, reuniting with Blockbuster creator Vanessa Ramos since she and the Brooklyn Nine-Nine cast had their final curtain call in 2021.
Like Randall Park, the former One Life to Live cast member has also starred on a Marvel TV show (the non-MCU-canon, Hulu exclusive cartoon M.O.D.O.K.) in addition to lending her voice to Disney Channel’s Elena of Avalor and Netflx’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power in small roles. Fumero has also done some work behind the camera, having directed an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, NBC’s Grand Crew, and Gordita Chronicles for HBO Max.
Olga Merediz (Connie Serrano)
As the motherly Connie Serrano we have Olga Merediz — another Brooklyn Nine-Nine veteran, having appeared in two episodes as the onscreen mother of Stephanie Beatriz, with whom she also appeared in the Encanto voice cast as Abuela Alma’s singing voice. Also in 2021, the multi-talented performer reprised her Tony-nominated role as another abuela named Claudia in the cinematic In the Heights cast. Merediz’s earlier, most notable credits include 1992’s rom-com classic, Boomerang, the 1996 musical Evita, the 2012 crime thriller The Place Beyond the Pines, and a recurring role alongside Netflix’s Orange is the New Black cast as Lourdes.
Tyler Alvarez (Carlos Herrerra)
Wannabe filmmaker Carlos Herrarra is played by Tyler Alvarez, who is already a Netflix star after leading the American Vandal cast, landing a recurring role on Orange is the New Black as Olga Merediz’s onscreen nephew, and appearing on Never Have I Ever as Malcolm Stone.
He also has a few Hulu exclusives under his belt, namely the platform’s Veronica Mars revival and the coming-of-age romance, Crush, as well as a few other credits in common with his Blockbuster co-stars, namely a guest spot on Fresh off the Boat and his feature-film debut in The House That Jack Built, starring Melissa Fumero. Alvarez also had a main role on Nickelodeon’s Every Witch Way, a recurring spot on The Fosters, and recently appeared on What We Do in the Shadows.
Madeleine Arthur (Hannah Hadman)
Young and slightly naive Hannah Hadman is Madeline Arthur’s first starring role on a TV series since she played “Young Willa Warren” on ABC’s The Family in 2016 (not counting her starring role on the Netflix miniseries Devil in Ohio). She does, however, have plenty of notable guest spots and recurring roles to boast, such as Fray on SyFy’s The Magicians, Nikki Genêt on TNT’s Snowpiercer, and Amber on Paramount+’s Guilty Party. Arthur’s impressive film acting career so far includes director Tim Burton’s Big Eyes, the Nicolas Cage-led Color Out of Space (one of the best horror movies on Shudder), and Netflix’s To All the Boys movies cast as Christine Donati.
J.B. Smoove (Percy Scott)
Percy Scott — owner of the strip mall where Blockbuster is located — is played by J.B. Smoove, who — like some of this co-stars — is also known for comic book adaptations (two Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movies and HBO Max’s Harley Quinn as Frank the Plant, to name a couple) and Netflix originals like the animated 3 Below: Tales of Arcadia and 2018’s The Polka King. The former SNL writer and Curb Your Enthusiasm cast staple has also leant his distinct voice to Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, Hulu’s Woke, and Amazon’s Fairfax, and some of his other most notable film credits include 2001’s Pootie Tang, 2010’s Date Night, 2012’s Think Like a Man, and director and star Jerrod Carmichael’s On the Count of Three.
Kamaia Fairburn (Kayla Scott)
As Percy’s rebellious daughter, Kayla, we have Kamaia Fairburn, who made her acting debut in Lifetime’s Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B as the late, beloved singer’s younger self in 2014 and made her comic book adaptation debut on Supergirl as “Young Girl” two years later. Two years after that, she landed a starring role on Nickelodeon’s Star Falls, followed by a major role on the musical series Holly Hobbie for Hulu. She later scored major roles on the platform’s coming-of-age sci-fi adventure, Endlings, and another out-of-this-world and funny family-friendly series from Canada called Overlord and the Underwoods.
Considering how Netflix kind of had a major hand in Blockbuster’s eventual demise, I will give the platform some major props for helping prolong awareness of the much-missed video store with this new series, and by including the informative documentary, The Last Blockbuster, in its streaming catalog. Let’s just hope that we do not have to say goodbye to the Blockbuster cast too soon.
